Passion for Mary: Why Some Consider Magdalene a Whore, and Others a Holy Myrrh-Bearing

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Life Mary Magdalene, shrouded in many myths and legends, it still causes desperate controversy among historians of religion and theologians. Who is she, this mysterious woman, who did she belong to Christ, why her image was deliberately distorted, and who was profitable to ascribe to her the past of a harlot. This review provides answers to these controversial questions.

In the Orthodox and Catholic denominations, the interpretation of the image of Mary Magdalene is fundamentally different: in Orthodoxy, she is revered as a holy myrrh-bearer, healed by Jesus from seven demons, and in the tradition of the Catholic Church she is identified with the image of the repentant harlot Mary from Bethany, the sister of Lazarus. Although it is reliably known from the Bible that Scripture does not directly say anywhere that Magdalene was a harlot at any period of her life.

Mary Magdalene - the gospel harlot

The Catholic religion identified her with the harlot, whom, according to legend, Jesus saved from being stoned, as a token of gratitude for the act that was mentioned three times in the Gospel. Namely, when Jesus dined with one of the Pharisees, she fell at his feet and began to lubricate his feet with the world, wash them with tears and wipe them with luxurious locks of her hair.

It was the Roman Catholic Church, whether by chance or deliberately in the person of Pope Gregory the Great, who invented a nickname that was offensive to Magdalene - “harlot” and identified her with the evangelical sinner.

Mary Magdalene - Equal to the Apostles Holy Myrrhbearer

However, the Orthodox Saint Dmitry of Rostov spoke out against considering Mary a corrupt woman, who argued his opinion in the following way:

The Orthodox Church was inclined to see in Mary one of the women healed by Christ, possessed by demons. This liberation became the meaning of her life, and in gratitude the woman decided to devote her whole life to the Lord. And according to the Orthodox tradition, unlike Catholicism, Mary is considered a symbol of the personification of a Christian woman and is revered as an equal to the apostles holy myrrh-bearer.

Mary Magdalene - the best disciple of Christ and the author of the Fourth Gospel

Among the disciples of the Savior, Mary occupied a special place. She was revered for such a sincere and ardent devotion to Christ. And it was no coincidence that the Lord honored Mary with the honor of becoming the first witness who saw him resurrected.

Not only that, most Bible scholars today claim that the Fourth Gospel was created by an unknown follower of Jesus, mentioned in the text as a beloved disciple. And there is an assumption that it was Mary Magdalene, who was one of the first founding apostles and leaders of the early Christian church.

But over time, her image became a common victim of the struggle for church power. By the 4th-5th centuries, even imagining a woman leader had already become heresy, and they decided to overthrow Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene - the wife of Jesus Christ and the mother of his sons

More recently, another curious fact about the mysterious Magdalene surfaced. For a long time, churchmen of all denominations have been arguing about whether Jesus Christ was a virgin, homosexual, or still he loved women. Not so long ago, historians of religion put forward proof that the Savior was married to Mary Magdalene and had two sons with her. This statement is based on a handwritten manuscript written in Aramaic and dating from the 70s of the 6th century. It was Mary who was the greatest consolation of Jesus in His preparation for the heroic deed.

All of the above are only versions from which we can conclude that we will most likely never learn the truth at all. But one thing is known for certain that after Mary's meeting with Jesus, her life changed dramatically: she completely abandoned her previous way of life, whatever it was, and became a faithful follower and disciple of Jesus.

The image of the repentant Mary Magdalene in the painting of Western European artists

The image of the Gospel Magdalene was widely popularized by masters of Italian painting, especially Titian, Correggio, Guido Reni. By her name, "penitent Magdalene" began to call women, after a depraved life changed their minds and returned to normal life.

According to the traditions of Western art, Mary Magdalene has always been depicted as a penitent, half-naked exile with an uncovered head and loose hair. And all works of art on this topic are so similar that most of us are still convinced of its great sinfulness.

The painting depicting the image of Mary Magdalene was commissioned by Titian in the mid-1560s. Julia Festina served as a model for this image. When the canvas was ready, the Duke of Gonzaga, seeing it, was delighted and immediately ordered a copy. After that, Titian still wrote several copies, only changing the tilt of the head, then the position of the woman's hands, as well as the landscape background of the canvas. Only the model Julia remained unchanged.

In 1850, the first version of this painting was purchased by Nicholas I for the Hermitage museum collection. Now it is in one of the Italian offices of the New Hermitage.

In confirmation that Mary Magdalene was Christ's legal wife some scholars provide Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper".