The role and function of Mary Magdalene in the canonical and apocryphal Gospels

Abstract

This dissertation will focus on Mary Magdalene as presented in the gospel tradition. Its aim is to probe into the few Gospel texts that mention Mary Magdalene to bring out her importance and role in the life of the early Church. Although Paul’s Letters, being the first written documents of the New Testament, skip any reference to Mary Magdalene, especially when they mention the names to whom the Risen Christ appeared, all the four Gospels make an explicit reference to this woman. In addition, Mary Magdalene is also mentioned in a number of apocryphal gospels which have not been accepted by the Church as inspired and canonical. The inclusion of various episodes in which Mary Magdalene features prominently both in the canonical and non-canonical Gospels may suggest her importance in the life of the early Christians. As a matter of fact, the non-canonical gospels explicit her function as a female prominent leader in the early Christian community. Although the canonical Gospels do not mention this role, her importance in the various episodes in which she features prominently, may be an indication of this same role. In the Gospels, a number of women are referred to by their proper name as ‘Mary.’ Yet, Mary Magdalene is referred to in relation to her hometown Magdala, situated in Galilee, that is, in the northern part of Israel. Nevertheless, a number of scholars have mistakenly confused Mary Magdalene with the other Marys mentioned in the gospel tradition, such as Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, and others, even with Mary the mother of Jesus. Besides, during the course of Church history, Mary Magdalene was also mistakenly identified with the sinful woman mentioned in Lk 7 who anointed Jesus’ feet. We will dedicate part of this dissertation to analyse these various interpretations while presenting their weakness.