Mary Magdalene [ a ] sometimes called Mary of Magdala , or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels , traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Mary's epithet Magdalene may be a toponymic surname , meaning that she came from the town of Magdala , a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Roman Judea. The Gospel of Luke chapter 8 lists Mary Magdalene as one of the women who traveled with Jesus and helped support his ministry "out of their resources", indicating that she was probably wealthy.
The same passage also states that seven demons had been driven out of her , a statement which is repeated from Mark In all four canonical gospels, Mary Magdalene is a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus and, in the Synoptic Gospels , she is also present at his burial. All four gospels identify her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women , as the first to witness the empty tomb , [ 1 ] and, either alone or as a member of a group, as the first to witness Jesus's resurrection.
Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Anglican , and Lutheran denominations. In , Pope Francis raised the level of liturgical memory on July 22 from memorial to feast , and for her to be referred to as the "Apostle of the apostles". The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers , the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions.
Because she was the first to witness Jesus's resurrection, Mary Magdalene is known in some Christian traditions as the "apostle to the apostles". These texts portray her as an apostle, as Jesus's closest and most beloved disciple and the only one who truly understood his teachings. In the Gnostic texts , or Gnostic gospels, Mary's closeness to Jesus results in tension with another disciple, Peter , due to her gender and Peter's envy of the special teachings given to her.
