This article is about the disciple of Jesus. For other uses, see Mary Magdalene (disambiguation).
Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross
West: Penitent
East: Myrrhbearer and Equal of the Apostles
Born     early 1st century AD, Magdala?
Died     mid to late 1st century AD, Ephesus, Asia Minor or Marseilles[1]
Venerated in     Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodoxy
Anglican Communion
Protestantism
Islam
Feast     July 22
Attributes     Western: alabaster box of ointment, long hair, at the foot of the cross[2]

Eastern: container of ointment (as a myrrhbearer), or holding a red egg (symbol of the resurrection); embracing the feet of Christ after the Resurrection
Patronage     apothecaries; Atrani, Italy; Casamicciola Terme, Ischia; contemplative life; converts; glove makers; hairdressers; penitent sinners; people ridiculed for their piety; perfumeries; pharmacists; reformed prostitutes; sexual temptation; tanners; women[2]

Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala (original Greek ±?± ?· ±?³±?»?·?½,[3] Heb., Miriam)[4] is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as one of the most important women in the movement of Jesus.[5] As a follower, Mary was one of many women who accompanied Jesus and the twelve apostles during his travels. Mary followed Jesus to the very end. According to all four Gospels in the Christian New Testament, she was the first to witness his resurrection.[6] She is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles." She is repeatedly portrayed as a visionary and leader of the early movement.[7]

The Gospel of Luke describes her as a woman "from whom seven demons had gone out."[Luke 8:1-3] Misconceptions both in antiquity and in modern times have emerged regarding Mary, the most scandalous being allegation that she was a prostitute before her conversion. Neither the Bible nor any other early historical sources validate that claim which apparently stems from an error in a sixth-century sermon by Pope Gregory the Great.[8]

Mary Magdalene is considered by the Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches to be a saint, with a feast day of July 22. She is also commemorated by the Lutheran Church with a festival on the same day. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorates her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers which is the second Sunday after Pascha (Easter). Protestant Christians honor her as an apostle of Jesus. She is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles."

 

Contents

    * 1 Name
    * 2 Sources
          o 2.1 New Testament
          o 2.2 New Testament Apocrypha
    * 3 Mary Magdalene as viewed by Churches
          o 3.1 Eastern Orthodox
          o 3.2 Roman Catholic
          o 3.3 Mary as a penitent
          o 3.4 Protestant views
          o 3.5 Easter Egg tradition
    * 4 Speculations
          o 4.1 "Beloved Disciple" in the Gospel of John
          o 4.2 Relationship with Jesus
          o 4.3 Mary Magdalene, the Apostle
          o 4.4 Misidentification as a prostitute
    * 5 Cultural references
          o 5.1 In film and literature
          o 5.2 In music
          o 5.3 Other
    * 6 See also
    * 7 Endnotes
    * 8 References
    * 9 External links

Name

Consistently in the four Gospels, Mary Magdalene is distinguished from other women named Mary by adding "Magdalene" (?· ±?³±?»?·?½) to her name.[3] Traditionally, this has been interpreted to mean that she was from Magdala, a town thought to have been on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Luke 8:2 says that she was actually "called Magdalene." In Aramaic, "magdala" means "tower" or "elevated, great, magnificent".[9]
Sources
New Testament
Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger.

The four Gospels included in the New Testament have very little to say about Mary Magdalene. With a single exception in the Gospel of Luke, there is no mention of her in the Gospels before the crucifixion. Luke 8:1-3 says:

    After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another — The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out — and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

The same reference to "seven demons" is made later in Mark 16:9. However, this part of the Gospel of Mark is generally regarded as a late addition, and the reference is possibly based on the Gospel of Luke.[10]

Mark 15:40, Matthew 27:56 and John 19:25 mention Mary Magdalene as a witness to crucifixion, along with various others women. Luke does not name any witnesses, but mentions "women who had followed him from Galilea" standing at a distance.[11] No motivation for her to follow Jesus to the end is given.

Mark 15:47 and Matthew 27:61 give her name as a witness to Jesus’ actual burial. Again, Luke mentions only unnamed "women".[12] In contrast to the synoptic Gospels, John does not mention anyone from Jesus’ inner circle to have witnessed his burial.[13]

All Gospels unanimously mention Mary Magdalene to have found Jesus’ tomb as empty, either with some other women[14] or alone.[15] Gospels give various accounts if she told about the empty tomb to the disciples[16] or not.[17]

After resurrection, Mark 16:9 and John 20:11-18 mention Jesus to have appeared first to Mary Magdalene, privately. No reason for this is given. Again, Mark’s reference is from the final part of his Gospel which is regarded as a late addition, here possibly taking its information from John.[10]

Following this, Mary Magdalene disappears from the New Testament. She is not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, and her fate remains undocumented.
[edit] New Testament Apocrypha
Main article: New Testament Apocrypha

Scholars of a person with a name equivalent of Coptic "Mary", appearing in the Nag Hammadi gnostic Gospel of Mary, have usually[18] identified her with Mary Magdalene.[19] In the Gospel, she is constantly referred to as being loved by Jesus more than the others.

