Floors in basement and cellar
What is the power of the image of Mary Magdalene. Was Mary Magdalene a harlot? Gospel of Mark

What is the power of the image of Mary Magdalene. Was Mary Magdalene a harlot? Gospel of Mark

Therefore, the Church calls them myrrh-bearing women. To them the first angel announced the Resurrection of the Lord (see: Mk. 16:1-8). For her great devotion and sacrificial love for her Teacher, she was honored to be the first to see the resurrected Savior. He instructed her to announce His resurrection to the apostles. Saint Mary Magdalene appeared to the apostles as an evangelist.

This is sung in the stichera of Pascha (creation of St. John of Damascus):

“Come from the vision of the wife of the evangelist, and cry to Zion: receive from us the joys of the annunciation of the Resurrection of Christ; show off, rejoice and rejoice, Jerusalem, seeing the King of Christ from the tomb, as if the bridegroom is happening.

There is not a single word in the New Testament that Saint Mary Magdalene was a sinner. This opinion is rooted only in Western culture. A certain stage in the formation of this opinion was the identification of Mary Magdalene with the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with myrrh in the house of Simon the Pharisee (see Luke 7:36-50). The Gospel text does not provide any basis for such an assertion. The Lord forgave that woman her sins, saying, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace” (Luke 7:50). It says nothing about casting out demons. If the Savior did this earlier, then why were sins not forgiven at the same time? Following this, the Evangelist Luke immediately (chapter 8) speaks of pious women who served the Lord.

The mention of Mary Magdalene is accompanied by a remark (“from which seven demons came out”), which clearly shows that she is mentioned for the first time.
The final approval in the West of an arbitrary and erroneous opinion about St. Mary Magdalene as a former sinner was facilitated by the book of the Italian Dominican monk, Archbishop of Genoa James of Voragina (now Varazze), the creation of which dates back to 1260.

This collection of legends and biographies of saints has become a source of subjects for painting and literature. The author of the collection identifies Mary Magdalene with Mary, sister righteous Lazarus and Martha. He writes that the names of their parents are Sirus and Eucharia, and they came from a royal family. Their children shared a rich inheritance: Mary got Magdala, Lazarus - part of Jerusalem, and Martha - Bethany.

It is easy to see in this story a naive projection of the feudal relations of medieval Europe onto ancient Palestine. Arriving by ship in Massilia (modern Marseille), Mary preached to the pagans. Then it is told about her removal to the desert, where there is no water and food, but where she received heavenly food. She spent 30 years there.

“A certain priest who settled nearby becomes a witness to this. He meets Mary Magdalene, who tells him of her imminent death and instructs him to inform Blessed Maximinus about this. Having met on a certain day with blessed Maximinus and having received the last communion from him, she dies. Maximinus buries her and orders her to be buried next to the saint after his death.

As a source for this part, Jacob presents us with “some kind of treatise” by Josephus Flavius and “the books of Maximinus himself”. It is not known what works we are talking about” (Narusevich I.V. The Life of Mary Magdalene in the “Golden Legend” by Yakov Voraginsky).
It is easy to notice the confusion of plots: the legendary biography of Mary Magdalene and the adapted life of St. Mary of Egypt († c. 522).

This combination of two personalities - the holy evangelist and the repentant harlot, who later became the great hermit - from the "Golden Legend" passes into European art and becomes a stable phenomenon.

So, around 1310, Giotto di Bondone and his students painted the chapel of Mary Magdalene in the Lower Church of San Francesco in Assisi. On the wall above the entrance to the chapel there is a scene, which is a direct borrowing from the Life of St. Mary of Egypt - "Mary Magdalene receives the robe of the hermit Zosima." A bronze-tinted wooden sculpture by Donatello (1445) expressively depicts a desert woman exhausted by her feat.

Her body is covered with tattered rags. This masterpiece has little to do with the real-historical image of St. Mary Magdalene. Again we see a mixture of images of two saints. Gradually, an extensive gallery of paintings on the theme of "Penitent Mary Magdalene" is being created.

Suffice it to recall such artists as Vecellio Titian (1477–1576), El Greco (1541–1614), Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1573–1610), Guido Reni (1575–1642), Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), Simon Vue ( 1590-1649), José de Ribera (1591-1652), Georges Dumesnil de Latour (1593-1652), Francesco Hayes (1791-1882); sculptors Pedro de Mena (1628-1688), Antonio Canova (1757-1822) and others.

Orthodox Church in the story of the life of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, he strictly adheres to the Gospel testimonies and reliable church tradition. The saint preached the gospel in Rome.

Some researchers believe that the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans has in mind precisely St. Mary Magdalene: “Greet Miriam, who worked hard for us” (Rom. 16: 6).
AT last years the saint helped the Apostle John the Theologian in Ephesus to preach the Gospel.

