Category:Mary Magdalene (subject)

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Mary Magdalene was one of the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Overview

Mary Magdalene is mentioned only in Christian sources.

A follower of Jesus

Mark 16:9

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another—The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out—and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means (Lk 8:1-3).

Gospel of Thomas - Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of the life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in order that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.[21]

Witness of the Crucifixion of Jesus

Mark 15:40, Matthew 27:56 and John 19:25 mention Mary Magdalene as a witness to crucifixion, along with various other women. Luke does not name any witnesses, but mentions "women who had followed him from Galilee" standing at a distance.[Lk. 23:49]

Witness of the Burial of Jesus

In listing witnesses who saw where Jesus was buried by Joseph of Aramathea, Mark 15:47 and Matthew 27:61 both name only two people: Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary", who in Mark is "the mother of Joseph". Once again, Luke 23:55 describes the witnesses merely as "the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee".

John 19:39-42 mentions no other witness to Joseph's burial of Jesus except for Joseph's assistant Nicodemus.

Witness of the Resurrection of Jesus

Mark 16:1 says she was accompanied by Salome and Mary the mother of James, while Matthew 28:1 omits Salome. Luke 24:10 says the group who found the empty tomb consisted of "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them". John 20:1 also names Mary Magdalene in describing who discovered the tomb to be empty.

In all four gospels, Mary Magdalene is first witness to the Resurrection. John 20:16 and Mark 16:9 both straightforwardly say that Jesus' first post-resurrection appearance was to Mary Magdalene alone. In Matthew 28:9, Mary Magdalene is with the other women returning from the empty tomb when they all see the first appearance of Jesus. In Luke 24 the resurrection is announced to the women at the tomb by "two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning" who suddenly appeared next to them.

Later Christian traditions

In some Gnostic circles Mary Magdalene was praised as Jesus' most beloved disciples, even as the recipient of some hidden revelation.

The Eastern Churches celebrated Mary's virtuous and chaste life, before and after her meeting with Jesus.

On the contrary, in the Western church, Mary Magdalene was identified with the unnamed "sinful woman" of Luke 7:36-50 and celebrated as a penitent. According to some later Christian traditions she preached in Southern France and was buried there (see Relics of Mary Magdalene).

Mary Magdalene, in ancient sources

Mary Magdalene (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Mary Magdalene, in the arts

Mary Magdalene has a long history in Christian fiction as a saint and penitent. Lately, Mary Magdalene has experienced new life as a patron of women's preaching and ministry, amidst of pure speculations that she could have been the wife/lover of Jesus (see Married Jesus) and the mother of his children (see Jesus Bloodline).

