A Harvard scholar who unveiled an ancient Coptic papyrus in which Jesus refers to "my wife" said on Wednesday that while the landmark discovery provides no definitive answer, it was "the first unequivocal statement" to claim that he was married.
But Karen King, who refers to the discovery as "the Gospel of Jesus' Wife," said she hopes it will help Christians and theologians deal with complex issues of sexuality and the role of women that were discussed in the early Church and are still being discussed today.
The fragment, which measures 8 cm by 4 cm includes words in ancient Coptic in which a scribe writes: "Jesus said to them, my wife ...".
Another section of the fragment also contains another phrase that says: "she will be my disciple".
King and other scholars believe the fragment is authentic and is believed to have been written in the fourth century.
The idea that Jesus was married resurfaces regularly in popular culture, notably with the 2003 publication of Dan Brown's best-seller "The Da Vinci Code," which angered the Vatican because it was based on the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children.
The Vatican had no immediate comment on the discovery, which was, ironically announced, at a Catholic institute of higher learning.
The tiny fragment is owned by an anonymous private collector who contacted King to help translate and analyze it, and is thought to have been discovered in Egypt or perhaps Syria.
King said she is expecting much scholarly and public debate about the issue.
