The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Mary Magdalene
fl. c. AD 30–33 (later life unrecorded) · Disciple of Galilee · First witness of the Resurrection · ‘Apostle to the apostles’ · Magdala, Galilee → Jerusalem
The Apostolic Age
Who Mary Magdalene was
A woman of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, delivered — Luke says — of seven devils, who followed Jesus from Galilee and supported the company from her own means. All four Gospels set her at the cross and at the empty tomb; John gives her the garden encounter in which the risen Christ speaks her name and sends her to the brethren — the commission that earned her in the early church the title apostola apostolorum, ‘apostle to the apostles.’ Of her later life the New Testament says nothing; East and West embroidered it differently. [The Eastern churches — and modern scholarship — keep Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anonymous sinner of Luke 7 as three distinct women; the West traditionally fused the three into one penitent, following Gregory the Great's Homily 33 of AD 591.]
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When was Mary Magdalene active?
Mary Magdalene is dated fl. c. AD 30–33 (later life unrecorded) in the archive, which places Mary Magdalene in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke and John. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Mary Magdalene from?
The archive associates Mary Magdalene with Magdala, Galilee, Jerusalem. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Mary Magdalene’s contemporaries?
The archive links Mary Magdalene to 11 other figures, including Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Simon Peter, John the Apostle and Mary of Bethany. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Luke 8:2
c. AD 85And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.Luke · read ↗
John 20:18
c. AD 95Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.John · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
- Mary, the Mother of Jesus
- Simon Peter
- John the Apostle
- Mary of Bethany
- The Sinful Woman (Luke 7)
- Joanna, wife of Chuza
- Salome the Myrrh-bearer
- Mary, mother of James and Joses
- Mary of Clopas
- Susanna
- Jesus of Nazareth
Events in this lifetime
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Mary Magdalene, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.