In the Gospel of Philip, also from Apocrypha, the same is specifically said about Mary Magdalene.[20] This has led some to suggest that Mary Magdalene was the unnamed Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John.[9] For example, compare these passages from the Gospel of John and the apocryphal Gospel of Philip:

    Gospel of Philip: There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary his mother and her sister and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary[21]

    Gospel of John: Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said”¦ (John 19:25)

The penitent Mary Magdalene, a much reproduced composition by Titian.

Further attestation of Mary Magdalene and her role among some early Christians is provided by the gnostic Gospel of Mary Magdalene which survives in two 3rd century Greek fragments and a longer 5th century translation into Coptic. In the Gospel the testimony of a woman first needed to be defended. All of these manuscripts were re-discovered and published between 1938 and 1983, but as early as the 3rd century there are Patristic references to the Gospel of Mary. These writings reveal the degree to which that gospel was despised and dismissed by the early Church fathers. In the fragmentary text, the disciples ask questions of the risen Savior (a designation that dates the original no earlier than the 2nd century) and are answered.

Then they grieve, saying, "How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If even he was not spared, how shall we be spared?" And Mary bids them take heart: "Let us rather praise his greatness, for he prepared us and made us into men." She then delivers- at Peter’s request- a vision of the Savior she has had, and reports her discourse with him, which shows gnostic influences.

Her vision does not meet with universal approval:

    But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, "Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of other ideas."

    Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them about the Savior. "Did he then speak secretly with a woman, in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?"

Karen King of Harvard Divinity School has observed, "The confrontation of Mary with Peter, a scenario also found in The Gospel of Thomas, Pistis Sophia, and The Greek Gospel of the Egyptians, reflects some of the tensions in second-century Christianity. Peter and Andrew represent orthodox positions that deny the validity of esoteric revelation and reject the authority of women to teach." (introduction, The Nag Hammadi Library)

However, it is to be understood these are from gnostic writings and not accepted as canonical or authentic by mainstream Christian thought.
Mary Magdalene as viewed by Churches
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox icon of Mary Magdalene as a Myrrhbearer.

The Eastern Orthodox Church maintains that Mary Magdalene, distinguished from Mary of Bethany and the "sinful woman", had been a virtuous woman all her life. This view finds expression both in her written life (?² or vita) and in the liturgical service in her honor that is included in the Menaion and performed on her annual feast-day. There is a tradition that Mary Magdalene led so chaste a life that the devil thought she might be the one who was to bear Christ into the world, and for that reason he sent the seven demons to trouble her.

Mary Magdalene is honored as one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, and received a special commission from him to tell the Apostles of his resurrection.[22] Mary’s role as a witness is interesting due to the fact women at that time could not be witnesses in legal proceedings.[23] Because of this, and because of her subsequent missionary activity in spreading the Gospel, she is known by the title, "Equal of the Apostles". She is often depicted on icons bearing a vessel of ointment, not because of the anointing by the "sinful woman", but because she was among those women who brought ointments to the tomb of Jesus. For this reason, she is called a Myrrhbearer.

According to Eastern traditions, she retired to Ephesus with the Theotokos (Mary, the Mother of God) and there she died. (This previous statement appears to be a conflation of Turkish local traditions about St. John and the Virgin Mary [1] [2]of the Virgin Mary). Her relics were transferred to Constantinople in 886 and are there preserved.
[edit] Roman Catholic

Gregory of Tours, writing in Tours in the sixth century,[24] supports the tradition that she retired to Ephesus, with no mention of any connection to Gaul.