There she died. Under Leo the Wise in 886, her holy relics were transferred from Ephesus to Constantinople. Her memory is celebrated on July 22/August 4 and on the week of the myrrh-bearing women.

", we continue to collect and tie together the scattered information about the mysterious, covered with ancient legends, secrets and sacred venerations of the name. Why delve into the legends of a thousand years of antiquity, when you do not know for sure what happened just a century ago, the reader will ask. it is easier to leave it as it is and habitually be content with generally accepted versions of the Orthodox and Catholic tradition? In this habitual and indifferent contentment, we admit, after all, humanity has spent a truly terrible two thousand years, having passed through bloody wars, conquests and crusades, milestones of economic enslavement, as a result of which they built just a technocratic model of a consumer society, in which knowledge about the nature of man and the purpose of his short stay on this small beautiful planet is completely lost. And today, even if someone does not believe, but we have approached the brink, beyond which another global destruction is possible. Why? We will try to answer this question through a deep consideration of the essence of such a grandiose, seemingly fantastic and unthinkable phenomenon for ordinary mediocre consciousness, as Mary Magdalene. Indeed, behind this name, believe me, there is much more than the story of one of the devoted disciples of one of the Teachers of mankind.

Let us not at all doubt the historical fact of the coming of the Savior as the Son of God in those distant times and in his epoch-making mission. Worryingly, there is a well-founded suspicion that true teachings of Christ was distorted, rewritten and adapted to create a new powerful, more advanced religious institution, the purpose of which is ordinary power and manipulation of the consciousness of the masses. We will certainly highlight in the near future the striking paradoxicality of the fanatical conviction of the religious consciousness of Christians in their own exclusivity and ambitions for the Truth, while the officially recognized and objective point of view of modern historians tritely casts doubt on almost all the basic sources, which for some reason are unshakable and unshakable for the billionth church electorate. untouchable phenomena of "manifestations of divine revelation". Not in order to encroach on the dignity of believers of one of the revered religions, but in order to look at the situation from a slightly different angle, in order to still see the truth through the deceitful dustiness of centuries-old snows. Judging by the information found in the Gnostic works of the Nag Hammadi library, there is good reason to believe that the true Teaching of Christ went with her, Mary Magdalene, to the circles of the early Gnostic Christians, while the other branch, the apostolic "through Peter and Paul" created what we see today. Further confrontation or struggle for power divided the followers of Christ into DISCISENTS and APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANS. As a result, the second simply destroyed the first. Read more about this in.

So, not unreasonably continuing to assume that Mary Magdalene is That, thanks to which our human civilization has been "floating" for two millennia, let's take a closer look at the form in which information about her has come down to our days through the Orthodox and Catholic tradition. We will use the most authoritative information from Wikipedia.

Mary Magdalene(Hebrew מרים המגדלית‏‎‎‎, other Greek Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνή, lat. Maria Magdalena) - a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian saint, myrrh-bearer, who, according to the gospel text, followed Christ, was present at his Crucifixion and was a witness to his posthumous apparition. In the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the veneration of Magdalene differs: Orthodoxy honors her according to the gospel text - exclusively as a myrrh-bearing woman cured of seven demons and appearing only in a few episodes of the New Testament, and in the tradition of the Catholic Church for a long time it was customary to identify with her about image of the penitent harlot and Mary from Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, and also to apply extensive legendary material.

In the New Testament, her name is mentioned only in a few episodes:

She was healed by Jesus Christ from being possessed by seven demons (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9)
Then she began to follow Christ, serving him and sharing her property (Mark 15:40-41, Luke 8:3)
Then she was present at Golgotha at the death of Jesus (Matt. 27:56, etc.)
After that, she witnessed his burial (Mt. 27:61, etc.)
She also became one of the myrrh-bearing women to whom the angel announced the Resurrection (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1-8)
She was the first to see the resurrected Jesus, at first she mistook him for a gardener, but when she found out, she rushed to touch him. Christ did not allow her to do this (Do not touch Me), but instead instructed the apostles to announce his resurrection (John 20:11-18).

In Orthodoxy

Mary Magdalene is revered as a saint Equal to the Apostles, relying only on the gospel testimonies listed above. In Byzantine literature, you can find a continuation of her story: after spending some time in Jerusalem, some time after the Crucifixion, Mary Magdalene went to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary to John the Theologian and helped him in his labors. (It is worth noting that it is John who provides the most information about Magdalene out of the four evangelists).

