Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene, an important female figure in the Christian belief system, has experienced renewed interest in the late 20th and early 21st century. Viewed traditionally as a sinner in need of Jesus's assistance, Mary Magdalene and her image have undergone positive revisions during recent years in which her [Page 903]status as a powerful member of Jesus's ministry has been somewhat restored. Recently, scores of authors, desperate to reveal Mary Magdalene's story, have published both scholarly and fictional works analyzing her. Books like Robin Griffith-Jones's Beloved Disciple: The Misunderstood Legacy of Mary Magdalene, the Woman Closest to Jesus, Lynn Picknett's Mary Magdalene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess, Bruce Chilton's Mary Magdalene: A Biography, and Jane Schaberg's Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament explore the saint and examine her true role in Christianity, usually based largely on scriptural evidence.

Interest in Mary Magdalene reached fervent heights after the publication of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code in 2003. In the novel, Brown weaves together the story of the Holy Grail, the Catholic Church, and the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Brown suffered criticism for his portrayal of the Church and various historical inaccuracies; nonetheless, the theories he introduced to the general reading public about Mary Magdalene were met with passionate, obsessive interest. Some of these theories were that the Holy Grail was, in fact, Mary Magdalene, who was carrying Jesus's child at the time of his crucifixion (the Holy Grail was thought to hold Jesus's blood, and in being pregnant with his child, Mary Magdalene indeed would have carried his blood within her). Brown's novel also suggested that the Church feared having a powerful female figure to worship (which Mary Magdalene would have been, as Jesus's wife), so Church fathers-thousands of years ago-instead described her as a prostitute to be pitied, rather than a woman worth revering.

The Penitent Magdalene by Guido Reni, c. 1635. Mary Magdalene is one of the most important women in Christianity.

In 2004, the film The Passion of the Christ (directed by Mel Gibson) portrayed Mary Magdalene far differently than in Brown's novel and other contemporary works about her. In this film, she is demure and synonymous with the adulteress whom Jesus saves from stoning. Gibson's film portrays Mary Magdalene traditionally, as a woman of scandal, instead of an important and respected member of Jesus's ministry.

A renewed interest and movement to defend Mary Magdalene from historical slander has garnered her a recent wealth of popular and scholarly attention. She remains one of the most important women in Christianity and recently, has become a focus for analysis of women's roles in religion in general.