How a cult of Mary Magdalene first arose in Provence has been summed up by Victor Saxer[25] in the collection of essays in La Magdaleine, VIIIe – XIIIe si?¨cle[26] and by Katherine Ludwig Jansen, drawing on popular devotions, sermon literature and iconology.[27]

Mary Magdalene’s relics were first venerated at the abbey of V?©zelay in Burgundy. Jacobus de Voragine gives the common account of the transfer of the relics of Mary Magdalene from her sepulchre in the oratory of Saint Maximin at Aix-en-Provence to the newly founded abbey of V?©zelay;[28] the transportation of the relics is entered as undertaken in 771 by the founder of the abbey, identified as Gerard, duke of Burgundy.[29] The earliest mention of this episode is the notice of the chronicler Sigebert of Gembloux (died 1112), who asserts that the relics were removed to V?©zelay through fear of the Saracens. There is no record of their further removal to the other St-Maximin; a casket of relics associated with Magdalene remains at V?©zelay.

Afterwards, since September 9, 1279, the body of Mary Magdalene was also venerated at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, Provence. This cult attracted such throngs of pilgrims that the earlier shrine was rebuilt as the great Basilica from the mid-thirteenth century, one of the finest Gothic churches in the south of France.

The competition between the Cluniac Benedictines of V?©zelay and the Dominicans of Saint-Maxime occasioned a rash of miraculous literature supporting the one or the other site. Jacobus de Voragine, compiling his Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend) before the competition arose, characterized Mary Magdalene as the emblem of penitence, washing the feet of Jesus with her copious tears (although it is now known that Mary of Bethany was the woman known for washing or anointing the feet of Jesus,[30] protectress of pilgrims to Jerusalem, daily lifting by angels at the meal hour in her fasting retreat and many other miraculous happenings in the genre of Romance, ending with her death in the oratory of Saint Maximin, all disingenuously claimed to have been drawn from the histories of Hegesippus and of Josephus.
Mary Magdalene attributed to Gregor Erhart (Louvre).

The French tradition of Saint Lazare of Bethany is that Mary, her brother Lazarus, and Maximinus, one of the Seventy Disciples and some companions, expelled by persecutions from the Holy Land, traversed the Mediterranean in a frail boat with neither rudder nor mast and landed at the place called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer near Arles. Mary Magdalene came to Marseille and converted the whole of Provence. Magdalene is said to have retired to a cave on a hill by Marseille, La Sainte-Baume ("holy cave." baumo in Provencal), where she gave herself up to a life of penance for thirty years. When the time of her death arrived she was carried by angels to Aix and into the oratory of Saint Maximinus, where she received the viaticum; her body was then laid in an oratory constructed by St. Maximinus at Villa Lata, afterwards called St. Maximin.

In 1279, when Charles II, King of Naples, erected a Dominican convent at La Sainte-Baume, the shrine was found intact, with an explanatory inscription stating why the relics had been hidden.

In 1600, the relics were placed in a sarcophagus commissioned by Pope Clement VIII, the head being placed in a separate reliquary. The relics and free-standing images were scattered and destroyed at the Revolution. In 1814, the church of La Sainte-Baume, also wrecked during the Revolution, was restored. In 1822, the grotto was consecrated afresh. The head of the saint now lies there and has been the centre of many pilgrimages.
Mary as a penitent

The traditional Roman Catholic feast day dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene celebrated her position as a penitent. In 1969, the Catholic Church allegedly admitted what critics had been saying for centuries: Magdalene’s standard image as a reformed prostitute is not supported by the text of the Bible.[31] They revised the Roman Missal and the Roman Calendar, and now there is no mention in either of Mary Magdalene as previously being a sinner. However, if true, this is only circumstancial evidence, since the Catholic Church has made no official statement on the matter.[32]

The Magdalene became a symbol of repentance for the vanities of the world to various sects. St. Mary Magdalene was the patron of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Magdalene College, Cambridge (both pronounced "maudlin"). In contrast, her name was also used for the Magdalen Asylum, institutions for "fallen women".

In the Eastern Orthodox churches, Mary Magdalene is not celebrated as a penitent, but rather as a woman who lived a virtuous life even before her conversion.
Protestant views
Wiki letter w.svg
    Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (September 2008)

Although Anglican Christians revere her as a saint, other Protestants honor her as a highly respected apostle, disciple and friend of Jesus.[33] Veneration of saints is not usually practiced by Protestant denominations.[34]

    Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. (“¦) It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. (“¦) Nonetheless, Mary of Magdala is recorded as having stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.[35]

Mary Magdalene is not the "sinful woman" depicted in Luke 7:36-50.[36] It has similarities with another story of Jesus being anointed by Mary of Bethany near the end of his ministry and is often confused with it.[37]
[edit] Easter Egg tradition
Icon of St. Mary Magdalene holding a red Easter egg with the words Christ is Risen.
Red-colored Belarussian Easter Eggs.
Mary Magdalene, in a dramatic 19th-century popular image of penitence painted by Ary Scheffer.

