A Bible written more than 1500 years ago was found in Turkey. The book caused controversy in the

Vatican because it contains the Gospel of Barnabas. Barnabas was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and traveled with the apostle Paul.

The ancient scroll was «double» found in the warehouse of the Palace of Justice in Ankara. The scroll will be transferred to the Ethnography Museum of Ankara. There is writing in Assyrian gold letters on the leather-covered pages of the parchment. This list of the Old Testament appeared before the Turkish authorities when the relic was seized from smugglers during a special operation on the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea in 2000.

The criminal group was charged with smuggling of antiquarian goods. During the investigation, it became known that the book is about 2000 years old.

The Turkish authorities declared the Bible a cultural property, giving the scroll the status of a museum value. Over the years, experts have expressed conflicting opinions about the origin of the manuscript and its authenticity.

There are also other areas that are challenging for specialists. the existence of copies of the find, and whether they were taken out of Turkey? The religious authorities claim that it follows from the text that Jesus was not baptized, was not the son of God, but was a prophet, and Paul was «self-destructive».

The book also says that Jesus ascended to heaven without being baptized, and Judas Iscariot was baptized instead. The text also foreshadows the coming of the last Muslim prophet, which has not yet happened. The Vatican expressed its dismay at the discovery and asked the Turkish authorities to evaluate the contents of the book with Catholic experts.

It is believed that at the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, the Catholic Church censored the Gospels that were part of the Bible, removing, possibly, the Gospel of Barnabas as well. A copy of the ancient manuscript is valued at 40 million Turkish liras ($28 million).