Which of the gospels—there were many more than the four contained in today’s New Testament—were to be ordained as “orthodox,” or “right,” and which were “wrong”? The decision came down to preference for a specific narrative. The gospels deemed “right” confirmed a male apostolic tradition and the central role of a church. The council marked gospels that ran counter to their mission as heretical (the etymology of which is, tellingly, “to choose”), and ordered them destroyed (including the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, which recounts Christ’s teachings after his resurrection).
