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‘Jesus’s wife’ papyrus is likely a fake, professor now says

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, Harvard Divinity School Professor Karen King speaks outside the Augustinianum institute where an international congress on Coptic studies is held in Rome. King, who caused a huge splash when she unveiled a small fragment of papyrus that she said referred to Jesus being married, said in a June 2016 interview with The Associated Press that it is likely a forgery. King said from the beginning that the fragment cannot be considered evidence that Jesus was married, only that the topic was discussed by early Christians. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, Harvard Divinity School Professor Karen King speaks outside the Augustinianum institute where an international congress on Coptic studies is held in Rome. King, who caused a huge splash when she unveiled a small fragment of papyrus that she said referred to Jesus being married, said in a June 2016 interview with The Associated Press that it is likely a forgery. King said from the beginning that the fragment cannot be considered evidence that Jesus was married, only that the topic was discussed by early Christians. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

BOSTON (AP) – A Harvard professor who caused a huge splash when she unveiled a small fragment of papyrus that she said referred to Jesus being married now says it’s likely a forgery.

Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King presented the piece of papyrus in Rome in 2012. The fragment, written in Coptic, includes the phrase, “Jesus said to them, My wife.”

Right from the beginning, it sparked controversy and debate among scholars. Doubts about its authenticity were raised almost immediately.

King said it is more likely than not that the fragment is a modern forgery. She cited an investigative article published last week on the website of The Atlantic magazine that raised questions about the owner of papyrus, Florida businessman Walter Fritz. The Atlantic also was the first to report her concession that the papyrus is likely a fake.

“If you ask me today which direction am I leaning more toward – ancient text or a modern forgery – based on this new evidence, I’m leaning toward modern forgery,” King told The Associated Press.