It is believed that Mary Magdalene preached the gospel in Rome, as evidenced by the appeal to her in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans: "Greet Miriam, who worked hard for us" (Rom. 16:6). Probably, in connection with this journey, an Easter tradition associated with her name arose later. The death of Mary Magdalene, according to this current of Christianity, was peaceful, she died in Ephesus.

The Orthodox tradition, in contrast to Catholicism, does not identify Mary Magdalene with the unnamed evangelical sinner, but honors her exclusively as the Equal-to-the-Apostles myrrh-bearing saint. There is no mention of fornication in her Akathist. In addition, Orthodoxy did not identify the Magdalene with several other evangelical women, which happened in Catholicism, it traditionally honored these women separately. Dimitry of Rostovsky emphasizes: “The Eastern Greek-Russian Orthodox Church now, as before, recognizes all these three personalities, mentioned in the Gospels with different signs, as different, special ones, not wanting to base historical information on arbitrary, only probable interpretations.”

Relics in Orthodoxy.

According to Demetrius of Rostov's Readings of the Menaion, in 886, during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Philosopher, the relics of the saint who had died in Ephesus were solemnly transferred to the monastery of Saint Lazarus in Constantinople. Their further fate is not described. At present, the relics of Mary Magdalene are known to be found in the following Athos monasteries: Simonopetra (hand), Esfigmen (foot), Dochiar (particle) and Kutlumush (particle).

In the Catholic tradition

In the Catholic tradition, Mary Magdalene, called directly by name only in the New Testament testimonies listed above, was identified with several other gospel characters:

Mary, mentioned in the Gospel of John as the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who received Jesus at their home in Bethany (John 12:1-8)
unnamed woman who anointed the head of Jesus in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6-7, Mark 14:3-9)
a nameless sinner (harlot) who washed the feet of Christ with ointment in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:37-38) (for more details, see Anointing of Jesus with ointment).

Thus, Magdalene, identifying with these characters (as well as borrowing some plots from the life of the non-evangelical repentant sinner of the 5th century, St. Mary of Egypt), acquires the features of a penitent harlot. Its main attribute is a vessel with incense.

According to this tradition, Magdalene earned fornication, after seeing Christ, she left the craft and began to follow him, then in Bethany she washed his feet with the world and wiped them with her hair, was present at Golgotha, etc., and then became a hermit in the territory of modern France.

Opinion of the Fathers of the Church. The image of a harlot.

One of the main reasons for identifying Magdalene with a harlot is the recognition by the Western Church that she was the nameless woman who washed the feet of Jesus with the world.

And behold, a woman of that city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster vessel of ointment, and, standing behind at His feet and weeping, she began to pour her tears over His feet and wipe her head with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet. , and smeared with peace. (Luke 7:37-38).

The problem of reconciling the gospel stories about the anointing of Jesus by an anonymous woman was solved by the Fathers of the Church in different ways (for more details, see Anointing of Jesus with Chrism). In particular, St. Augustine believed that all three anointings were performed by the same woman. Clement of Alexandria and Ambrose of Milan also admitted that we could be talking about the same woman.

Indirect evidence of the identification of Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene is first found in the Commentary on the Song of Songs by Hippolytus of Rome, indicating that the first to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared were Mary and Martha. This is obviously about the sisters of Lazarus, but placed in the context of the morning of the Resurrection, in which Mary Magdalene actually appears in all four Gospels. The identification of all the women appearing in the gospel stories about the anointing of Jesus with Mary Magdalene was finally made by the Pope of Rome, St. Gregory the Great (591): that Mary, from whom seven demons were expelled according to Mark ”(23 omily). The unspecified sin of Mary Magdalene/Mary of Bethany was interpreted as fornication, that is, prostitution.

In the popular consciousness of the inhabitants of medieval Europe, the image of the penitent harlot Mary Magdalene gained extreme popularity and colorfulness and has been entrenched to this day. This myth found reinforcement and literary processing in the "Golden Legend" by Yakov Voraginsky - a collection of the lives of the saints, the second most common book in the Middle Ages after the Bible.

In the 20th century, the Catholic Church, in an effort to correct possible errors of interpretation, softens the wording - after the reform in the Novus Ordo calendar of 1969, Mary Magdalene no longer appears as a "repentant". But, despite this, the traditional perception of her as a repentant harlot by the mass consciousness, which has developed over the centuries due to the influence of a large number of works of art, remains unchanged.

SUMMARY

And again we are faced with an impenetrable "sacred" fog, cast in the early Christian centuries by the brilliant "architects" of human history. Do not let it go then, who knows what creative path our civilization would have taken and what heights it could have reached. In the meantime, nothing is known for certain about Mary Magdalene from official sources, but on a subconscious level, the vast majority formed an erroneous opinion: " this story doesn't look very clean, so don't go into too much detail". This is at least what the author of these lines thought until now. And given that 90% of the parishioners have no idea at all who is depicted on the icons, just a slight unobtrusive hint of "impurity" is enough to compare with the "most holy church fathers" the name of Magdalene was bypassed.

