THE Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell, his second bestseller thus far, tells the story of — as the title suggests — the Fifth Gospel, or the Diatessaron and the controversy surrounding it. Written by an allegedly dedicated but isolated writer, the Diatessaron (Greek for ‘made of four’) is said to be an edited, revised and compiled text on the four existing gospels but is approached with much misgiving in both real life and the book.

In addition, a disputed relic, the alleged ‘Shroud of Turin’ — the burial cloth that Christ was buried in — is in question again, years after being dismissed as a forgery. The book revolves around using the verses within the Diatessaron as a “skeleton key” to authenticate its claim.

Building a story compounding its discovery, validity and eventual revelation, Caldwell builds a stolid and well-researched story unravelling amidst the walls of Vatican City — replete with a map — in order to help us better understand in detail the governance of the papacy, its many bureaucratic wings and the hierarchy within.

Caldwell tells the story of two brothers, both Vatican priests — Father Alex Andreou, a Greek Catholic priest, and his brother Simon, a Roman Catholic — both belonging to two separate schisms of Catholicism and the two largest Christian Churches. Caldwell concentrates specifically on the dissension between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, set within a murder thriller invoking many revelations along the way, the importance of holy relics remaining paramount, as our protagonist races against time to uncover a mystery.

Alex and Simon’s friend Ugolino Nogara, curator of a grand revelatory exhibit at the Vatican museum, is found murdered, and a race to find his killer and uncover the mysterious spectacle begins. Sound familiar? Think back to the ubiquitous Dan Brown novel, The Da Vinci Code. Only in this case the museum is within papal grounds i.e. Vatican City, and not the Louvre.

Nevertheless, here on begins our chase as Alex races to uncover the secret Nogara had uncovered while researching the exhibit. Amidst it all, Simon, who was deeply involved in the exhibit, and instrumental in bringing together the Eastern Orthodox Church within the diplomatic fold following a centuries-old rift, stands accused of Nogara’s murder, and is being tried within the papal court system. Alex, while attempting to clear his brother’s name, delves into plenty of history along the way, echoing many real life events in no particular order.

Weaving a story that summons the highest echelons of Vatican City we follow our hunted protagonist as he sets out to unravel a deeply buried secret regarding an ancient religious relic, and solve the murder of his friend and curator. The relic incidentally also happens to highlight the rift between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, taking readers back to the Fourth Crusade of 1204 when Constantinople was attacked by Catholic knights and the Shroud was stolen by them from its Orthodox home.

The book examines and raises many questions about organised religion, the seat of the papacy, its secrecy and reach, and its fallacy and aggression. Caldwell is straightforward and scalding when examining the Catholic Church. Caldwell’s story is also a comment on the extremely bureaucratic structure of the papacy, and the author doesn’t hesitate to take jabs at it: “In his tone is a touch of Secretariat superiority”; “Stand by while we save the world”. Conversely, he highlights the importance of diplomacy as a means of keeping religious misunderstanding and hatred at bay.

The Fifth Gospel is more a comment on how the Vatican operates and to an extent on how it should operate. After a while, the plot begins to fade as the overwhelming details of both the Vatican and the respective textual evidence take centre stage. Additionally, the book mirrors many real life events that have taken place within the last two decades regarding not only the discovery and questions surrounding the Shroud but also relations between the Orthodox and Catholic Church.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II visited Greece, an Eastern Orthodox stronghold, and begged forgiveness for sins committed “against their Orthodox brothers and sisters”, at the hands of Roman Catholics, including the plunder of the Byzantine capital by 13th century Crusaders. Caldwell uses this instance at the beginning of his book to mount his narrative and ends it with the gesture made by Pope John Paul II. More than the murder mystery then, the author seeks to define this gesture by taking it one step further. Caldwell has mirrored public sentiment and debate regarding these revelations and artefacts as well as the reports on the authenticity of the Shroud. On display this past summer, after a five-year hiatus at the Cathedral of Turin, experts and the media still seem to be debating its authenticity, with all three previous popes skirting the topic. Actual and fictional events are seamlessly blended and told in one collusive story.

The book reaches the eventual conclusion that the Shroud is not authentic, but that is not revealed by the Vatican. In reality, the Vatican has not commented on its authenticity. In the fictional retelling of these actual events, the importance of its authenticity is undercut by a bigger purpose attained by the Catholic Church — a reunion with its Orthodox brothers.

The ideas and themes the author has proposed are daring and progressive. The book takes a turn towards the questions surrounding an ancient text and an even more ancient holy relic, and puts forth the idea of a universal Christian faith; one adhering to a single Church. The debates surrounding the Shroud are not new — and the mystery and questions surrounding its authenticity are plentiful. What Caldwell has masterfully achieved is retelling the story. The book is neither much of a murder mystery, nor much of a thriller; it is more informative and didactic than that — its interpretation and analysis of religious events is what keeps the narrative afloat.

The Fifth Gospel

(THRILLER)

By Ian Caldwell

Simon & Schuster, US

ISBN 978-1451694147

448pp.

The reviewer is a freelance journalist writing on politics, current affairs and culture.