Mary Magdalene: fornication
According to the most popular version, Mary Magdalene was a harlot. And she joined Christ - and the righteous life - only after He cast out seven demons from her. And after this, Mary Magdalene became a zealous keeper of the faith. She followed Christ until His death along with other myrrh-bearing women.
Mary the Harlot is spoken of in the Gospel of Luke.
But in the Gospel of John there is not a word about the fornication of Mary Magdalene. Moreover, according to another version, this Mary is one of the sisters of Lazarus , whom Jesus resurrected. And it was she who washed Christ’s feet during the Last Supper, then wiping them with her own hair. And this version has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Even the Catholic Church officially removed the stigma of the harlot from Mary Magdalene in 1969.
One way or another, Mary Magdalene was the only one who did not flee in fear when Christ was captured by the guards. She remained with the Savior until the last. And it was Mary Magdalene who was the first to see Jesus Christ after his resurrection.
Dates of celebration and commemoration of St. Mary Magdalene
In the Christian Church there are two times for commemorating this shrine, namely August 4 and the third Sunday after Great Easter. I would also like to note that the third Sunday after the celebration of Great Easter is the day of veneration of all myrrh-bearing wives.
In the Orthodox Christian Church, during commemoration, it is customary to hold a festive liturgy, to which a Christian can come in order to offer an interrogative or thanksgiving prayer for himself or his loved ones in a holy manner.
Mary Magdalene: what they pray for
Before the icon of Mary Magdalene they pray:
- about forgiveness for your sins;
- she is asked to receive mercy for the sin of abortion;
- about deliverance from temptations and vices (in particular, from drunkenness, smoking, etc.);
- about protection from the evil eye, curses and damage.
We also note that Mary Magdalene is the patroness of pharmacists and hairdressers .
Where is the icon located and stored?
Various sources and information claim that this Holy image and its lists can be seen in almost every church throughout the Russian Federation, but the most famous are the following: • The church named after the Saint, which is located in Ulitkino. • St. Petersburg Church; • Cathedral in the Oryol region; • Temple-monument on the territory of Simferopol; • Trinity Church in Diveevo.
It is in these holy places, as well as in many others, that you can turn to the Holy Image of Mary Magdalene for help and support, and she will certainly become a protector, intercessor of every person who asks her for it.
Mary Magdalene: prayer
We magnify you, holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, and honor your holy memory, who enlightened the whole world with your teachings and brought you to Christ.
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O holy myrrh-bearer and all-praised equal-to-the-apostles disciple of Christ, Mary Magdalene! To you, as the most faithful and powerful intercessor for us, sinners and unworthy God, we now earnestly resort to you and pray in contrition of our hearts. In your life you have experienced the terrible machinations of demons, but by the grace of Christ you have clearly freed them, and through your prayers you have delivered us from the snare of demons, so that in all our life we may faithfully serve the only Holy Master God in our deeds, words, thoughts and secret thoughts of our hearts, as they were promised to Him. You loved the sweetest Lord Jesus more than all earthly blessings, and you followed Him well through all your life, with His Divine teachings and grace not only nourishing your soul, but also bringing many people from pagan darkness to Christ’s wonderful light; then, knowingly, we ask you: ask us from Christ God for the grace that enlightens and sanctifies, so that we, overshadowed by it, may succeed in faith and piety, in the labors of love and self-sacrifice, so that those who earnestly strive to serve our neighbors in their spiritual and physical needs, remembering the example of your love for mankind. You, holy Mary, have lived your life on earth cheerfully by the grace of God and have peacefully departed to the heavenly abode, pray to Christ the Savior, that through your prayers He will grant us the ability to complete our journey without stumbling in this vale of tears and in peace and repentance to end our life, and so Having lived in holiness on earth, we will be granted eternal blissful life in Heaven, and there with you and all the saints together we will praise the Indivisible Trinity, we will glorify the One Divinity, the Father and the Son and the All-Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene. Orthodox calendar for August 4
Main church holidays, days of remembrance of saints and Orthodox shrines of today
August 4 (July 22 according to the “old style” - the church Julian calendar). Tuesday of the 9th week after Pentecost (ninth week after the Feast of the Holy Trinity , otherwise known as Pentecost ). There is no post . Today the Russian Orthodox Church commemorates 5 saints. Next we will briefly talk about them.
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Equal to the Apostles Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene . One of the most famous holy wives, a disciple of the Savior. The name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene (in the Old Russian reading - Mary Magdalene) is often associated with the image of the repentant harlot who accompanied Christ.
The life of Saint Mary has become overgrown with a mass of legends, the apotheosis of which was the blasphemous “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The Da Vinci Code.” But in the Orthodox tradition, the image of this holy myrrh-bearer is in no way connected with prodigal sin. And even Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov, close to the Western tradition, noted the illogicality of such conclusions that originated in Catholicism:
If Magdalene were a harlot, what would the haters of Christ say, looking for some kind of guilt against Him?..
More information about this great saint and the significance of her Christian feat, as well as about the shrine dedicated to Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene near Moscow can be found in our material published on the pages of Constantinople.
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Transfer of the relics of the holy martyr Phocas from Sinop to Constantinople . The venerable remains of this holy sufferer from the beginning of the 2nd century AD were transferred from Sinop to Constantinople on July 22, according to various hagiographic accounts, either in 403 or 404 .
Hieromartyr Foka himself was a native of the city of Sinop; from a young age he actively participated in the life of the local Christian community and eventually became the Bishop of Sinop. Saint Phocas led many idolaters to Christ and died as a martyr in the year 117 AD during the period of anti-Christian persecution by the pagan emperor Trajan.