In fairness, let's sum up a small intermediate result:

Mary Magdalene was not a harlot possessed by demons- because there is no direct indication of this anywhere.

Mary Magdalene was the most beloved disciple of Jesus Christ what evidence:
- Gospels of Philip
- Gospel of Mary
- the mysterious painting by Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper",
- the version of Rigden Djappo himself (!!!), about it later...

Pure Knowledge from Jesus went with Mary to the early Gnostic groups, which were subsequently ruthlessly destroyed by representatives of apostolic Christianity (here we can draw a tragic analogy with the Cathars, in the XII century).
It was Mary Magdalene that Jesus Christ entrusted secret of the holy grail(more on this in our next posts).

In addition, the history of the Knights Templar deserves special consideration, who worshiped her as the greatest shrine ...

In conclusion, we can say the following, in our opinion, the fog was not thrown by chance, and it is far from accidental that the name of Mary today is indirectly defamed, and defined in the church shadow. They try not to mention her, she is not on revered icons, they do not know about her. In Orthodox churches, her image can be seen near the crucifixion of Christ - hunched back, with a darkened face, downcast eyes. This is how I see her from those ancient and memorable times, when I first crossed the threshold of an Orthodox church. Neither in the large-circulation Orthodox literature that I read later, nor in the "soul-saving conversations" with confessors later, have I ever heard any mention of either her life or her spiritual feat.

Consciously or unknowingly, the Church diligently keeps silent about Mary Magdalene. And we already know why.

The Qumran manuscripts, found in caves near the Dead Sea, contain a rich collection of an ancient community that lived here in the first centuries of Christianity. In addition to historically reliable evidence, it contains a number of pseudepigraphas. Scattered texts, which are only partially preserved, as well as some documents stolen by local smugglers, give great freedom to conjecture non-existent information. In particular, it is claimed that a passage from the Gospel was found, in which it is written that Christ had a wife. But so far, the authenticity of the text has not been confirmed by the scientific community, while the authenticity of the papyrus is beyond doubt.

Saint Mary Magdalene: a true story

Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were really well acquainted - this is confirmed by the Four Gospels - documents of the Church that have proven authenticity. Various gospels from Mary Magdalene, Judas Iscariot and other documents are called apocrypha.

These are books that were written by the authors of antiquity and the Middle Ages - they have been preserved in whole or in part, but so much so that the scientific community proves their non-historicity, partiality, and even direct inconsistency with the facts. Also, many books of antiquity are pseudo-epigraphic, that is, they do not correspond to the declared authorship. Only four gospels are completely historical, epigraphic and reliable - from John, Matthew, Mark and Luke. They are recognized by all Christian denominations of the world.

The story of Mary Magdalene is unusual and mysterious: under the influence of modern culture and some personal judgments of those who understood the biblical story in their own way, a whole halo of mystery was created around the saint. Some believe that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus Christ because on the ingenious canvas "The Last Supper" the Apostle John the Theologian is located on Christ's chest, has long hair and has no beard.

Many considered him a girl, and since Mary Magdalene, among other myrrh-bearing wives, followed Christ everywhere, she was chosen as the alleged wife depicted at the Last Supper. But the narrators miss the fact that, according to the periodization of the gospel events, the "beloved disciple" of Christ - as he calls himself in his gospel - John was still a very young youth. From his Gospel we read where John was at the Last Supper, when the disciples were talking about the traitor:

“Having said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said: Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at each other, wondering who He was talking about. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at the chest of Jesus. Simon Peter made a sign to him to ask who it was, about whom he was talking. (John 13:21-24)

Thus, John testifies that at the Last Supper he actually reclined on Christ's chest.

Some people conclude that Mary Magdalene is a harlot by reading about the penitent woman described in the Gospel:

“And behold, a woman of that city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster vessel with myrrh, and, standing behind His feet and weeping, she began to pour her tears over His feet and wipe her hair with her hair, and kissed his feet. Him, and smeared with peace. (Lk 7:37-38)

The act of this woman is dictated by gratitude to the Savior for forgiven sins. That source of Divine love in her heart, opened by such forgiveness, allowed her to come to the feast without fear and express her repentance and gratitude to the Teacher. But nowhere is it said that it was Magdalene and there is no evidence that Mary was a harlot, and speculation about her vices remains speculation, as well as the desire of people to turn historical accuracy into a romantic (in their opinion) theory.

In reality, Mary Magdalene was possessed by demons, no one could help her, and she came to Christ, asking for healing, and received it.

