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The Gospel of Mary

The Gospel of Mary is the only gospel named after a woman. Popular and scholarly opinion assigns that gospel to Mary Magdalene, although the gospel itself does not say. Mary Magdalene's importance to Christianity is well established. She was one of Jesus' loyal followers, stood vigil at his cross, was eyewitness to his resurrection, and received the first commission to preach (declaring the “good news” to other disciples that Jesus had risen).

No Complete Copy

The Apostle John considered Mary Magdalene (or Miriam, as John would have called her) the founder of Christianity (John 20:1–31), asserted Jean Yves LeLoup in his book, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene . The Gospel of Mary exists in three fragmentary texts. To date, there is no complete copy; in fact, only about half of the entire gospel (eight of eighteen pages) survives. The Coptic version portrays Mary Magdalene differently than the two fragments preserved in original Greek. Scholar Karen King, author of The Gospel of Mary of Magdala, Jesus and the First Woman Apostle , pointed out that the Greek fragments are written in the original language and are dated earlier in church history while the more complete Coptic version features language and theology that places it in a later time and different milieu.

Who translated the Gospel of Mary from the original Greek?

Most likely Christian scribes in Egypt during the second century translated the Gospel of Mary into the Coptic Egyptian script. Today, that language is still used for liturgical purposes by the Coptic Church and its parishioners known as Copts (Egyptian Christians).

The longest version of the Gospel of Mary is the fifth-century Coptic translation published in 1955 and known to scholars as the Berlin Codex 8502,1 (Berolinensis Gnosticus 8502,1). After being discovered at a burial site in Akhmim, in central Egypt, the Berlin Codex was sold to German scholar Carl Reinhardt, who took it from Cairo to Berlin in 1896. Although Reinhardt knew the manuscript was ancient, neither he nor the manuscript dealer from whom he acquired it knew what the codex contained. The Berlin Codex consisted of leaves stitched together and placed inside leatherbound boards. The book held a fragmentary copy of The Gospel of Mary in Sahidic Coptic (with some faulty translation errors) along with three other texts — The Apocryphon of John, The Sophia of Jesus Christ, and The Act of Peter. The amazing discovery in 1945 of the Nag Hammadi texts generated public interest in the Gospel of Mary, due in part to the Gnostic and Coptic linkage it shared with many of the Nag Hammadi writings.

The Other Fragments

The two Greek fragments of the Gospel of Mary date to the third century. They are called, respectively, Papyrus Rylands 463 and Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3525. The former was translated and published in 1938 and the latter in 1983. Experts say the existence of the Gospel of Mary was already known as early as the third century because of references to it by early church fathers; however, the original gospel likely dates to the second century. Scholar Karen King believes it belongs in the first half of that century.

In the gospel, Mary Magdalene is exalted. Peter, leader of the disciples, even acknowledges her stature when he tells her that the disciples know their Teacher loved her differently from other women. This Mary Magdalene is not represented as the penitent prostitute depicted for centuries by the church and in popular culture, but rather as a worthy woman loved by the Savior. She possesses knowledge that the Savior Jesus has not shared with the others. She appears to have a legitimate claim to leadership in the Christian circle.

Differences Between the Coptic and Greek Versions

The third-century Greek fragments have theological differences with the Coptic version. The Greek fragments seem to find no issue with a woman's right to teach or lead, but the Coptic version, two centuries later, suggests patriarchal challenges to female leadership. Taken together, the versions elucidate a historical shift toward increasing exclusion of women as leaders in the early Christian churches and communities. The conflict between Mary and Peter illustrated in the Gospel of Mary has resonance in the Pistis Sophia, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of the Egyptians and may have been indicative of tension within the church during the second century.

