(Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg)

Researchers in Germany have decoded what they say is the oldest-
ever manuscript detailing Jesus Christ’s life as a child.

The papyrus manuscript dates back more than 1,600 years old to
the 4th or 5th century. The document had been stored at a library
in Hamburg, Germany, as no one believed the document was of
any significance.

"The fragment is of extraordinary interest for research," Lajos
Berkes, a professor and one of the researchers who decoded the document said in a press release. "On the one hand, because we
were able to date it to the 4th to 5th century, making it the earliest
known copy.

Lajos Berkes