Life of Mary Magdalene

Mary of Magdala, a Galilean, was chosen by Christ to serve himself, since, of course, such service is a gift and a high honor. The Lord cast out seven demons from her, a number signifying completeness and absolute deliverance from all passion. After such a gift, Mary's whole heart belonged to Christ, and she followed Him, as she was convinced that He was her Savior and God.

Together with other myrrh-bearing women, Mary helped with household chores, so that the Teacher would not lack servants, regarding cooking and other household trifles. Her love for Christ was indeed very touching: from the gospel narrative we know that she never left Him, was not afraid when the Savior was taken into custody, stood not far from the Crucifixion, saw His torment and death, took part in swaddling and laying in the tomb , became the first who saw Christ after the Resurrection.

Thus, Mary Magdalene is a key figure, a symbol of the Good News, because she was the first to exclaim the very words that we repeat every year on the greatest holiday: “Christ is Risen!”. Her faith knew no doubts, the simplicity of her devotion made possible her apostolic service along with the Twelve main disciples of Christ - the founders of the doctrine.

According to legend, after Pentecost, Mary preached the gospel to the world along with the apostles. Mary Magdalene is called Equal-to-the-Apostles for her enormous contribution to the preaching work. She preached in Italy and once came to the pagan emperor Tiberius, saying to him "Christ is Risen" and held out a gift - egg, the only thing that the ascetic had. The emperor contemptuously replied that it would be more likely that this egg would immediately turn red than he would believe in the Resurrection. The egg turned red at the same moment. Historians do not recognize the event with a miraculous egg as reliable, but the tradition itself fell in love with Christians.

Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene

The appearance of the resurrected Christ to Mary Magdalene is a meeting of two friends, because this is how Christ treats his followers: “you are my friends,” says the Creator of the world through his apostles and to us. But such friendship must be earned by the devotion shown by a simple woman from Magdala, an unremarkable ordinary resident.

Maria, barely dawn, and Shabbat ended - the time of rest - was already in the grotto and found empty sheets. She was frightened and wept, because she thought that Christ was stolen and hidden, and the revelation of His resurrection was not yet known to people.

Ravbouni!

What did she feel at the moment when, together with the inconceivable and unimaginable Resurrection, a new reality opened before her with endless life and a new world order. When the usual picture of the world suddenly changed, and immortality, given by the Redemption, became available to man. At first, she didn't even recognize His face - it didn't fit in her mind that everything could be so good.

It is unlikely that she at this moment thought about the meaning of what happened. After all, the main thing is that the Teacher is near and death no longer separates them - what could be more important for a loving heart.

"I saw the Lord!" - only Maria could say at the questioning look of the students. That was incredible. "He is truly the Son of God!" — how difficult it was to believe it after the bloody mess into which the “servants of the law” turned the Teacher.

Where is Mary Magdalene buried?

The tomb of Mary Magdalene is located in Ephesus, where John the Evangelist lived in exile. It was under the strict guidance of St. Mary Magdalene, he wrote his 20th chapter of the Gospel, which describes the meeting with Christ after His Resurrection. Those who wish can find the tomb with her resting place today, but the holy relics have not been there since the time of Leo the Philosopher, who brought them to the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the 9-10th century.

The relics of Mary Magdalene were transferred first to Constantinople, and after the destruction of the city - to Rome in the Cathedral of St. John Lateran, which was later renamed in honor of Mary Magdalene. Part of the relics is located in France near Marseille, in the town of Provage, in a church consecrated in her honor. Another part of the relics is kept by Athos monks in their monasteries on the Holy Mountain, where women have no access, and part - in Jerusalem. Particles of relics can also be found in some churches in Russia, since the veneration of this holy woman is very common here.

What do they pray for Mary Magalina? The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was a courageous person; in her, her immeasurable love for God conquered fear, cowardice, and unbelief. Therefore, Christians of some denominations pray to her for courage and pure faith. The saint constantly traveled to preach the Christian faith different nations- you can ask her for strengthening in faith and enlightenment with the truth. As one of the myrrh-bearing wives, Mary Magdalene showed the ideal of femininity, pleasing to God - sacrificial, loving and faithful.

Memorial Day of Mary Magdalene is set on July 22 (August 4) and on the day of the Myrrhbearing Women on the 3rd Sunday after Easter.

The fact that Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus Christ contradicts and destroys the whole ideology of Christianity about the Consubstantial Trinity, elevating the God-man Christ to the level ordinary person to be fruitful and multiply for earthly purposes. But the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" was given by God to Adam and Eve in Paradise, and not vice versa. Therefore, attempts to reduce God to the level of man will not end in success, because true Christianity is indestructible and goes through the ages, regardless of attempts the mighty of the world crush it with persecution and other obstacles. Because the word that we hear from the Gospel is true: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 14:18). And all Christians firmly believe that true Christianity will not be destroyed even before last day the existence of the universe, and the husks and tares of false teachings will fall away and burn in unquenchable fire.