Mary's Special Revelation

Some early Gnostic Christian circles revered Mary Magdalene as the worthy repository of divine revelation and wisdom. They quite possibly saw her as Jesus' Sophia, perhaps even his spiritual heir. She was the Apostle to the Apostles, an honorific title bestowed upon her after she faithfully carried out the risen Jesus' commission to tell the other disciples the “good news” of his resurrection. In the third century, Hippolytus, a Christian bishop (circa A.D. 170–236), wrote of female apostles charged to rectify ancient Eve's sin through their obedience. His noting of female apostles suggests that at least in earliest Christianity, apostles were of both genders.

The Gospel of Mary reveals that Mary Magdalene was an authority figure who comforted her fellow disciples and turned their minds from the dark fog of grief and suffering back toward the “Good” after Jesus left them. The writer of that gospel provides a unique lens through which to view women disciples of Jesus in the infant early church that is exemplified in Mary Magdalene. Yet the wider culture, still patriarchal, held a view of women as inferior. By the end of the second century, Jesus' example of egalitarian and respectful treatment of women shifted back to the patriarchal status quo. A female authority figure with a message had to be defended. It was no longer assumed that she could speak with any real power. In the Gospel of Mary, Mary Magdalene represents the Gnostic Christian position in which women served as leaders, visionaries, prophetesses, preachers, and interpreters while Peter and Andrew represent the orthodoxy.

The Savior's Discourse and Departure

The Gospel of Mary opens on page seven (pages one through six are missing) in a scene after the Resurrection in which the disciples are having discourse with Jesus about matter and its nature and if it will last forever. Jesus explains that each thing born is interconnected but one day must return to its own root. Peter asks about sin and Jesus explains that there is no sin. The attachment humans have for things of matter is what deceives them. It is the improper mingling of the spirit with matter that causes disharmony and imbalance and that, in turn, brings about sickness and death.

Scholar LeLoup pronounces this teaching as both liberating and demanding. It basically says that people cannot blame others or their circumstances for their woes; instead, they must understand that they alone are responsible for their own actions and thoughts and attitudes. Even sickness and death are a result of their own actions. Blaming is a waste of time and energy.

The Gospel of Mary says that before Jesus departs, he warns the disciples against establishing rules or laws. If they make such laws or rules, then they will necessarily be constrained by them. Jesus commands them to go forth into the world and share the good news. He reminds them that the Son of Man is within each of them. This portion of the Gospel of Mary is known as the “Savior's Farewell.”

After Jesus leaves them, the disciples are overcome with grief and they weep. Their hearts were deeply attached to their teacher. They fear that Jesus' unfortunate fate of being crucified will become theirs. Who will lead them now? Mary Magdalene stands and greets, comforts, and consoles them. She emphasizes the Savior's greatness. Mary, the gospel notes, turned the disciples' hearts away from the heaviness of sorrow and suffering back toward “the Good.”

Several sources on the Web feature English translations of the Gospel of Mary. One is The Gnostic Society Library, located at www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm . Another site is at www.thenazareneway.com/the_gospel_of_mary_magdalene.htm . Excerpts from the gospel are at www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/marym.htm .

Seeing with the Mind's Eye

As they begin talking again about Jesus' words, perhaps about the best way to go forth and spread the gospel teachings, Peter tells Mary Magdalene that everyone knows that Jesus loved her more than all the other women. Peter asks her to share some of the Savior's words. He wants her to tell the disciples something that Jesus had not already shared with them. Mary Magdalene agrees. She tells him a vision she had of the Lord and how he called her blessed and praised her for not “wavering” at the sight of him.

Then she says that she asked Jesus how it was she could see him, whether it was with the soul or the spirit (pneuma ), and he told her that it was through neither soul nor spirit but the mind between them. Then Mary recounts the part of the vision Jesus gave her about how the soul must move through seven wrathful powers in order to ascend to the place where it rests in silence.

Mary Magdalene's Vision

Mary Magdalene explains that the soul is questioned by seven cosmic powers as she (soul is most often referred to in the feminine gender in ancient literature) ascends from matter through ever-higher realms toward her final place of rest. As she passes successfully through each of the seven powers that bind her to matter, the fetters become loosened. The seven powers she must pass through are darkness, desire or craving, ignorance, death wish, enslavement to the flesh, foolish fleshly wisdom, and guileful wisdom (wrath). Having successfully moved beyond them, the soul becomes free and rests in eternal peace and silence.

