Is “Secret Mark” a Forgery? Read the Latest Report

In our May/June 2010 issue, we reported on a study by a Greek handwriting expert whom BAR retained to compare Morton Smith’s Greek handwriting to the handwriting of the document known as Secret Mark, which some have charged was forged by Smith.^a Secret Mark is a purported 18th-century copy of a second-century letter from a church leader, Clement of Alexandria, containing two passages from a secret, and different, Gospel of Mark. Hence the name.

Our Greek handwriting expert, Venetia Anastasopoulou of Athens, found that Smith’s Greek handwriting was “like that of a school student ... His hand is not familiarized in Greek writing so as to be able to use it freely and with ease.” She concluded that there was “substantial non-agreement” between Smith’s Greek handwriting and that of Secret Mark. Her detailed report was described in BAR and posted in full on BAR’s Web site.