My friend had a question about the fate of Mary Magdalene. Was she a sinner before Jesus Christ cast seven demons out of her? In the West, her image is interpreted as a repentant sinner, but we have not found confirmation of this anywhere in the gospel texts. Only that Mary Magdalene became one of the myrrh-bearing women, faithfully following Christ until His death on the cross.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was a native of the Galilean city of Magdala (tribe of Issachar), located on the western shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, near Capernaum. It is mentioned by all four evangelists. After the Lord healed her of evil spirits (see Luke 8:2), she joined those pious women who accompanied the Lord everywhere during His earthly life and served Him by their name. She was a witness to the suffering of the Savior on the Cross and was present at His burial. At dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, she went with other pious women to the tomb of Jesus Christ to anoint His body with spices. Therefore, the Church calls them myrrh-bearing women. To them the first angel announced the Resurrection of the Lord (see: Mk. 16: 1-8). For her great devotion and sacrificial love for her Teacher, she was honored to be the first to see the resurrected Savior. He instructed her to announce His resurrection to the apostles. Saint Mary Magdalene appeared to the apostles as an evangelist. This is sung in the stichera of Pascha (creation of St. John of Damascus):

The final approval in the West of an arbitrary and erroneous opinion about St. Mary Magdalene as a former sinner was facilitated by the book of the Italian Dominican monk, Archbishop of Genoa James of Voragina (now Varazze), the creation of which dates back to 1260. This collection of legends and biographies of saints has become a source of subjects for painting and literature. The author of the collection identifies Mary Magdalene with Mary, the sister of the righteous Lazarus and Martha. He writes that the names of their parents are Sirus and Eucharia, and they came from a royal family. Their children shared a rich inheritance: Mary got Magdala, Lazarus - part of Jerusalem, and Martha - Bethany. It is easy to see in this story a naive projection of the feudal relations of medieval Europe onto ancient Palestine. Arriving by ship in Massilia (modern Marseille), Mary preached to the pagans. Then it is told about her removal to the desert, where there is no water and food, but where she received heavenly food. She spent 30 years there. “A certain priest who settled nearby becomes a witness to this. He meets Mary Magdalene, who tells him of her imminent death and instructs him to inform Blessed Maximinus about this. Having met on a certain day with blessed Maximinus and having received the last communion from him, she dies. Maximinus buries her and orders her to be buried next to the saint after his death. As a source for this part, Jacob presents us with “some kind of treatise” by Josephus Flavius and “the books of Maximinus himself”. It is not known what works are being referred to. Narusevich I.V. Life of Mary Magdalene in the "Golden Legend" by Yakov Voraginsky).

It is easy to notice the confusion of plots: the legendary biography of Mary Magdalene and the adapted life of St. Mary of Egypt († c. 522). This combination of two personalities - the holy evangelist and the repentant harlot, who later became the great hermit - from the "Golden Legend" passes into European art and becomes a stable phenomenon. So, around 1310, Giotto di Bondone and his students painted the chapel of Mary Magdalene in the Lower Church of San Francesco in Assisi. On the wall above the entrance to the chapel is a scene that is a direct borrowing from the Life of St. Mary of Egypt - "Mary Magdalene receives the robe of the hermit Zosima." A bronze-tinted wooden sculpture by Donatello (1445) expressively depicts a desert woman exhausted by her feat. Her body is covered with tattered rags. This masterpiece has little to do with the real-historical image of St. Mary Magdalene. Again we see a mixture of images of two saints. Gradually, an extensive gallery of paintings on the theme of "Penitent Mary Magdalene" is being created. Suffice it to recall such artists as Vecellio Titian (1477-1576), El Greco (1541-1614), Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1573-1610), Guido Reni (1575-1642), Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), Simon Vue ( 1590-1649), José de Ribera (1591-1652), Georges Dumesnil de Latour (1593-1652), Francesco Hayes (1791-1882); sculptors Pedro de Mena (1628-1688), Antonio Canova (1757-1822) and others.

The Orthodox Church in the story of the life of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene strictly adheres to the gospel testimonies and reliable church tradition. The saint preached the gospel in Rome. Some researchers believe that the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans has in mind precisely St. Mary Magdalene: “Greet Miriam, who worked hard for us” (Rom. 16: 6).

