MARY MAGDALENE: DEACONESS
For these reasons, we assert that the ministry of female deacons is especially required and urgent. For our Lord and Savior was himself served by deaconesses, such as Mary Magdalene . . . along with still other women.
- Didascalia of the Apostles
The story of Mary
Magdala has been a complex and contradictory one, almost since the beginning of
Christianity. We have no doubt that Mary was an important figure in early
Christianity because the Gospels record her presence at the Crucifixion,
Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost. Indeed, she has been called
"the Apostle to the Apostles" because she was the very first to see
the risen Lord - before Peter and before James - and she was given the first
commission by our Lord to spread the Good News (John
Our Lord's
post-Resurrection appearances were not quaint little curiosities.
Qualifications to become an Apostle required knowledge of our Lord's ministry
"from the beginning" and a personal witness of His resurrection (Acts
There has been much misguided speculation about Mary, also. The most glaring error has been that she was a common prostitute. This has been perpetrated by the traditional Church establishment to diminish her influence, and also, to preemptively disqualify her as a possible spouse of Jesus.
The Gospel account associated with this view of Mary is the Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8). The account does not give the woman's name. Another scene presents the weeping and sinful Magdalene, washing the Savior's feet (Luke 7). It is assumed that these two incidents are related and that her sin was sexual in nature. But it is an assumption of pious rhetoric and nothing more.
It is true that Mary was under the control of "seven unclean spirits." We are told that Jesus cast them out of her. Mental illness was not uncommon among the Jews of that day. They had failed as a holy people and the burden of the law seemed overwhelming. This condition promoted dementia, guilt and frustration. Much of the demonic activity seemed to prey upon the most pious of the Jews.
The best direct reference to Mary's status as the Lord's disciple is found in Luke 8:2. Here, we are told that she traveled with Jesus and His disciples, along with other women, and ministered to their needs. This service, of course, consisted of the mundane tasks pertaining to daily life: washing, cooking, mending, and so on. They were also wealthy, apparently, and financed His mission.
Mary, herself, being the Mary of Bethany, Martha's sister, was not one for mundane tasks (Luke 10:38-42). She was a student who sat at his "feet." She was the preeminent deaconess, as indicated by our text from the Didascalia (an early 3rd Century and orthodox document) quoted above.
In the Greek language, the word for minister is "deacon" or "servant." A deacon was a household servant. We should avoid reading into the text our cultural concept of the deacon. Today, deacons are a part of a sacerdotal system. In ancient times, they were simply assistants to their masters. Such personal assistants stood beside them to help them dress, draw and pour water, prepare their quarters, send messages, run errands, keep records of schedules and obligations, provide company, and so on.
In Old Testament times, deacons were "menservants" and deaconesses were "maidservants." Joshua was Moses' deacon and succeeded him as the leader of the Israelite people (Joshua 1:1). Had not Isaac been born, Abraham's deacon, Elieazar, would have been Abraham's heir (Genesis 15:2-3).
In the New Testament, servant-deacons also took leadership roles. In Acts 6, we are told that the Apostles appointed seven deacons to care for the widows. One of those deacons was Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Ignatius tells us that Stephen was James' deacon, his personal assistant (this is James, the Lord's brother). He was also a great preacher and spokesman for Christianity.
Within this cultural context, we can see that Mary was our Lord's personal assistant, his deaconess. Early Christian tradition calls her His "companion," his "consort" (see Biblical Midwifery).
There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary his mother and her sister and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion [koinonos: Greek for "partner" or "consort"] were each a Mary.
- The Gospel of Philip
This is strong language which usually implies a sexual bond. Looking back to Old Testament law, it was expected that a maidservant would be her master's wife or concubine (Exodus 21). Furthermore, it was considered a dereliction of duty for a man to have a maidservant and to not marry her or find a suitable husband for her (Exodus 21:8). Mary's relationship to Jesus cannot be viewed through the eyes of later Catholic tradition with a celibate Christ and a chaste Sisterhood. Indeed, in the early Ebionite tradition (the Jewish-Christian tradition), Mary would have been considered his wife. In later 2nd Century traditions - deemed heretical by the Church - she was viewed as His spokesman to the Apostles.
There is important
scholarship which supports the belief that the Gospel of John was really
written by Lazarus, Mary's brother, and that it acquired John's name because it
was translated into Greek by a presbyter in
If John's Gospel is Magdalene in content, if not authorship, then through it, Mary has become the origin of the "Johannine Community" and by extension, the Jamesian tradition of the Desposynic Church. In John, we find uniquely presented the doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ (John 1), regeneration (John 3), the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14), sacramental footwashing (John 13) and other esoteric doctrines of the Church.
Later tradition finds her
sailing with a group of refugees to southern France. There, a strong
Magdalene tradition has been established, going back to the earliest
centuries. No wonder the
For more information
about Mary, a married Jesus, and the