Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted disciple of Jesus. She is considered a saint by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican churches with a feast day of July 22. Her name means "Mary of Magdala", a town on the western shore of the Lake of Tiberias. The life of the historical Mary is a subject of ongoing debate.

References

• Ann Graham Brock, Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority, Harvard University Press 2003: discusses issues of apostolic authority in the gospels and the Gospel of Peter the competition between Peter and Mary, especially in chapter 7, "The Replacement of Mary Magdalene: A Strategy for Eliminating the Competition".
• Birger A. Pearson, "Did Jesus Marry?" Bible Review, Spring 2005, pp 32-39 & 47 Discussion of complete texts.
• Jane Schaberg, "How Mary Magdalene Became a Whore", Bible Review, Mar/Apr V8, No.5 (No longer available from BR)
• Jane Schaberg, The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, Continuum International Publishing Co., 2004
• Stephen J. Shoemaker, "Rethinking the ?Gnostic Mary?: Mary of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala in Early Christian Tradition", in Journal of Early Christian Studies, 9 (2001) pp 555-595.