Saying Jesus was married is likely one of the most controversial statements about Christianity. However, according to an ancient papyrus Jesus had a wife.

A Harvard University professor sparked controversy after she translated a scrap of an ancient papyrus that mentions Jesus’ wife. In fact, the fourth-century fragment of papyrus contains a quote in which Jesus himself refers to someone as “my wife”. Speculations say that Jesus was actually talking about Mary.

Even if the discovery about Jesus Christ being a married man comes from a Harvard University professor, that doesn’t make it less controversial. Christians have been arguing against the idea of Jesus having a wife for centuries now and Professor Karen L. King’s discovery might be just enough to shake what people knew of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, Karen L. King went to the Vatican to discuss her controversial discovery, the scrap of ancient papyrus she called “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife”. “In this fourth-century fragment of a book, written in the Coptic language, we have a new, previously unknown gospel” the Harvard University professor explained.

“Eight lines on the front, six lines on the back”, but “the most exciting line on the whole fragment, however, is the sentence: Jesus said to them – to His disciples, that is – ‘My wife’”. While Karen L. King accepts her finding doesn’t exactly come as bullet-proof evidence Jesus did have a wife, it is however a sort of window into early Christianity debates about marriage.

“Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim” King explained. “This new gospel doesn’t prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage” she added.

The new discovery about Jesus Christ having a wife has reignited the debate about Mary Magdalene’s role in his life. Was she Jesus’ wife or a disciple? The Smithsonian Channel has worked on a documentary about the “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” which will air September 30.

It goes without saying the gospel about Jesus Christ having a wife has already sparked controversy. The internet took the subject viral and many dismiss the new text and are doubting King’s expertise in the matter.