The Equal-to-the-Apostles counted among harlots

Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Christ. Photo: UOJ

In European paintings she is depicted with loose hair and a bare shoulder, in tears, with a skull lying nearby on a table. Titian, Caravaggio, Georges de La Tour, and later film directors and musical authors believed they knew everything about the life of this fallen woman. But the primary source, the Gospel, says not a single word about any sins of the flesh committed by Mary Magdalene.

A shocking substitution has taken place. Instead of a woman of extraordinary courage, we are presented with the image of a repentant prostitute. It is as though her heroic fidelity to God has been erased from history altogether.

Seven demons: an illness, not passions

Mary of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, is mentioned only in passing in the Gospel. The Evangelist Luke lists those who followed Christ through towns and villages: "And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, andand many others who provided for Him from their substance" (Lk. 8:2–3).

It might seem that here is unambiguous proof of Mary's sinfulness. But few people know that "seven demons" in the language of the Gospel is a description of possession – that is, the most severe torment – and has nothing to do with a person's moral choices.

No one in the Gospel accuses the demoniac. People pity him, and Christ heals him.

Luke not only lists the names of the women faithful to the Savior, but also specifies that they "provided Him from their substance" — that is, they donated their money to the needs of the apostolic community. Alongside Mary is named Joanna, the wife of the steward of Herod Antipas. The company Mary belonged to consisted of wealthy women who supported the ministry of Christ and the apostles.

The feat at Golgotha

The Gospel narrative then unfolds the true nature of Mary's spiritual heroism with increasing clarity. On the night of Jesus's arrest, all the disciples scattered. Then came the moment when only the women remained at the foot of the Cross. Matthew, Mark, and John each record this independently (see Matt. 27:55–56; Mark 15:40; John 19:25). Of the Twelve Apostles, only John the Theologian remained. The others had cowardly hidden themselves behind the locked doors of the upper room in Zion.

It is important to understand the historical context of that time. To stand beside a man condemned for insurrection was to publicly identify yourself as an associate of a criminal. To do so while standing only a few steps from soldiers who could execute you at any moment was, in effect, doubly suicidal.

The Apostles fled because their messianic expectations had collapsed. The Messiah was supposed to defeat conquerors, not hang on a cross. The women had no inflated expectations, but they had love, which did not disappear even when the Messiah was subjected to shame. Saint John Chrysostom emphasized that "in this their courage is especially evident."

And there, at the Cross, and then at the burial cave, the Evangelists mention Mary first in the list of women. In an ancient manuscript, this too could not have been accidental.

The chief witness of the miracle

Imagine a trial in which the accused is dead, his close friends have dispersed, and the only person willing to testify about what happened is one whose testimony is not accepted because of that witness's sex.

If someone had wanted to make the story of Christ's Resurrection convincing to everyone, they would have chosen anyone but a woman as its principal witness.

After Jesus' execution, Jerusalem remained a place where Christians were better off staying out of the public eye. Yet Mary fearlessly went to the tomb with spices to complete the burial rites that had been interrupted by the onset of the Sabbath. She went to the sealed tomb knowing that it was guarded, yet not knowing who would roll away the stone for her.

St. Dimitry of Rostov comments on this: "Mary Magdalene proved herself more courageous and more devoted than the apostles. When almost all the apostles fled and went into hiding, Mary Magdalene overcame fear through love."

The beautiful homily that rewrote the life

So where, after all, did the skull and loose hair come from in European paintings?

Around the year 591, St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome, delivered another homily on the Gospel. In it, he brought together three different women: Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, and the unnamed sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36–50). The bishop's reasoning was purely pastoral: this approach created a complete and powerful narrative of fall and forgiveness.

But in this case, logic unfortunately triumphed over truth. Western iconography, and after it literature and cinema, received a vivid image of a heroine with a false biography.

In the Christian East, this identification was never accepted. St. Dimitry of Rostov wrote that “the Eastern Orthodox Church, now as in former times, recognizes all three of these persons as distinct, unwilling to base historical accounts on arbitrary interpretations that are merely probable.” He further notes that it was Blessed Jerome, Blessed Augustine, and St. Gregory the Great who combined these women into one, whereas they were distinguished as separate persons by the hieromartyr Irenaeus, Origen, and St. John Chrysostom.

He also has an argument based on common sense. Mary followed Christ openly and for a long time. The opponents of the Savior were looking for any opportunity to accuse Him and would not have missed such an opportunity. A woman with a sinful past in the Teacher's immediate circle would have been a gift to His accusers. But the sources say nothing about it.

It is telling that even in the West, in Thomas Aquinas's commentary on the Gospel of John, a completely different title is ascribed to Mary. "She became the apostle of the apostles, for she was entrusted with announcing the Resurrection of the Lord to the disciples," the theologian affirms.

Rome officially began to distinguish these women only in 1969, with the reform of the calendar: from that point, July 22 among Catholics is dedicated exclusively to Mary Magdalene, while the commemoration of Mary of Bethany was moved to July 29. Such was the restrained liturgical correction that brought an end to a thousand years of dispute.

A gender reversal

On Sunday morning, the eleven apostles are sitting behind locked doors. Behind them are betrayal, flight, and the collapse of their hopes. And suddenly a woman who has always remained in the background among them, who paid for their lodging and never asked God theological questions, enters. Yet she tells them what they would later proclaim to the whole world.

This fact instantly destroys the myth of Mary as a harlot. She stood at the Cross without any sinful background, simply because she loved Jesus and remained faithful to Him. At His tomb she also remained alone, and it was she who was the first to learn that Jesus had risen and that salvation had happened.

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