MARY MAGDALENE

MARY MAGDALENE . Mentioned by name in only fourteen verses in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene is nevertheless one of the most important and influential figures in the history of Christianity. Mary came from a prosperous town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which in the canonical gospels is called by its Aramaic name, Magdala. In Greek it is known as Tarichaeae. In antiquity the town had a reputation for exporting quality salt fish and fish oil. It is possible Mary herself was engaged in some business related to the fishing industry. This occupation is well attested for women in early Roman Palestine, and the Herodian court at nearby Tiberias regularly purchased goods from female suppliers. When Mary is introduced in Luke 8:2, she is in the company of Joanna, the wife of a Herodian official, suggesting Mary had contact with the court.

Luke presents Mary Magdalene as one who followed Jesus during his ministry in the Galilee. According to the third gospel, Jesus healed Mary of an unspecified disorder, which singles her out as the only close companion whom he cures. Luke also records that Mary "ministered" (the Greek verb means "to care for" or "to provide") to Jesus and his followers "out of [her] resources." The verse may recall Mary's patronage as a well-to-do businesswoman.

Whenever a group of women followers is listed in the canonical gospels, Mary is mentioned first, an indication of her preeminence. The gospels also relate that Mary is present at the crucifixion in Jerusalem. Finally, she is the only person to be named in all four gospels as a witness to the resurrection, subsequently qualifying her to receive the accolade of apostle.

Mary in Non-Canonical Literature

In the late nineteenth century fragments of an extra-canonical gospel written in the name of Mary Magdalene were found. The discovery of an incomplete Coptic manuscript was followed in the early twentieth century by the recovery of additional portions of the text in Greek. Scholars generally date its composition to the second century. The gospel portrays Mary as the recipient of a vision of Christ in which she is praised for her fidelity. Peter appears as an adversary, attacking Mary when she explains her vision. Peter asks incredulously whether Jesus really did "speak with a woman without our knowledge [and] not openly."

The Gospel of Thomas, also a second-century text, depicts Peter's attempt to discredit any authority Mary possesses among the disciples, attributing to him the declaration, "Let Mary leave us, because women are not worthy of life." The risen Jesus refutes Peter's dismissal, replying, "Look, I myself shall lead her so that I will make her male in order that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."

A large corpus of Gnostic literature found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 was published in the 1970s. The texts include a number of extra-canonical manuscripts concerning Mary Magdalene, notably the third-century Pistis Sophia, the Gospel of Philip, and the Dialogue of the Savior. The Sophia of Jesus Christ was dated to the early fourth century, although some scholars argue that it exhibits features suggesting an earlier date of composition. These writings aroused new interest in Mary's relationship with Jesus and in her authority among early Christians. They also indicate a wide diversity of teaching during the formative years of the new religious movement.

Mary is depicted in the Gnostic works as having a particularly intimate relationship with Jesus. She is praised as worthy of having received private teaching from him and she is presented as a leader within the Christian community. Of particular interest, the Gospel of Philip portrays Mary as the one whom Jesus loved more than the other disciples and as one whom he kissed frequently. The act of kissing as a greeting and sign of affection is well attested as a common practice among early Christians, as Paul's epistles witness. Jesus' kiss, therefore, does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship, though some twentieth-century commentators have interpreted it that way.

Peter appears in the Gnostic texts consistently opposing Mary's authority. As a result, some scholars suggest that the Gnostic writings reveal a struggle within the early church between a faction that recognizes in Mary a model for women's authority and leadership, and a Petrine group that opposes women's authority. Other scholars interpret Peter as representing the emerging orthodox position, while Mary stands for the Gnostic view.

"Apostle to the Apostles"

Writing in Galatians 1:11–17, Paul intimates that an apostle is one who receives an appearance of the risen Lord and one who is commissioned to proclaim his message. In the canonical gospels Mary is recorded as fulfilling both of these conditions. Hippolytus, a third-century bishop, is generally thought to be the first person to name her as an "apostle to the apostles." Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century and John Chrysostom in the fifth also accord Mary this title. Some scholars argue that the appellation of apostle is honorific in Mary's case. However, as she meets the criteria, there seems no need to assume the title was anything less than recognition of her apostleship. The persistence and survival of the epithet confirm Mary's importance among early Christians.

In the sixth century Pope Gregory I (the Great) declared that Mary Magdalene was beloved of the savior and was the leader of a group of apostles. He also proclaimed that the Galilean Mary Magdalene, the Judean Mary of Bethany, and the other Mary were one and the same person, conflating three distinct women. In the West, pious myths arose based on the conflation. According to an eleventh-century tradition, Mary, now identified as the sister of Martha and Lazarus, introduced Christianity to France. In eastern Christianity the confusion did not arise, for the distinctions among the women were maintained.

