No biblical figure—perhaps not even Judas, and certainly not Jesus—has been imagined and portrayed as colorfully and bizarrely in human imagination, legends, literature, fine arts, theater, and film as Mary Magdalene.
The New Testament character of Mary from Magdala has undergone a transformation: from a disciple of Jesus, a witness to the resurrection events and the first herald of the resurrection, an apostle to the apostles, to a repentant and converted sinner, and even to the lover or wife of Jesus. These shifts in her portrayal reflect the themes of particular ecclesiastical and social contexts and are therefore intriguing, even when they deviate from New Testament sources.
With these words, the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences invites you to the presentation of Dr. Sc. Jadranka Rebeka Anić’s book on Wednesday, February 20th, at 7:30 PM in the Pinacotheca of Our Lady of Health. The book, titled “Mary Magdalene: From Jesus’ Disciple to Movie Prostitute,” was co-authored by theologian Anić from Split and Irena Sever Globan, who contributed a cultural analysis of Mary Magdalene’s portrayal in film. The book will be presented by Dr. Domagoj Runje and M.Sc. Blažena Radas, alongside the authors.
Before the book presentation, we spoke with Dr. Anić about some of the topics covered in the book.
To begin with, who is Mary of Magdala?
— A follower of Jesus, disciple, and apostle.
What was her role, as well as the role of women in general, in the Jesus movement and early Christianity?
— Mainly, the role of women in the Jesus movement was reduced to providing material support to Jesus and the disciples and serving in everyday life. However, the role of Mary of Magdala and other women is described using three verbs: follow, serve, and accompany. These terms describe true discipleship. “Serving” cannot be reduced to mere daily tasks.
According to Gospel interpreters, the noun “servant” is used to describe the ideal disciple and leader. In his epistles, the apostle Paul refers to women as his “collaborators in Christ Jesus” and “fellow soldiers,” which highlights their missionary work and role in building communities. We must not forget that in early European Christianity, there was Lydia, who led a house church, and Martha, for example, was credited with a confession of faith that was equal to or even stronger than Peter’s, yet today she is mostly remembered as a housewife.
How paradigmatic is Mary’s fate when discussing the marginalization of women in the Catholic Church?
— Her image illustrates the power of discourse—the promotion of certain interpretations while suppressing others. For instance, the synoptic Gospels report that Mary Magdalene and other women were with Jesus at the moment of his passion and death, while the male disciples scattered. They risked their lives, as the Romans sought to capture sympathizers while punishing rebels, even crucifying women.
The Gospel of John shows that after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary of Magdala and sent her to convey the good news to the disciples, who were hiding in fear. But then come the interpretations. I’ll mention two examples from the early centuries of Christianity. The church writer Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – 235/236) explicitly calls women apostles. However, we have a completely different interpretation from St. Ambrose (+397), Bishop of Milan and Church Father. He doesn’t deny that Mary of Magdala announced the resurrection to the male apostles, but he argues that Jesus forbade her to touch him due to her lack of faith, and that preaching requires constancy—a quality the “weaker sex” supposedly lacks, thus relegating the role of proclaiming to men. Yet, if we read the New Testament and the entire Bible carefully, we find no mention of the “weaker sex” anywhere. This reinterpretation of the New Testament text had significant consequences for the position of women in the Church throughout history.
In the book, you discuss the thesis that the reputation of Peter and the mother of Jesus grew as Mary’s importance diminished. Is this falsification?
— In that section of the book, I present Ann Graham Brock’s research, which analyzes how Peter and Mary of Magdala are portrayed in texts where they appear together. It turns out that texts where she plays an important role are more critical of Peter, and vice versa. There are also texts where her role as an apostle is diminished by replacing her figure with Peter or the mother of Jesus. Brock argues that these character shifts have significant theological and ecclesiastical implications, and given their widespread nature, they are likely not accidental.
Nowhere in the New Testament is Mary Magdalene described as a harlot. How did this portrayal emerge, and why?
— Based on the New Testament, we can conclude with considerable certainty that her name was Mary, that she was a Jewish woman from a prosperous town influenced by Greco-Roman culture, and that she was a well-known and respected member of the Jesus movement. Pope Gregory the Great merged her image with two other New Testament female figures: the unnamed sinner who washes Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair, and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. This fusion created a new figure of Mary Magdalene. The focus shifted from her being a disciple and apostle to a great sinner forgiven for her great love and willingness to repent. She was no longer a model apostle but a witness to God’s mercy. Gregory the Great did not intend to devalue Mary Magdalene as an individual but created a character he could use for pastoral purposes: a model of a sinful person willing to repent. Throughout history, this process of merging Mary of Magdala with other New Testament figures continued, for example, with the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus’ head, the woman caught in adultery, the Samaritan woman, the anonymous bride at the wedding in Cana…
What is the Gospel of Mary about? What makes it special?
— It is an apocryphal text from the 2nd century, the only gospel attributed to a woman, indicating the high regard she had in the community where the text was written. In this text, Mary Magdalene is depicted as a calm, wise disciple of Jesus who encourages, comforts, and teaches the fearful disciples. In Jesus’ absence, she assumes his role, although Jesus remains the central figure.
How is Mary Magdalene remembered in Eastern Christianity?
— In the Christian East, she is portrayed as a bearer of peace, a true witness of the Risen One, and a herald of the Resurrection. Legends emphasize her virginity, sinless purity, deep knowledge, and constant study of the Holy Scriptures, as well as her martyrdom. According to these legends, she does not engage in stereotypically female tasks but attends school, preaches, and travels like the other apostles. She is presented as equal to the apostles and as a miracle worker.
When did your academic interest in Mary Magdalene begin?
— My interest was sparked in the early 1990s when, after finishing theology, I came across a book that argued for distinguishing Mary of Magdala from other New Testament female figures that had been merged with her. I noticed that there were no scholarly works on this topic in Croatian, so I decided to write a book that would present the complexity of research on Mary Magdalene, contemporary interpretations of her character in the New Testament and the Apocrypha, as well as modern discussions on women as disciples of Jesus and apostles, to the Croatian audience. I didn’t want to simply retell the legends but analyze their origin and development. I was particularly interested in making the book interdisciplinary, so I am pleased that my colleague Irena Sever agreed to analyze the character of Mary Magdalene in film art. This is a pioneering effort. The combination of theology and film enables critical reflection on their interaction and opens up new perspectives for research and creation in both fields.
