Leloup, Jean-Yves

PERSONAL:

Education: Earned Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—France.

CAREER:

Theologian, philosopher, and priest. Founder, Institute of Other Civilization Studies; founder and mentor, International Centre of Therapists; cofounder, Unipaz.

WRITINGS:

Paroles du Mont Athos, preface by Jean-René Bouchet, Éditions du Cerf (Paris, France), 1980.

(Translator from the Coptic, and author of commentary) Evangile selon Thomas, A. Michel (Paris, France), 1986, translation published as Gospel of Thomas (Coptic Gospel), calligraphy by Frank Lalou, Shambhala (Boston, MA), 2003, translation and notes by Joseph Rowe published as Gospel of Thomas: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 2005.

Manque et plénitude: éléments pour une mémoire de l'essentiel, A. Michel (Paris, France), 1994.

(Compiler) Paroles de Jésus/The Wisdom of Jesus, Abbeville Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Les Livres des morts: tibétain, égyptien, chrétien, A. Michel (Paris, France), 1997.

Introduction aux "vrais philosophes": les Pères grecs: un continent oublié de la pensée occidentale, A. Michel (Paris, France), 1998.

(With Marie de Solemne and André Comte-Sponville) Aimer désespérément, Dervy (Paris, France), 1998.

Un art de l'attention, Editions du Relié (Gordes, France), 2000.

L'icóne: une école du regard, Pommier-Fayard (Paris, France), 2000.

(Translator and author of commentary) L'Evangile de Marie: évangile copte du IIe siècle, A. Michel (Paris, France), 2000, translation and notes by Joseph Rowe published as The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, foreword by Jacob Needleman, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 2002.

Being Still: Reflections on an Ancient Mystical Tradition, translated and edited by M.S. Laird, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 2003.

(Translator from the Coptic, and author of commentary) The Gospel of Philip: Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Gnosis of Sacred Union, translation by Joseph Rowe, foreword by Jacob Needleman, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 2004.

(With Catherine Bensaid) Qui aime quand je t'aime: de l'amour qui souffre à l'amour qui s'offre, A. Michel (Paris, France), 2005.

The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary: The Sexual Mystery at the Heart of the Christian Tradition, translation by Joseph Rowe, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 2006.

Judas and Jesus: Two Faces of a Single Revelation, translation by Joseph Rowe, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

A French theologian and Orthodox Christian priest, Jean-Yves Leloup often writes about apocryphal Christian books and eastern philosophies. His translations from the Coptic include Gospel of Thomas: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus, The Gospel of Philip: Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Gnosis of Sacred Union, and The Gospel of Mary Magdalene—works that include ideas not accepted by Western Christian churches. For example, in The Gospel of Philip, Jesus is in love with Mary Magdalene and kisses her on several occasions, while the Gospels in the Bible have Mary Magdalene as a prostitute who comes to follow Jesus but never has a relationship with him. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, which allegedly quotes Mary, depicts her as being Jesus' wife. Though critics noted that these texts may have an appeal to many modern readers, Sheila Peiffer warned in her Library Journal assessment of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene that "this work is scholarly and of interest only to academic libraries."

Leloup draws on his wide knowledge of Christian and other religious beliefs from around the world in his 2003 book, Being Still: Reflections on an Ancient Mystical Tradition. An attempt to find answers from various theologies that are applicable to the modern world, this work relates Leloup's personal search for calm during a pilgrimage to Mount Athos. He contemplates Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic sources of the past in what John Chryssavgis described in Theological Studies as "engaging reading of the ancient contemplative path and a fresh appreciation of the Eastern Orthodox spiritual way."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2002, Patricia Monaghan, review of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, p. 1286; October 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of The Gospel of Philip: Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Gnosis of Sacred Union, p. 305.

Library Journal, December 1, 2004, Sheila Peiffer, review of The Gospel of Philip, p. 125.

Theological Times, June, 2005, John Chryssavgis, review of Being Still: Reflections on an Ancient Mystical Tradition, p. 500.