Mary the Penitent

Mary's reputation as an apostle, preacher, and leader declined as male authority increased in orthodox Christianity. Gregory I not only conflated three Marys, he also made Mary Magdalene into a prostitute, declaring her a redeemed whore in a sermon in 591. Mary was stigmatized as a prostitute through an association with the unnamed sinner mentioned in Luke 7:36–50, an erroneous identification that endured for fourteen hundred years. In church teaching and Christian art, Mary was portrayed as a model of repentance and was used as a propaganda tool. Her misrepresentation served the purposes of a church promoting asceticism, by making her into a moral paradigm: the unfaithful harlot forgiven and restored.

Scholarly consensus since the 1980s has returned Mary Magdalene to her position of authority and leadership in early Christianity. The identification of her as a prostitute has been exposed as mistaken and rejected for lack of evidence. Study of the noncanonical literature has revealed that Mary's influence endured for at least six centuries prior to her conflation with Mary of Bethany and the so-called other Mary. At the same time, the Gnostic literature has raised questions about early Christian teachings regarding the salvation of women. Mary's canonical role as a close associate of Jesus, a faithful disciple, and a witness to the resurrection, coupled with the noncanonical accounts of her as a preacher and missionary, have revised her memory as a role model for Christian women.

See Also

Gender and Religion, article on Gender and Christianity; Gnosticism; Nag Hammadi.

Bibliography

Boer, Esther de. Mary Magdalene: Beyond the Myth. Translated by John Bowden. Harrisburg, Pa., 1997. De Boer revisits the tradition of Mary Magdalene as a redeemed prostitute. She examines both the canonical literature and the Gospel of Mary, placing the accounts in their historical, social, cultural, and theological contexts within formative Christianity. De Boer's work concludes that Mary was not a penitent whore, but a courageous and persistent disciple.

Brock, Ann Graham. Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority. Cambridge, Mass., 2003. This revised doctoral dissertation argues that the Magdalene fulfills the criteria of an apostle. Brock carefully and persuasively reexamines the canonical gospel portraits, particularly those of Luke and John, before turning to the Gnostic literature. Her treatment of a frequently hypothesized rivalry between proponents of the Magdalene and a Petrine group is especially instructive. Brock provides a comprehensive bibliography of the literature in French, German, Italian, and English.

Haskins, Susan. Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor. London, 1993. Haskins explores how the story of the Magdalene has been transmitted through Christian history not only by means of biblical and early Christian texts, but also through visual representations from the mid-third century through the last decade of the twentieth century. Haskins's analysis of the texts seems rudimentary compared to subsequent studies, but as one of the first scholarly works on Mary Magdalene, her book remains an important contribution. It is particularly valuable for its medieval representations.

Jansen, Katherine Ludwig. "Maria Magdalena: Apostolorum Apostola. " In Women Preachers and Prophets through Two Millennia of Christianity, edited by Beverly Mayne Kienzle and Pamela J. Walker, pp. 57–96. Berkeley, Calif., 1998. Jansen notes that between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries medieval preaching circulated the story of the Magdalene as apostola. She looks at examples that draw upon pious traditions presenting Mary as a model missionary.

King, Karen. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle. Santa Rosa, Calif., 2003. A scholar of Gnosticism, King argues the Gospel of Mary privileges inner spiritual knowledge over externally acquired knowledge. She examines the Gospel' s teaching on various topics such as the body, women's authority, and visionary experiences, pointing out that the writing rejects Jesus' suffering and death as a path to eternal life.

Marjanen, Antti. The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents. Leiden, 1996. This study, a revised dissertation, evaluates the descriptions of Mary Magdalene found in Gnostic literature. It concludes that she is presented as a prominent, even intimate, disciple of Jesus, who is a role model for women in early Christian communities. Marjanen observes a tension, however. Although Mary Magdalene is commended, the language subversively reflects a patriarchal culture that connects the male with the spiritual, perfect, and transcendent and the female with the sensual, incomplete, and mundane.

Robinson, James M., ed. The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Translated by members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. San Francisco, 1977.

Schaberg, Jane. Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: The Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament. New York, 2002. Drawing on canonical and extra-biblical literature, this feminist study approaches its subject through an analysis of legend, archaeology, and Gnostic traditions, employing Virginia Woolf's insights into structures of domination and communality.

Diane Treacy-Cole (2005)