St. Mary Magdalene

Penitent Magdalene

See Mary Magdalene (arts) -- survey of fictional works

Mary Magdalene, in the movies

Magdalene Logan.jpg

Jacqueline Logan in The King of Kings (1927 DeMille), film
Magdalena Sevilla.jpg

Mary Magdalene, in King of Kings (1961 Ray), film

Year	Performer	Film/play/opera	Notes
1912	Alice Hollister (1886–1973), American actress	From the Manger to the Cross (1912 Olcott), feature film	USA
1914	Constance Crawley (1879–1919), American actress	Mary Magdalene (1914 Kennedy Features), short film	USA
1914	[[]]	Mary Magdalene (1914 Maude), short film
1917	[[]]	Ο ανήφορος του Γολγοθά (The Uphill of Golgotha / 1917 Vratsanos), film
1918	@@ Ileana Leonidoff, actress	Maria di Magdala (Mary of Magdala / 1918 Molinari), feature film
1919	[[]]	Redenzione (1919 Gallone, Mateldi), film
1921	[[]]	Der Galiläer (The Galilean / 1921 Buchowetzki), feature film
1921	[[]]	The Twice Born Woman (1921 Strauss), short film
1923	[[]]	I.N.R.I. (Crown of Thorns / 1923 Wiene), feature film
1927	Jacqueline Logan (1901-1983), American actress	The King of Kings (1927 DeMille), feature film	USA
1935	[[]]	Golgotha / Ecce Homo (Behold the Man / 1935 Duvivier), feature film
1939	[[]]	Caesar's Friend (1939 BBC), TV film
1942	[[]]	Jesús de Nazareth (Jesus of Nazareth / 1942 Díaz Morales), feature film
1946	[[]]	María Magdalena, pecadora de Magdala (Mary Magdalene, Sinner of Magdala / 1946 Contreras-Torres), feature film
1947	[[]]	Caesar's Friend (1947 BBC), TV film
1949	[[]]	The Lawton Story (1949 Beaudine, Daniels), feature film
1949	[[]]	The Pilgrimage Play (1949 Stayer), feature film
1949	[[]]	Which Will Ye Have? (1949 Taylor), short film
1951	[[]]	The Living Christ Series (1951 Coyle), film
1951	[[]]	Family Theatre: Hill Number One (1951 Pierson), TV episode
1952	[[]]	The Living Bible (1952 Dew), TV series
1952	[[]]	El mártir del Calvario (The Martyr of Calvary / 1952 Morayta-Martinez), feature film
1952	[[]]	Kalbaryo ni Hesus (The Passion of Jesus / 1952 Tolosa), feature film
1953	[[]]	Encounter: The Vigil (1953), TV episode
1953	[[]]	The Flower on the Thorn Tree (1953 BBC), TV film
1953	[[]]	O Mártir do Calvário (The Martyr of the Calvary / 1953 Celestino, Gallon, Gherardi), TV film
1953	[[]]	Family Theatre: I Beheld His Glory (1953 Coyle), TV episode
1953	[[]]	Barabbas (1953 Sjöbert), feature film
1954	[[]]	BBC Sunday-Night Theatre: Caesar's Friend (1954 Amyes), TV episode
1954	[[]]	Day of Triumph (1954 Coyle / Pichel), feature film
1955	[[]]	Il figlio dell'uomo (The Son of Man / 1955 Sabel), feature film
1956	[[]]	Jesus of Nazareth (1956 BBC), TV mini-series
1958	[[]]	La spada e la croce (The Sword and the Cross / 1958 Bragaglia), feature film
1958	[[]]	The Power of the Resurrection (1958 Schuster), film
1959	[[]]	The Hill (1959 Almond), TV film
1961	[[]]	Barabbas (1961 Fleischer), feature film
1961	[[]]	King of Kings (1961 Ray), feature film
1963	[[]]	Het grote begin (The Great Start / 1963 Holland), TV film
1963	[[]]	Acto da Primavera (Rite of Spring / 1963 Oliveira), feature film
1965	[[]]	The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965 Stevens), film
1966	[[]]	El Proceso de Cristo (The Trial of Jesus / 1966 Bracho), feature film
1969	[[]]	Jesús, nuestro Señor (Jesus, Our Lord / 1969 Zacarías), feature film
1970	[[]]	Der Mann am Strick (The Man on the Rope / 1970 Deickert), TV film
1971	[[]]	A Vida de Jesus Cristo (1971 Regattieri), film
1972	[[]]	Les témoins (Witnesses / 1972 Wyn), TV film
1973	[[]]	Gospel Road (1973 Elfstrom & Cash), film
1973	[[]]	Jesus Christ Superstar (1973 Jewison), film
1975	[[]]	Il Messia (The Messiah / 1975 Rossellini), film
1977	[[]]	Gesù di Nazareth / Jesus of Nazareth (1977 Zeffirelli), TV mini-series
1979	[[]]	In Search of Historic Jesus (1979 Schellerup), documentary
1980	[[]]	The Day Christ Died (1980 Cellan-Jones), TV film
1981	[[]]	Miracoloni (Big Miracles / 1981 Massaro), feature film
1988	[[]]	Il bacio di Giuda (The Kiss of Judas / 1988 Benvenuti), feature film
1988	[[]]	The Last Temptation of Christ (1988 Scorsese), feature film
1995	[[]]	Marie de Nazareth (Mary of Nazareth / 1995 Delannoy), feature film
1996	[[]]	Kristo (Christ / 1996 Yalung), feature film
1999	[[]]	Jesus (1999 Young), TV mini-series
1999	[[]]	Gli amici di Gesù (Close to Jesus / 1999-2001 Mertes), film
2001	[[]]	The Cross (2001 Tracy), short film
2003	[[]]	The Gospel of John (2003 Saville), feature film
2004	[[]]	Judas (2004 Carner), TV film
2004	[[]]	The Passion of the Christ (2004 Gibson), feature film
2005	[[]]	San Pietro (St. Peter / 2005 Base), TV mini-series
2005	[[]]	Mary Magdalene (2005 Ferrara), film
2006	[[]]	Matthäuspassion (2006 Blank), film
2006	[[]]	The Da Vinci Code (2006 Howard), feature film
2006	[[]]	Color of the Cross (2006 LaMarre), feature film
2007	[[]]	The Lost Tomb of Jesus (2007 Jacobovici), documentary
2008	[[]]	Bloodline (2008 Burgess), arch-fi documentary
2008	[[]]	Color of the Cross 2: Resurrection (2008 LaMarre), feature film
2010	[[]]	El discípulo: Jesús, la historia no revelada (The Disciple: Jesus' Uncovered Story / 2010 Barrachina), feature film
2010	[[]]	The Tear (2010 Billups), film
2012	Paz Vega (b.1976), Spanish actress	Maria di Nazaret (Mary of Nazareth / 2012 Campiotti), TV mini-series	Italy-Germany
2014	[[]]	Saul: The Journey to Damascus (2014 Azzopardi), feature film
2014	Desiree Orozco, actress	Jesus: The Desire of Ages (2014 Hamilton-Myers, Orozco), feature film
2014	Amber Rose Revah (b.1986), British actress	Son of God (2014 Spencer), feature film
2015	Chipo Chung (b.1977, Zimbabwe actress]]	A.D.: The Bible Continues (2015 Downey, Burnett), TV series	USA
2015	Klára Issová (b.1979), Czech actress	Killing Jesus (2015 Menaul), TV mini-series	USA
2016	María Botto (b.1974), Argentine actress	Risen (2016 Reynolds), feature film	USA

Mary Magdalene, in scholarship

For her prominent role in some Gospel narratives, Mary Magdalene is one of the most intriguing characters in early Christianity. The paucity of evidence however makes any historical reconstruction of her life and deeds virtually impossible. Scholarly research focuses on the meaning of the character in the original literary context as well as on the critical analysis of the traditions surrounding this figure.