The idea of being able to direct the mind inward and to merge it with divine cosmic consciousness, thereby forever freeing the soul from its karmic bonds, has resonance with ancient eastern philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhists call the resting place of the enlightened Nirvana (meaning “extinguishing or unbinding”), while the Hindus call it Maha Samadhi (meaning “establish”). Dualism is transcended and the soul rests in an effortless and continual state of perfection, in silence, beyond all thought.

Importance of Mary's Secret Vision

In the absence of the Savior, Mary Magdalene stepped up as the voice of calm, reason, and authority. When the disciples were overcome with fear about their own safety in going forth to preach the “good news,” Mary reminded them that they had everything they needed. When Peter asked her to share some words of the Savior, his overture suggested a legitimacy that she possessed, perhaps as Jesus' favorite or most astute student who possessed secret words or teachings that the Lord had not shared with others. Peter made the overture toward her with at least a show of respect. He would have known that she was a visionary with a quick and insightful mind and that she had understood Jesus' teachings as perhaps he and the others had not. Peter's request suggests that he was seeking comfort in her revelation of Jesus' words and that those words necessarily had value and importance.

Mary Magdalene held the pre-eminent position of Jesus' leading female disciple, and was also his friend, companion, and confidante. She, too, must have felt the pains of grief. Yet she showed a spiritual maturity by stepping into the void left by their departed teacher. Mary Magdalene complied with Peter's request and articulated the complex ideas that Jesus had revealed to her in her vision, and she did it with eloquence and clarity. You might think that the response from Peter, his brother Andrew, and the others assembled would have been to thank her. But quite the opposite happened.

Why Peter Disbelieves

The first response to Mary Magdalene's vision came not from Peter but from his brother Andrew, who didn't believe her. In an indirect challenge to her, he asked the other disciples what they thought of the things she had told them. He said that Jesus would not have spoken such things, as they were simply too different. Then Peter agreed with Andrew and opposed Mary Magdalene as well, asking rhetorically how it could be possible that Jesus would talk in such a way with a woman of secret things about which he (Peter, the chief disciple) and the others remained ignorant. Then he asked incredulously if they were to change their ways and listen to her. He wondered aloud if Jesus really chose her or preferred her to them, the male disciples.

Some scholars say that this scene shows the disharmony that existed within the core group of disciples that was also symptomatic of the tensions in the ancient world during the time when this gospel was written. Mary Magdalene, as you learned in previous chapters, had just given the disciples a teaching about how the powers of darkness, desire, ignorance, and such things keep the soul imprisoned. The emotions of anger and rivalry, along with the lack of respect toward Mary Magdalene by Andrew and Peter, do not seem like acceptable behavior from disciples of Jesus but rather appear to be in keeping more with the dark imprisoning powers in Mary Magdalene's vision. Peter and Andrew perhaps do not understand the teaching. Maybe they resent the fact that Jesus gave Mary Magdalene a special blessing that he did not give to them. Possibly they resented her ability to have visions. Or perhaps they felt threatened by their lack of understanding of the teaching.

Peter's Bullying

The Gospel of Mary reveals that Mary Magdalene wept and challenged Peter, asking him if he thought she just imagined the vision, made it up, and lied about Jesus. While Jesus was alive, she had expressed her fear of Peter. In other Gnostic texts, Jesus rebuked Peter for bullying Mary Magdalene. Peter was known to be volatile, dense, and at times even disbelieving of what Jesus said (Matthew 16:22–23). Like many of Jesus' other disciples, he probably had a rudimentary education (although two epistles ascribed to him were most likely written by secretaries and display a knowledge of Greek higher education). While he was tenderhearted and courageous on some occasions, at other times he seemed uncomprehending and obtuse, trying Jesus' patience. He could be hot-headed, as demonstrated in the canonical Gospel of John.

