Myrrhbearer
Saint Mary Magdalene
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Faithful disciple of Christ and first herald of the Resurrection to the Apostles.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary Magdalene, The Prologue from Ohrid — July 22. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
Saint Mary Magdalene came from Magdala in Galilee. The Holy Gospels name her among the women who followed the Lord Jesus Christ and served Him from their possessions after He had delivered her from seven demons. Orthodox tradition does not identify her with the unnamed sinful woman of the Gospel or with Mary of Bethany.
She remained faithful during the Lord’s saving Passion, stood near the Cross and observed His burial. Early on the first day of the week she came to the tomb with the myrrh-bearing women. The risen Christ appeared to her, and she announced to the disciples that she had seen the Lord.
The Church honors Saint Mary Magdalene as Equal-to-the-Apostles and Myrrh-bearer. Ecclesiastical tradition records that she continued proclaiming the Resurrection and later went to Ephesus, where she assisted Saint John the Theologian. Her holy relics were subsequently transferred to Constantinople.
Feast Day
July 22 — Holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene.
Historical Record and Ecclesiastical Tradition
The canonical Gospels establish Mary Magdalene as a disciple healed by Christ, witness of the Crucifixion and burial, and first herald of the Resurrection. She is not identified in Scripture with the unnamed sinful woman of Luke 7 or with Mary of Bethany; her later apostolic preaching, encounter with Tiberius and red-egg tradition are clearly labeled as ecclesiastical tradition.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary MagdaleneThe Prologue from Ohrid — July 22