THE GOSPEL OF J. I. — An apocryphal work mentioned by s. Irenaeus (I, 31, 1: PG 7, 704) and by s. Epiphanius (Haer., 38, 1, 3: PG 41, 654–66). It was composed Cainites (v.), who regarded J. as a hero, the only Apostle who had understood Jesus. The apocryphal work, which must have been a rehabilitation of its protagonist, has not survived to the present day; the lack of information makes it impossible to form an idea of its content.
BIBL.: O. Bardenhewer, Gesch. der altchristl. Literatur, Freiburg im Br. 1902, p. 324; E. Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, Tübingen 1924, p. 68. Fedele Pasquero