Following the confrontation between Peter and Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary, Levi steps in to calm the situation. He tells Peter that because of his hot temper he has stooped to treating Mary Magdalene like their adversaries do. Levi reminds Peter that if Jesus found Mary Magdalene worthy, who was he, Peter, to put her aside. Levi also reminds Peter that Jesus had loved her the most of all and that they should go forth, as Jesus had told them, to spread the gospel. The Gospel of Mary ends with the disciples going out to do the spiritual work Jesus had instructed them to do.

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? — John 18:10–11

Articulating Jesus' Ideas and Words

The Gospel of Mary implies that Peter and Andrew seemingly have a desire to dominate her when they reject the precious teaching that Peter had requested from Mary Magdalene. In this way, the gospel illuminates a picture much bigger than Andrew and Peter in conflict with Mary Magdalene. The gospel delineates two distinct groups of people who followed Jesus. The Peter and Andrew types display what seems to be spiritual immaturity or ignorance, not only in devaluing Mary Magdalene's vision but in rejecting her as a woman with special knowledge that she willingly shared after they had asked her for it. This lack of consideration reflects the patriarchal view of a woman having no real power in her own right beyond the male who heads her family. A woman's words are only to be believed or considered worthy if a man says they are so. In Jesus' time, women could not give testimony, were not educated, and had little value beyond running a household, preparing meals, and providing their husbands with children (preferably boys). Peter and Andrew represented the conservative and patriarchal branch of earliest Christianity.

Peter and Andrew were the sons of Jonah. Peter (also called Simeon bar Jona) was born in Bethsaida (John 1:44) and with his brother Andrew operated a fishing business with two other disciples of Jesus, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. After Jesus' death, Peter gave testimony to his young scribe Mark for the Gospel of Mark.

Mary Magdalene represented the non-orthodox branch. In standing up to Peter and Andrew, she gave a voice to women visionaries, prophetesses, and preachers, and those resisting injustice. She dealt with Peter's bullying much as the soul in her vision dealt with the cosmic powers, refusing further entrapment, enslavement, and domination. She perhaps understood better than her brethren Jesus' teaching in her vision about the dark powers, and that the ignorance displayed by Peter and Andrew was, as LeLoup classified it, a sickness of the mind and heart.

Elevated Status of Mary

Several scholars assert that after Jesus' death Mary Magdalene stood out in the Gnostic texts — in particular, the Gospel of Mary — as an example of perfect discipleship and spiritual leadership. People likely gravitated to those closest to those Apostles for whom they felt a kinship or respect for correctly conveying Jesus' original teachings. Some chose to follow Peter, James the Just, or Paul. But others preferred Mary Magdalene — the Thirteenth Apostle, as the Gnostics referred to her.

Leader of a Gnostic Branch

Mary Magdalene might have been the leader of a Gnostic branch of the Jesus movement. Scholars say that Mary Magdalene was well qualified to serve because she had proven her worthiness and because her grasp of Jesus' spiritual teachings far exceeded any other disciple's. Loyal to Jesus throughout his ministry, she followed him to the cross where, in spite of concern for her own safety, she stood fearless under the watchful gaze of Jewish priests and Roman soldiers, according to the Gospel of John. After his death, instead of hiding out and giving in to despair, she took decisive action, showing everyone that she possessed a steady, confident heart. She ran to the empty tomb, was eyewitness to the risen transcendent Savior, and faithfully carried his message to the others. The Romans knew that killing the head of a movement made the movement likely to die as well, and were probably counting on that for the Jesus movement. But Mary Magdalene stepped into the void and became the cement that held the followers together. Peter and Andrew spoke of going back to their pre-Jesus lives as fishermen in Capernaum. All the disciples grieved. But Mary Magdalene remembered the “Good,” according to the Gospel of Mary, and helped the others to remember it as well.

Author of the Gospel of John?