For centuries, it has been the custom of many Christians to share dyed and painted eggs, particularly on Easter Sunday. The eggs represent new life, and Christ bursting forth from the tomb. Among Eastern Orthodox Christians (including Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian, Russian, Romanian, Serbian and Ukrainian) this sharing is accompanied by the proclamation "Christ is risen!" (in Greek "Christos anesti") and the response "Truly He is risen!"(in Greek – "Alithos anesti").

One tradition concerning Mary Magdalene says that following the death and resurrection of Jesus, she used her position to gain an invitation to a banquet given by Emperor Tiberius. When she met him, she held a plain egg in her hand and exclaimed "Christ is risen!" Caesar laughed, and said that Christ rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in her hand turning red while she held it. Before he finished speaking, the egg in her hand turned a bright red, and she continued proclaiming the Gospel to the entire imperial house.[38]

Another version of this story can be found in popular belief, mostly in Greece. It is believed that after the Crucifixion, Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary put a basket full of eggs at the foot of the cross. There, the eggs were painted red by the blood of the Christ. Then, Mary Magdalene brought them to Tiberius Caesar (see above).
Speculations
"Beloved Disciple" in the Gospel of John
Main article: Beloved Disciple

A group of scholars, the most familiar of whom is Elaine Pagels, have suggested that for one early group of Christians Mary Magdalene was a leader of the early Church and maybe even is the unidentified "Beloved Disciple", to whom the Fourth Gospel commonly called Gospel of John is ascribed.[9]

Ramon K. Jusino, an internet writer, offers an explanation of this view, based on the textual researches of Raymond E. Brown.[39] In order to make this claim and maintain consistency with scriptures, the theory is suggested that Mary’s separate existence in the two common scenes with the Beloved Disciple (19:25-27 and 20:1-11) were later modifications, hastily done to authorize the gospel in the late 2nd century. Both scenes have inconsistencies both internally and in reference to the synoptic Gospels, possibly coming from rough editing to make Mary Magdalene and the Beloved Disciple appear as different persons.[40]

It has also been claimed that the inexplicable final chapter of the Gospel, with Peter catching 153 fish while the Beloved Disciple and Jesus exchange words is actually a hidden reference to Mary Magdalene, her original epithet "?· ±?³±?»?·?½" (h Magdalhnh) bearing the number 153 in Greek gematria.[41]

Ann Graham Brock summarized this reading of the texts in 2003. She demonstrated that an early Christian writing portrays authority as being represented in Mary Magdalene or in the church community structure.
[edit] Relationship with Jesus
13th century Romanesque capital showing Jesus and Mary Magdalene (Noli me tangere).
See also: Jesus bloodline

A few modernist writers have come forward with claims that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. These writers cite Gnostic writings to support their argument. Extrabiblical sources like the apocryphal Gospel of Philip depict Mary Magdalene as being closer to Jesus than any other disciple.

That apocryphal Gospel depicts Mary as Jesus’ koinonos, a Greek term indicating a "close friend" or "companion". Mary Magdalene is mentioned as one of three Marys "who always walked with the Lord" and as his companion (Philip 59.6-11). The work also says that Lord loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often (63.34-36).[7] The closeness described in these writings depicts Mary Magdalene, representing the Gnostics, as understanding Jesus and his teaching while the other disciples, representing the Church, did not. Kripal writes that "the historical sources are simply too contradictory and simultaneously too silent" to make absolute declarations regarding Jesus’ sexuality.[42] On the other hand, the historian John Dickson argues that it was common in early Christianity to kiss a fellow believer by way of greeting,[1 Pet. 5:14] and as such kissing would have no romantic connotations.[43]
The penitent Mary Magdalene, by Francesco Hayez.

Mary Magdalene appears with more frequency than other women in the canonical Gospels and is shown as being a close follower of Jesus. Mary’s presence at the Crucifixion and Jesus’ tomb, while hardly conclusive, is at least consistent with the role of grieving wife and widow.[44] Some interpret that since Jesus refused physical contact with Mary Magdalene after his death and resurrection, as reported in John 20:17, that would speak against the marriage theory.[45]

Proponents of a married status of Jesus argue that it would have been unthinkable for an adult, unmarried Jew to travel about teaching as a rabbi. However, in Jesus’ time the Jewish religion was very diverse and the role of the rabbi was not yet well defined. It was not until after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 that Rabbinic Judaism became dominant and the role of the rabbi made uniform in Jewish communities.[46]

The idea that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus was popularized by books like The Jesus Scroll (1972), Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982), The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991), The Woman with the Alabaster Jar (1993), Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed (1996), The Da Vinci Code (2003), and Jesus the Man[47] (2006); and by films like Bloodline (2008).

