08/05/2026
Commemorating our beloved
Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene.
She recognized the Messiah, as He was awaited from the promises of the Prophets, which she knew well from her education. Her faith and love for Christ as her Saviour and Redeemer were unwavering. Her love of the Lord was stronger than any fear of persecution, remaining at His side with great courage.
The death which the Lord suffered did not change this.. The Gospel narratives present her as being the first of the group of the myrrh-bearing women disciples who hastened to preserve his body. Her place as the head of the band of female disciples is accorded to her by the Gospel writers in recognition of the importance of her contribution and conduct at the time of the events of the Passion and the Resurrection.
The risen Lord appeared first of all to Mary, because of her profound faith and guileless love. The choice of Mary as the person to make the announcement of the tomb to the other disciples was not accidental, since, according to the Johannine Biblical tradition, she was in a position to recognize the risen Lord and convey the message reliably to all the others.
After Pentecost, Mary Magdalene remained in Jerusalem with Our Most Holy Lady, until the dormition of the latter, and then went with Saint John the Evangelist to Ephesus, staying with him until her own demise, which is honoured by the Orthodox Church on July 22*. The Evangelist buried her there, at the entrance of the cave of the Seven Young Men of Ephesus. The translation of her relics was effected in the year 890 by Emperor Leo VI the Wise, and the feast is kept on 4 May. Her body was taken to Constantinople and placed in a silver casket, in the left-hand nave of the Monastery of Saint Lazarus, which had been founded by Leo.