Catholic author Ramon Jusino has theorized that Mary Magdalene may have been the Beloved Disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of John. In fact, he suggests that Mary Magdalene might have been the author of or source for that canonical gospel. He points out that if she were the author of the Gospel of John, that in no way diminishes the gospel's apostolic origin. She was most likely recognized as an apostolic authority within her community. The Roman Catholic Church has called her apostola apostolorum , the Apostle to the Apostles.

Other Sacred Texts Mention Mary Magdalene

The canonical gospels mention Mary Magdalene in the briefest way. All four of the New Testament gospels mention her central role in Jesus' resurrection. Also, she appears in several lists where a clue to her status can be found in her position (usually first) in a group of names. Some academics of ancient Christianity have theorized that references to her may have been largely edited from the New Testament but that her role in the Resurrection story was too well known for it to be completely eliminated. The canonical Gospel of John noted that three Marys stood vigil by Jesus' cross; one was Mary Magdalene.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! — John 19:25–26

In spite of the reference to “thy son” in John 19:26, and using Ramon Jusino's theory that Mary Magdalene might have been the Beloved Disciple, the quote presents the puzzling but interesting possibility that Jesus might have been entrusting his mother into the care of Mary Magdalene. Elsewhere in the canonical gospels, it says that Mary Magdalene and the other women provided for Jesus out of their means (their own finances). Some sources say she may have been a wealthy woman and that she and other women may have financed the earliest beginnings of Christianity.

Gospel of Philip's Revelation

The Gospel of Philip agrees with the canonical accounts that there were three Marys who always walked with the Lord. They included his mother, her sister, and Mary Magdalene. That Gnostic gospel also suggests a relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus that goes beyond teacher and disciple. Seeing his display of affection toward her causes the other disciples to question his love for them. The modern best-selling book The Da Vinci Code makes a case for a marriage between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, based in part on the Gospel of Philip. However, a modern Gnostic hierophant (the equivalent of bishop) and spiritual successor to the Mary Magdalene tradition asserted that it would have been unlikely that Jesus and Mary Magdalene would have been married, since in those times marriage was about a form of ownership, something neither of them would have wanted.

The Pistis Sophia Shines a Spotlight on Her

The Pistis Sophia (the text of a Gnostic myth important to the Valentinian belief system) details Sophia's mistake, her repentance, redemption, and restoration. After Jesus discusses Sophia's remarkable and complex journey through the cosmos and his mission as Savior, Mary Magdalene requests permission from him to speak “in boldness.” Jesus seems delighted and tells her that he will complete her in all that she lacks in knowledge of the divine mysteries because her heart exerts toward heaven more than those of her brother disciples. Mary Magdalene dazzles as the chief questioner of Jesus. She elaborates upon his comments. Of the forty-six questions asked in the Pistis Sophia, Mary Magdalene poses thirty-nine. Peter becomes upset that she dominates the discourse and complains to Jesus that he and the other disciples can no longer bear her because she won't let them speak. Jesus replies to Peter that anyone inspired should speak without hesitation. As if in an effort to placate Peter, Jesus gives him a hymn to decipher.

The Byzantine liturgy of Eastern Orthodox Churches allows for the intonation of Sophia's name before passages from the Gospels are read. Byzantine music such as sacred chant plays an important role in rites and ritual in the Greek-speaking world.

Mary Magdalene, the protagonist of several of the Gnostic texts, continues to be venerated by the Eastern Orthodox, the Catholic, and the Anglican churches as a saint. Her feast day is July 22. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Mary Magdalene went to Ephesus with Jesus' mother. After Mary Magdalene passed away, her relics were taken to Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Leo VI in A.D. 899, and they remain there today.

There is also a tradition of Mary Magdalene in southern France where her relics are venerated by the faithful at her sepulcher in the basilica of St. Maximin. The abbey of Vézelay also claims to have her relics. Finally, the grotto at Sainte Baume, where Mary Magdalene did penance for decades before her death, continues to be a popular pilgrimage site.