Mary Magdalene, the Apostle

According to Harvard theologian Karen King, Mary Magdalene was a prominent disciple and leader of one wing of the early Christian movement that promoted women’s leadership.[8] King cites references in the Gospel of John that the risen Jesus gives Mary special teaching and commissions her as an "Apostle to the Apostles." Mary is the first to announce the resurrection and to fulfill the role of an apostlesomeone sent by Jesus with a special message or commission, to spread the gospel ("good news") and to lead the early church. The first message she was given was to announce to Peter and the others that "He is risen!"[Mt. 28:7] [Mk. 16:9-11] [Lk. 24:10] [Jn. 20:2] Although the term is not specifically used of her (though, in Eastern Christianity she is referred to as "Equal to the Apostles"). Later tradition, however, names her as "the apostle to the apostles." King writes that the strength of this literary tradition makes it possible to suggest that historically Mary was a prophetic visionary and leader within one sector of the early Christian movement after the death of Jesus.[8]

Asbury Theological Seminary Bible scholar Ben Witherington III confirms the New Testament account of Mary Magdalene as historical: "Mary was an important early disciple and witness for Jesus."[48] He continues, "There is absolutely no early historical evidence that Mary’s relationship with Jesus was anything other than that of a disciple to her Master teacher."
Misidentification as a prostitute

    Few characters in the New Testament have been so sorely miscast as Mary Magdalene, whose reputation as a fallen woman originated not in the Bible but in a sixth-century sermon by Pope Gregory the Great. Not only is she not the repentant prostitute of legend, meditating and levitating in a cave, but she was not necessarily even a notable sinner: Being possessed by "seven demons" that were exorcised by Jesus, she was arguably more victim than sinner. And the idea, popularized by The Da Vinci Code, that Mary was Jesus’ wife and bore his child, while not totally disprovable, is the longest of long shots.

    – U.S. News and World Report[49]

Mary Magdalene by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys. Ca. 1860

Since the late 6th century, Mary Magdalene has been misidentified in Western Christian Tradition as an adulteress and repentant prostitute, although nowhere does the New Testament identify her as such. Pope Gregory the Great made a speech in 591 A.D. where he seemed to combine the actions of three women mentioned in the New Testament and also identified an unnamed woman as Mary Magdalene. He wrongly stated that she was a prostitute. This erroneous view was not corrected until 1969 when the Vatican issued a quiet retraction.

Jeffrey Kripal, a religion scholar, wrote, "Migdal or Magdala (meaning "tower" in Hebrew and Aramaic respectively) was a fishing town known, or so the legend goes, for its possibly punning connection to hairdressers (medgaddlela) and women of questionable reputation.[42] According to Kripal, the misidentification of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute goes back to the above-mentioned sermon by Pope Gregory.[42] However, Gregory identified Mary as a peccatrix, a sinful woman, using her as a model for the repentant sinner, not a meretrix, a prostitute. Gregory also identified Mary with the adulteress brought before Jesus (as recounted in the Pericope Adulterae,[Jn 8] concurring with 3rd and 4th century Church fathers that had already considered the sinful woman’s sin as "being unchaste.") Gregory’s identification and the consideration of the woman’s sin as sexual later probably gave rise to the image of Mary as a prostitute.
"Kreuzigung" by Meister des Marienlebens.

This wrong impression of Mary is perpetuated by much Western medieval Christian art. In many such depictions, Mary Magdalene is shown as having long hair which she wears down over her shoulders, while other women follow contemporary standards of propriety by hiding their hair beneath headdresses or kerchiefs. The Magdalene’s hair may be rendered as red, while the other women of the New Testament in these same depictions ordinarily have dark hair beneath a scarf. This disparity between depictions of women can be seen in works such as the Crucifixion paintings by the Meister des Marienlebens.

This image of Mary as a prostitute was followed by many writers and artists until the 20th century. Even today the misidentification of Mary Magdalene as the adulteress is still prolonged by various Christian and secular groups today.

On this day…

• 2 Kings 18 – 2024
• 2 Kings 17 – 2024
• 2 Kings 16 – 2024
• November 3, 2016 – 2016
• The Two Classes of Christ’s Church – 2011
• Steve Jobs: “He Knew the Couple of Things He Wanted to Do – 2011
• Persecution is the expectation – 2010
• Being of use in a moment – 2010
• Unbelief or contempt? – 2010
• Take this to heart – 2010