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For some reason, instead of burning them, the monks of Nag Hammadi decided to entrust them to posterity, perhaps waiting for better times.
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Their writings became forbidden when the Church defined the canon of the books authorized to be read in the congregation.
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The Gnostics were mystics who had no real use or hope for the world. In this case it was not Essenes who had entrusted them to the protection of the caves and the centuries, but monks who followed a now forgotten variant of Christianity called Gnosticism. Among the old codices was The Gospel of Thomas, lost for 16 centuries, and other unfamiliar titles, such as The Gospel of Philip and the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles. Fewer people know about an equally fascinating finding in the same region of the planet, made only a few months apart: a collection of hitherto unknown Christian codices, buried in the 4th century CE, and found accidentally by peasants near the city of Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt. The ancient texts found in their rock cabinets have produced tons of literature. Many people interested in biblical themes know about the Dead Sea Scrolls and their guardians, the mysterious Essenes, the sect of Judaism that hid its priceless library in caves before marching against the Romans in an end-time war, certain that God would intervene at the decisive moment. Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading.