It is thought that around 1170, priests somewhere in France moved liturgical performances outside of the church where they could give the play in the language of the people. They were also allowed to have characters such as the devil. English mystery plays seem to have started around the same time.
Mystery plays specifically deal with stories from the Bible. There are four complete or nearly complete collections of English mystery plays. Sometimes the collections are referred to as cycles. The oldest cycle is the York Cycle.
Pope Innocent III became suspicious of the popularity of mystery plays. Because of this, he banned clergy from acting in plays. This did not stop mystery plays from being performed. Different guilds took over performing mystery plays.
The plays were seen as non-fictional, unlike the farces of the day. Passion plays are a type of mystery play. However, a passion play revolves around the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
While mystery plays like those of medieval times are no longer performed, it can be argued that they have never come to a stop of being created or performed. It can be argued that Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar are mystery plays, and perhaps even passion plays.
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