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St Mary Magdalen
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St Mary Magdalen, as portrayed
in the Lady Chapel window
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Mary from Magdala in Galilee is mentioned by name in the Gospels on
only a few occasions, but her meeting with the risen Christ on Easter
morning makes her one of the most important Christian saints.
We first
hear of her in chapter 8 of St. Luke's gospel where she is described
as having become a follower of Jesus after some kind of healing experience.
She was one of a number of women who were said to have been set free
from evil spirits and infirmities and who provided for Jesus and
the disciples out of their own resources.
We do not hear of Mary Magdalen
again until the Crucifixion. All four gospel writers mention that
she
was present, usually in the company of a group of women who had
ministered to Jesus in Galilee and accompanied him to Jerusalem.
St. John is
the most precise and describes her as being among those near the
Cross with the mother of Jesus. After Jesus had died Mary Magdalen
and
her
companions waited to see where his body would be taken, so that
they could return to perform the customary anointing rites. The next
day
being the Sabbath they were required to rest, but very early the
following morning the women returned and heard the angelic announcement
that
Jesus had risen from the dead. Mary Magdalen, still confused and
grief-stricken at finding the tomb empty, sought help from a man
she took to be the
gardener. It was when he addressed her by name that she recognised
Jesus and so became the first witness of the Resurrection.
In
the past there has often been much confusion about the identity of
Mary
Magdalen.
As early as the 6th century she was thought to be the unnamed
penitent who, according to St Luke, entered the house of Simon the
Pharisee
where she washed Christ's feet with her tears, dried them with
her hair and poured precious ointment over them. In some traditions
she
has also been identified with Mary of Bethany, the sister of
Martha and Lazarus, who is described in St. John's gospel as having
anointed
Jesus. Neither of these attributions is accepted by most modern
scholars, but they have led to the widespread artistic tradition
of depicting
Mary Magdalen with long flowing hair and with the jar of precious
ointment as her identifying symbol.
There are also various legends
about Mary
Magdalen's later life, one of the best known being her reputed
death in the south of France.
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