Prostitute or Disciple? | National Geographic

many people today believe Mary Magdalene
was a reformed prostitute but not here
not at this church this is the Orthodox
Church of Saint Mary Magdalene and
Jerusalem here in an Orthodox Christian
churches across the world Mary Magdalene
is a revered figure nothing like her
sexualized image the Orthodox Church
sees Mary Magdalene as one of the
faithful women the myrrh bearing women
who came and was around Christ at the
time of his crucifixion and resurrection
the portrayal of such an honoured figure
as a former prostitute could be one of
the greatest character assassinations in
history
the biblical account of Mary provides
very few details about her life for
centuries people believe her name Mary
Magdalene simply means Mary came from a
place called Magdala but there is an
entirely different interpretation of
Mary’s name that Magdalene comes from
the word Migdal meaning tower could this
be a clue not to where Mary came from
but to her character and importance in
Jesus’s movement the other idea has to
do with the Aramaic word for tower
mcdowell which gives an epithet for Mary
similar to the epithet that st. Peter
has Peter Peter is the rock and in a way
it’s very tempting to think that Peter
is the rock and Mary is the tower as
Jesus and the disciples travel around
Galilee they need money food and shelter
Luke’s Gospel says that a group of women
provide this vital support and the first
to be named is Mary Magdalene I think
it’s clear that she was an important
member of the group
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