MARY, the MAGDALENE
Mary Magdalene has held a place of great importance in the Christian
imagination through many generations. She is one of the most common
subjects in Christian art, and her devotion is evident in numerous
shrines, the veneration of hundreds of relics, and in the prayers
and petitions of ordinary believers. The Magdalene is the topic
of immeasurable works of legendary and pious devotion, theological
investigation, societal debate and spiritual reflection. She has
been honored as saint, sinner, possessed woman, prostitute, penitent,
apostle, and contemplative.
Her image has embodied the perceptions of every era, being refashioned
again and again to suit the needs and aspirations of the times.
According to all four Christian testament gospels, Mary Magdalene
is the primary witness to the fundamental data of the early Christian
faith. She is said to have participated in the Galilean career
of Jesus of Nazareth, followed him to Jerusalem, stood by at his
execution and burial, brought ointments to his tomb, found his
tomb empty, was the first person to see the risen Christ, and
was commissioned by him to preach the good news of his resurrection
to the other disciples (hence the reference to her as the “apostle
to the apostles”). Gnostic (from the Greek “gnosis”,
or “inner knowledge”) materials present her as a leading
intellectual and spiritual guide of the early, post-easter community,
as a visionary, the saviour’s beloved companion, and a conduit
for and interpreter of his teachings. [more...]
