St. Mary was raised in Magdala, a seaport on the Sea of Galilee; the town was prosperous and had the reputation that seaports have traditionally had. Although the Gospels record of Mary only that Jesus cast from her seven devils, St. Gregory Dialogos drew on the reputation of the town from which St. Mary Magdalene took her name and identified her with the sinful woman rebuked for anointing the feet of Jesus as he dined at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Mary's role as chief among the myrrh-bearers and the obvious parallels between the anointing of the living Jesus and the intended anointing of his corpse also led to this identification, which some Orthodox traditions reject. The monastery of Simonos Petros possesses a relic, the hand with which Mary washed the feet of Jesus.
Legends, which some Orthodox accept, say that Mary loved St. John the Theologian and became a prostitute when he rejected her to follow Jesus. She, in turn, left her sinful life when she came to love Jesus as John did. Legend also reports that she presented a red egg to Tiberius Caesar, hence the egg and ointment jar in the icons of St. Mary. The legends conclude that she lived with St. John in Ephesus, where she died. Emperor Leo VI is said to have translated her relics from Ephesus to Constantinople in 899.
The New Testament relates that Christ cast demons from St. Mary and that she was present at the crucifixion. She was the first to hear the angelic announcement that Jesus had risen from the dead. She was appointed to tell the male disciples, who had fled during Christ's passion, that Christ was resurrected.
One of the most touching scenes in the gospel according to St. John is the meeting of St. Mary and the risen Christ. She does not recognize him until he calls her name. She responds, "Rabboni." In that small and great exchange is the incredible love the two share between themselves; the amazing love the two share with the disciples; and the astonishing love the two ultimately share with us.
Mary Magdalene is sometimes considered the same as Mary of Bethany. St. Gregory Dialogos again is responsible for the identification, and although the Roman church tradtionally has accepted his arguments, recent scholars reject them. These scholars contend that Mary Magdalene was an active woman, more perhaps like Martha, while Mary of Bethany was a quiet, contemplative woman. (A silly argument!) The merging of the Maries occasioned a wealth of French legend that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus travelled to Provence, where they evangelized the natives and died. In the Middle Ages, at least three Provencal monasteries claimed to have had the body of St. Mary Magdalene, which is said to have arrived at one in a boat without oars.
Associated with these legend is a story, which D.H. Lawrence expanded in his novella, "The Escaped Cock," that Jesus married St. Mary. The two travelled to Egypt, where they raised their children and died.
In our earthy life, the only facts of the life of St. Mary Magdalene which we can know are those in the gospels. We do, however, know the reality of her love for Christ and her fidelity to Him through his passion and resurrection. We know also her position as a disciple equal to the apostles, as well as her continuing intercession for us.
Addendum: The Greek Archdiocese of America no longer teaches that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Feminists have determined that the Church (and, hence, Society) offers single women only the options of virginity and whoredom. Prostitution is not an indictment of female nature, but of human nature. We long for the pyrite of Mammon and cede to our lusts for money, for food, for material goods, for power. Both Mary the Theotokos and St. Mary Magdalene present models for humankind. The Mother of God shows us a life given to God; the disciple of Christ shows us a life returned to God.
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