Hieromartyr Phocas. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
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Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl . Russian saint the 17th century from the Nativity of Christ. A native of Ryazan, the son of a wealthy Ryazan merchant Gordiya. In adolescence, the future elder Cornelius (in the world - Konon) left his family and became a novice of the Lucian Hermitage, which is near Pereslavl-Zalessky. Later, he took monastic vows at the Boris and Gleb Monastery in the same city, although at first they did not want to accept him into the monastic brethren because he was too young.
Father Cornelius, even as a very young monk, was different from other monks. He fasted strictly, came to divine services earlier than everyone else, and strove for solitary reclusive prayer. As the lines of the life of the Monk Cornelius report, he “remained silent for thirty years, spent his nights in prayer, never missed a church service and filled the position of sexton, worked in the bakery and in the kitchen, dug the earth, planted vegetables and fruit trees. Despite his exhausted body, he dug a well for the brethren with his own hands.”
Shortly before his blessed death, Elder Cornelius accepted the great schema and only then told his story, that he was from a wealthy Ryazan merchant family. The saint departed to the Lord in 1693 after the birth of Christ, and already at the beginning of the 18th century his incorruptible relics were found, and numerous healings began to occur from them.
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Hieromartyrs Mikhail Nakaryakov and Alexy Ilyinsky, presbyters . Holy sufferers who died during the years of Bolshevik atheistic persecution in 1918 and 1931 , respectively. For their martyrdom, both priests were glorified as saints among the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church.
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Also today is the celebration of the Council of Smolensk Saints . This holiday was established in the Russian Church in memory of the saints whose lives are connected with the Smolensk diocese: those who were born and lived in the Smolensk region, as well as those born on the Smolensk land, but who performed feats of piety in other lands. The celebration was established in 1983, and was first included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church three years later. The celebration of the Synaxis of Smolensk Saints takes place on the eve of the day of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God - on the nearest Sunday before July 28 according to the Julian calendar (August 10 according to the Gregorian calendar).
Congratulations to Orthodox Christians on the memory of all today's saints! Through their prayers, Lord, save and have mercy on us all! We are happy to congratulate those who received names in their honor in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism or in the rank of monastic tonsure! As they used to say in Rus' in the old days: “For the Guardian Angels - a golden crown, and for you - good health!”
To our departed relatives and friends - eternal memory!
The relics of St. Mary, where they are located
In old age, Mary lived in the city of Ephesus, which later became her burial place. It is important to note that, according to various historical facts and information, this shrine at one time provided beyond all possible assistance to the Holy Apostle John the Theologian during his sermons. From Ephesus, the relics of the Saint were initially delivered to Constantinople, and then after a while they were sent to Rome.
Nowadays, you can touch the sacred relics of the ascetic in Paris, namely in 4 monasteries, which are located on Mount Athos and in Jerusalem. But still, there are various facts that do not allow Orthodox Christian priests to give accurate information about the location of her relics. At the same time, the Catholic Church is convinced that the relics of the Saint are still kept in France to this day. Namely in the city near the basilica.
Not a single representative of the Catholic or Orthodox Christian Church can say the exact location of the holy relics. This is due to the fact that during her life the Saint lived for a long time in various countries of the world, so her remains were periodically transported, and Catholics to this day claim that she spent the last days of her earthly life in Marseille.
Catholic tradition
Adherents of Catholicism revere this saint much more strongly. And although in the Catholic tradition she is directly called Mary Magdalene only in the same gospels as in Orthodoxy, Catholics associate her with the image of this saint and other biblical characters. That is why it is so popular in countries where Catholicism predominates.
1. Catholics identify her with the nameless myrrh-bearer who anointed the head of Christ in the house of Simon. 2. But her greatest fame came from her association with an unnamed harlot who repented when she met Jesus. And although most churches now criticize this association, many Catholics continue to identify Magdalene with this harlot.
Orthodox tradition
In Orthodoxy, this myrrh-bearer is revered on a par with the twelve apostles, which, as you yourself understand, says a lot. However, Mary is mentioned only in a few gospels, as well as in certain fragments of the New Testament. According to the Gospel testimonies, many of the most important moments in the life of Christ are directly related to the life of Mary.
1. The Messiah healed her from possession by insidious demons.
2. After being miraculously cured of possession, she was so grateful to Jesus that she became one of his most devoted followers. Mary followed him tirelessly, telling everyone about Jesus.
3. This saint was present at Calvary on that ill-fated day when her Messiah was crucified.
4. She was also present at his funeral. That is, Magdalene was among the witnesses to the burial of Christ.
5. While Mary was mourning Jesus, an angel appeared to her and told her to stop crying because her Lord would soon be resurrected. Magdalene believed everything her angel said and stopped crying.
6. On Sunday, she noticed a man who immediately seemed like her gardener. However, after a few moments, she realized that it was Jesus. That is, it was this myrrh-bearer who was the first person to see Christ with her own eyes after his resurrection. Moreover, it was she who informed the apostles that their Messiah had risen.
As can be understood from these six gospel testimonies, a considerable number of truly important biblical events are associated with the life of Magdalene. In addition, she actively evangelized in Rome, which only increases her significance for the Christian faith. Moreover, in Orthodoxy she is not at all identified with a harlot who repented after meeting Christ. Moreover, many adherents of the Orthodox Church do not even know about the existence of such an analogy.
