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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." From
the Gospel of Philip
Who
was Mary Magdalen?
Mary
Magdalen is commonly believed to have been a reformed prostitute,
a relatively minor character in the bible notable mainly as the
first witness to the resurrection. However, the public is rapidly
discovering that this may be the farthest thing from the truth. Piecing
together accounts of Mary from both Canonical and early Gnostic sources,
it becomes quickly apparent that Mary Magdalen is a very significant
figure in the history of Christianity. While the canonical gospels
only hint at Mary's role, accounts of her in the Gnostic gospels
refer to her as the chief apostle to Jesus, as his companion, even
as his spiritual successor.
The
canonical bible also mentions Mary numerous times, but is nearly
always vague about her position. She is mentioned as one of several
women who traveled with Jesus and the other apostles and gave them
financial support. She is believed to be the same as Mary of Bethany,
the woman who annoints Jesus before the crucifixion, a duty usually
reserved for a spouse. Most notably, Mary is witness to the crucifixion
and the first to speak to the newly resurrected Christ. She is not
considered as one of the twelve apostles by the Church, although
no list exists in the bible, and Mary is obviously significant among
Jesus' female followers.
Mary
as Apostle?
Non-canonical
texts are even more explicit about Mary's importance. Although most
of the Gnostic gospels were destroyed or lost long ago, intriguing
fragments have surfaced over the years that put Mary in an entirely
new light. The second-century Valentinian Gospel
of Philip, for example, explicitly
states that Mary was Christ's companion, and relates that the other
apostles are jealous of their close relationship. One of the complaints
comes from Peter, who complains that women are less than worthy and
gripes about his teacher loving her more than the male apostles.
In
the first-century Dialogue
of the Savior,
and in the gospel
that bears
her name, Mary is the apostle who alone understands the teachings
of Christ. In the Mandaean Gospel
of John, Mary is portrayed as both
teacher and the lover of John;
she is expelled
from Judaism for teaching Nazorean doctrine.* In
the Gnostic Pistis
Sophia, Jesus proclaims Mary the greatest apostle,
and equates her with Sophia,
or Holy Wisdom.
Was
Mary a Prostitute?
Nowhere in any scripture is Mary Magdalen referred to as a prostitute-
this smear appears to have originated with fourth-century Pope
Gregory of Nyssa, who confuses her with the prostitute Jesus saved
from stoning in a New Testament account. As the Bible clearly implies
that Mary was a woman of independent means, it is highly unlikey
that Gregory didn't know exactly what he was doing when he ruined
Mary's reputation for the next fifteen hundred years.  In
fact, it is the persistent, innaccurate portrayal of Mary as a
repentant sinner that does the most to undermine Mary's position.
Even discounting gnostic texts that emphasize Mary's importance,
the canonical gospels make it clear that Mary was an apostle,
and an important one at that. Over the centuries, as the
Christians who would become the "orthodox" phased out female
leadership, her role was decreased from apostle and teacher
to a silent, contemplative figure, the model of the 'ideal'
Christian woman: silent, long-suffering, and modest.
Was
Mary's History Erased?
The
same gospels that emphasize Mary's importance also make much of disputes
between her and the other apostles, notably Peter, the apostle who,
according to canonical accounts, became Christ's successor and head
of the Church. At the very least, it would appear that Mary's role as
Apostle has been diminshed; at most, she may have been the companion
and even the successor of Christ. The latter is certainly not a new
idea. Altough celibacy in the Church is today taken for granted, a celibate
priest in Jesus' time would have been rare- and certainly would have
been mentioned. Many scholars today assume that Jesus was probably married
(some believe the wedding at Cana to have been his own), but prefer
not to speculate about who his bride may have been. If indeed Jesus
was intending to lay claim to the Throne of David, is would have been
even more likely that he would have married.
The
Artists
|
| A
Dutch painter portrays Mary concealing a nursing child...a
symbol of a hidden Church? |
Leonardo
Da Vinci is not the first or only Renaissance artist to have hinted
that Mary was more than she appeared. The famous "Last Supper" conundrum,
where the apostle to Christ's right appears to be a woman, is often
explained away by art historians because there was a 'tradition'
of painting John as effeminate- yet few have explored why this might
be (it appears some artists not only made John effeminate, some made
John and Mary identical)- or why so many copies of the famous painting
very clearly depict a female figure. One student of Leonardo carefully
isolated the figure, and repainted 'him' in woman's dress.
The threatening
gesture made by Peter toward the figure would make perfect sense
if it was meant to portray Mary- Mary's disputation with Peter in
the Gnostic Gospel of Philip relates the male apostle's animosity
quite clearly. The idea that Mary was more than she appeared, and
that her history continued outside of the Church, was well known
in Leonardo's time. The Cathars, a Gnostic movement in the South
of France, had become the victims of the Church's first "Crusade" after
espousing the same doctrines the Church had suppressed more than
a century earlier- that men and women were spiritual equals, and
that salvation was acquired in life rather than death.
The
Cathar Connection
The Cathars
were gentle, peaceful people who had a special affection for Mary
Magdalen, believing her to be the mother of Christ's child. Little
more is known as the Church utterly destroyed the Cathars, along
with their scriptures (and the majority of their neighbors). Mary
remained an important figure of legend in France, appearing in tales
of the Holy Grail, in troubador's songs, and in many local legends
that persist even to this day. French gypsies have believed for centuries
that Mary and her siblings came to the South of France, and indeed
that area is peppered heavily with churches dedicated to her and
her travelling companions.
The excitement
over Mary in the area even after the Cathar extermination caused
the Church to strenuously clarify that "Our
Lady,"
the "Bride of Christ," was Mary the Mother of
Christ rather than Mary Magdalen. (Making Mary the mother, wife,
and daughter of God- poor girl.) Songs and art, even Church iconography
hinted at more than the Church was letting on. Even in sanctioned
art, the Magdalen is shown mourning over the body of Jesus, clinging
in the way only a spouse or lover might. Depictions of pregnant
or nursing Marys can even be found in Church art.
Mary the
Alchemist
|
| Mary
the Alchemist, 17th Cen. |
There
is also a long tradition connecting Mary Magdalen to Maria the
Prophet (Maria Prophetissa or Miriam the Jew),
the female philosopher credited with the foundation of alchemy. The
earliest surviving mention of Mary the Prophet in the first century
by the Greek alchemist Zosimus. Curiously, she was known to Arabic
alchemists as Miryam the Christian.
Next> Was
Jesus Married?
* The Mandeans (Sabians)
are the only continuously surviving gnostic sect, dating to the
first century or even before. They are unusual in that they revere
John the Baptist as a prophet and the founder of their sect, yet
they reject Jesus as a false prophet, one who misuses John's teachings.
Return
to Da Vinci Code Research Guide
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Magdalen Resources
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