Mentioned both in Catholicism and in Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Shelters for fallen women are named after her, the image of a penitent sinner is identified with her, and prayers addressed to the icon of Magdalene grant humility, courage, help in persecuting and admonishing the Gentiles. Mary is traditionally considered the patroness of social workers, preachers and teachers. Mary Magdalene was also a favorite subject for Renaissance artists.

Childhood and youth

The biography of Magdalene is full of mysteries and secrets, because the only source indicating the reality of the life of the legendary follower of Jesus Christ is the gospel text. Therefore, biographers and scientists cannot confirm or refute whether Mary Magdalene is a historical person to this day.

There is practically no information about the childhood and youth of this heroine. The name of the supporter of the messiah is mentioned only in some sources - in the Gospel of Luke, where miraculous healing from demons is mentioned in the story of the existence of the Son of God, as well as in other three manuscripts - John, Matthew and Mark - the name of a woman can be found only in a few episodes.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was born in the Israeli city of Magdala, located on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, in the northern part of the Holy Land.

One can only guess about the family in which Mary grew up and was brought up, and who her parents were, because the scriptures are silent about this. Although Western European legends say that her parents were named Sir and Eucharia, other sources indicate that Magdalene was an orphan and worked in the market.

It is worth paying attention to the name of the disciple of Jesus Christ. Mary comes from the Hebrew language, and the Christian tradition translates this name as "lady." According to traditional biblical ideas, this was the name of the mother of Jesus Christ, after whom other revered Christian figures were named. And the nickname Magdalene has geographical roots and means "a native of the city of Migdal-El."

Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane

The toponym literally stands for "tower", and there are reasons for this. The fact is that in the Middle Ages these buildings were a feudal knightly symbol, and, therefore, this noble connotation was transferred to the personal qualities of Magdalene, who was endowed with an aristocratic character.

But there is another assumption regarding the nickname of the Equal-to-the-Apostles virgin: in the multi-volume religious code of the Talmud there is an expression "magadella", which in Hebrew means "curling her hair."

Encounter with Jesus Christ

Based on the Holy Scriptures, it can be assumed that the first meeting of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene took place in the house of the Pharisee Simon, where the Savior was anointed with the world. Confirmation is a sacrament in which the believer, along with specially prepared consecrated oil, is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

According to legend, the woman who appeared to Christ poured water on the head of Jesus from an alabaster vessel, and also washed His feet with her tears and wiped her hair with her head. Judging by the four Gospels, the disciples of Jesus were dissatisfied with the fact that the guest who came irrationally spent expensive oil that could be sold and the proceeds given to the poor. The Pharisee also noted that the one who touched Christ was a sinner, but Jesus, comparing the inhospitality of Simon and the efforts of Mary, said:

“Therefore I say to you: her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but whoever is forgiven little, loves little. He said to her: Your sins are forgiven.

But some suggest that the meeting of the Magdalene and Jesus took place earlier than in the house of Simon. Christ said that she “loved much,” that is, Himself, so it can be assumed that perhaps Mary was among those who followed the messiah to Jerusalem. After forgiveness, Magdalene began to be listed with Christ as the best disciple, but Mary was not among the 12 apostles in the painting “The Last Supper”.

Magdalene began to follow Christ, serving him and sharing her property, and the messiah trusted this woman even with the most secret secrets, because of which Magdalene won the dislike of the disciples of Christ, who demanded to remove the virgin from His environment.

According to legend, this woman was the only one who did not leave the Savior when he was arrested, while Peter, the most devoted of the apostles, denied his leader three times after his imprisonment.

It is known that Mary Magdalene was present at the execution of Jesus Christ along with His mother, mother's sister and Mary Cleopova. The follower of the Son of God stood near Christ, sharing the great maternal suffering of the Mother of God. When the heart of the Savior stopped beating, Mary mourned the Savior, and then accompanied the body of Jesus to the coffin carved by Joseph in the rock.

Byzantine literature indicates that after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene, together with the Mother of God, went to ancient city Ephesus, to John the Theologian, and helped him in his labors. By the way, it is the Gospel of John that contains the most information about the life of Magdalene.

According to legend, Mary Magdalene returned a day after the death of Christ to that cave to show her devotion to the Savior by smearing His body with aromatic oils and myrrh. But when the companion of Jesus approached the rocky mountain, she found that the stone that closed the entrance to the cave had been moved, and the cave itself was empty.

Desperate Mary in grief went to John and Peter in order to tell that the body of the messiah had disappeared from the burial place. Then the apostles, together with Magdalene, again went to the rocky mountain and saw that the cave was empty. The disciples of Christ left the grotto in sorrow, while Mary remained near the tomb, crying and trying to understand the reason for the disappearance of Jesus Christ.

