Nicolas Notovitch: Difference between revisions

'''Shulim''' or '''Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich''' (Николай Александрович Нотович) (August 13, 1858 – after 1916), known in the West as '''Nicolas Notovitch''', (1858-after 1916) was a [[Crimea]]n<ref>Born in Kertch on August 25th (13th Julian) 1858. ''Dictionnaire national des contemporains Vol. 3'', Paris 1901, p. 274; Klatt, Norbert. 2011. ''Jesus in Indien: Nikolaus Alexandrovitch Notovitchs „Unbekanntes Leben Jesu“, sein Leben und seine Indienreise'' (2nd ed.). Göttingen: Norbert Klatt Verlag (Electronic resource; {{ISBN|978-3-928312-32-5}}; First print edition Stuttgart 1986)</ref> [[Jewish]] adventurer who claimed to be a Russian aristocrat,{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}, spy<ref>[[India Office Records]]: Mss Eur E243/23 (Cross)</ref><ref>Public Record Office: FO 78/3998</ref> and journalist.

Notovitch is known for his 1894 book claiming that during histhe [[unknown years of Jesus|unknown years]], Jesushe left [[Galilee]] for [[India]] and studied with [[Buddhist]]s and [[Hindu]]s there before returning to [[Judea]].<ref>Notovitch, Nicolas. ''La Vie Inconnue de Jesus Christ''. First Edition. Paris: Paul Ollendorff, 1894. (OCoLC 656630181; OCLC 20368915)</ref><ref name=Gandhi>{{cite book |title=The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ |author=Virchand R. Gandhi (translator) |authorlink=Virchand Gandhi |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2003 |origyear=first published 1894 |ISBN=0766138984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ: By The Discoverer Of The Manuscript |author=Nicolas Notovitch |others=Translated by J. H. Connelly and L. Landsberg |publisher=Murine Press |year=2006 |ISBN=1434812839}}</ref> Notovitch's claim was based on a document he said he had seen at the [[Hemis Monastery]] while he stayed there, but he later confessed to having fabricated his evidence.<ref name=McG>McGetchin, Douglas T. McGetchin, ''Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism'', Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2009, {{ISBN|083864208X}}. Page 133: "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich allegedly confessed to fabricating his evidence."</ref><ref name=Wil84/>

Some modern scholars view Notovitch's accountsaccount of the travels of Jesus to India as a [[hoax]] which includespresents major inconsistencies.<ref name=Wil84>''New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings'' by [[Wilhelm Schneemelcher]] and R. Mcl. Wilson (Dec 1, 1990) {{ISBN|066422721X}} page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today, nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"</ref><ref name=Ehrman/><ref>[[Gordon Stein|Stein, Gordon]]. (1993). ''Encyclopedia of Hoaxes''. Gale Group. pp. 233-234. {{ISBN|0-8103-8414-0}} "It appears that ''The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ'' is a hoax, probably perpetrated by Nicolas Notovitch himself. It continues to be printed in new editions and is still passed off as genuine."</ref><ref>[[Robert M. Price|Price, Robert M]]. (2003). ''The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?''. Prometheus Books. p. 93. {{ISBN|978-1591021216}} "It remains quite clear that Notovitch's ''Unknown Life of Jesus'' was a hoax."</ref>

Notovitch also wrote some political books on the role of Russia in war.<ref name="Nicolas Notovitch Paris 1906">''La Russie et l'alliance anglaise: étude historique et politique'' by Nicolas Notovitch. Paris, Plon-Nourrit, 1906.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">''L'Europe à la veille de la guerre'' by Nicolas Notovitch. Paris A. Savine, 1890</ref>

* Fader, H. Louis Fader, ''The Issa Tale That Will Not Die: Nicholas Notovich and His Fraudulent Gospel'' (University Press of America, 2003). {{ISBN|978-0-7618-2657-6}}

* Angelo Paratico, Angelo, ''The Karma Killers'', New York, 2009. This is a novel based on Notovitch's story, set in modern times with flashbacks to the time of Jesus and to World War II. Most of it is based in Hong Kong and Tibet. It was first printed in Italy under the title ''Gli Assassini del Karma'', Rome 2003.

* [https://archive.org/details/lavieinconnuede00notogoog ''La vie inconnue de Jesus Christ''] (original), Internet Archive