Mary Magdalene raised her tear-stained eyes and saw that two angels were sitting in front of her. When they asked about the reason for the suffering of the unfortunate maiden, she replied that she was tormented by the unknown. Then the woman raised her eyes and saw Jesus Christ, whom she initially mistook for a gardener and asked him to point out where the teacher's grave was. But when the visitor uttered her name, she recognized the Son of God and threw herself at His feet. Based on the Gospel vaults, Jesus answered Mary:

“Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to my brothers and say to them: "I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God."

Christianity

According to biblical legends, the holy virgin became a follower of Jesus Christ after being healed from evil spirits and repenting of sins, so many admirers of Christian traditions have the idea that Mary Magdalene was a great harlot and sinner.

Such identification of Mary with the nameless evangelical woman who washed the feet of the Savior can be found in the Catholic tradition, but the fornication of a follower of Christ is not mentioned either in the Menaion or in her akathist. Thus, in Catholicism, the Magdalene takes the form former harlot, and the Italian painter managed to convey the emotions of a woman in his painting “Penitent Mary Magdalene”.

According to Catholicism, Mary Magdalene was a representative of the oldest profession, and having met the Son of God, she abandoned her craft and became his follower.

It is worth noting that Orthodox scriptures only speak of Magdalene's possession by demons, denying her rampant past. But Mary's life was not sweet, because the maiden was not married and had no children. In those days, such women were viewed with suspicion, and in order to protect herself from the harassment of men, Mary had to pretend to be possessed.

In the Orthodox tradition, Mary Magdalene appears as the Equal-to-the-Apostles holy myrrh-bearer (in Protestantism, exclusively as the holy myrrh-bearer). She made an indisputable contribution to the preaching work. Mary spread the word about Jesus in Italy and once visited the pagan leader Tiberius.

The woman handed him a chicken egg as a gift, for lack of another thing, and said “Christ is Risen!”. Tiberius stated that resurrection is just as impossible as the fact that a donated egg will turn scarlet. However, the egg turned blood red. Thus the Easter tradition was born.

It is believed that the comrade-in-arms of Christ worked hard in Rome, as evidenced by the book of the New Testament, which contains the collections of the epistles of the holy Apostle Paul.

As for Catholicism, it is said that Mary Magdalene spent the second part of her life in the desert, where she led an ascetic life and repented of her sins every day. The clothes of the holy virgin had decayed, so the woman's nakedness was covered by long hair, and Mary herself was taken up to heaven by angels in order to heal her exhausted old body. But it is worth saying that this plot is borrowed from the description of the life of the Christian Saint Mary of Egypt, who is considered the patroness of confessing women.

love theories

The personal life of Mary Magdalene is shrouded in a halo of mystery, so it is not surprising that various love theories about the Equal-to-the-Apostles saint appear among historians. For example, some believe that Mary Magdalene was the wife of John the Theologian, while others are sure that the myrrh-bearing woman was the wife of Jesus Christ, because this woman plays a significant role in almost the most important episode of the New Testament.

Since the representatives of the church tried to get rid of unofficial books, there is practically no news about who the beloved of Jesus was, and there is an assumption that the lines about the family life of the messiah in the New Testament were cut out on purpose.

But most scholars are inclined in favor of the Magdalene. In the Gospel, an episode is indicative when the disciples of the Son of God were jealous of Jesus for Magdalene because of a kiss on the lips.

Also in those days, an unmarried woman did not have the right to accompany wanderers on the road, unlike the wife of one of them. Among other things, scientists refer to the fact that after the resurrection, Christ appeared to Mary, and not to his disciples. And besides, men who did not have a spouse were considered a strange phenomenon, so an unmarried Jesus could hardly have become a prophet and teacher.

Death

In Orthodoxy, Mary Magdalene died quietly and calmly, a woman died in Ephesus, and her relics were transferred to the monastery of St. Lazarus in Constantinople.

According to another branch of the Christian movement, while Mary was a hermit in the desert, she was communed by a priest who accidentally wandered into those parts, who at first was embarrassed by the naked appearance of a woman. According to Catholicism, the remains of the Equal-to-the-Apostles saint are kept in the church of Saint-Maximin-la-Saint-Baume, in Provence.

In memory of Mary Magdalene, many colorful paintings were painted and taken documentaries. It is noteworthy that on the canvases the disciple of Christ is depicted in individual scenes extremely rarely, while often she can be seen in the form of a myrrh-bearing woman, with a vessel of incense.

Memory

1565 - painting "Penitent Mary Magdalene" ()
1861 - poem "Mary Magdalene" (Nikolai Ogarev)
1923 - cycle of poems "Magdalene" ()
1970 - rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Andrew Lloyd Weber)
1985 - song "Maria Magdalena" ()
2017 - the film "Mary Magdalene" (Garth Davis)