Mary Magdalena in Apocryphal Texts from a Feminist Point of view

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Candidate in Religion and Mysticism, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Theology (Religion and Mysticism), Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Religion and its nexus with culture in explaining the women’s status in society can be examined from a new perspective; in particular, the most religious texts are written by men and the status of women has been affected by the masculine perspective of these texts. In feminist studies, however, a new approach has evolved reviving the women’s role in religious experiences in order to improve their positions in religious communities. Hence, in Christian studies, feminine investigations were conducted not only in New Testament but also in other religious texts, including the Apocryphal books. Even though the apocryphal texts were not considered canonical, the scholars think that they are so important because they reflect the ideas and beliefs of some elite members of the early Christianity. By investigating the views of the authors of these texts, a better model of women's religious experiences in that period can be grasped, in particular with respect to Mary Magdalene and her controversial personality. The descriptive-analytical method of this article at first throws some light on Mary Magdalene’s relationship with Jesus, and then paints a new perspective with respect to her personality conforming to the feminists’ four axes.
 

Keywords

References

[۱]. آلبری، سی.آر.سی (۱۳۷۵) زبور مانوی. مترجم: ابوالقاسم اسماعیل­پور، تهران، فکر روز.
[۲]. اپستاین، ایزیدور (۱۳۹۳). یهودیت: بررسی تاریخی. مترجم: بهزاد سالکی، تهران، مؤسسۀ پژوهشی حکمت و فلسفۀ ایران.
[۳]. سیاهپوش، مریم­ السادات، حاج ابراهیمی، طاهره، هوشنگی، لیلا (۱۴۰۰). «اناجیل رسمی و زنان با نقش رسولانه: مطالعۀ موردی». زن در فرهنگ و هنر، دورۀ ۱۳، بهار، صص۱۶۵ – ۱۸۱.
[۴]. شکری فومشی، محمد (۱۳۹۸). «مریم مجدلیه و گرایش زنان به مانویت: بازبینی برخی مؤلفه­های اسطوره­ای و تاریخی». ایران نامگ، شمارۀ ۳-۴، پاییز و زمستان، صص۶۵-۷۳.
[۵]. مورگان، سو، (۱۳۹۱). «رویکرد های فمینیستی». راهنمای دین پژوهی: آشنایی با ده رویکرد در مطالعۀ ادیان، ویراستۀ رابرت سگال. مترجمان: محسن زندی و محمد حقانی فضل، قم، انتشارات دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب.
[6]. Hinsdale, Mary Ann, (2011), “St. Mary of Magdala: Ecclesiological Provocations”, Catholic Theological Society of America, Vol. 66, 68-90.
[7]. Topete, Therasa,(2017), The Gospel of Mary: Reclaiming Feminine Narratives Within Books Excluded from the Bible, UC Irvine: Humanities Honors Program. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5451v7g8.
[8]. Isenberg, Wesley, (1990) “The Gospel of Philip”, The Nag Hammadi library in English, Edited by James M. Robinson. Translated by members of the Coptic Gnostic Library project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, New York: Harper One.
[9]. Foster, Paul, (2007) “The Gospel of Philip”, The Expository Times, Vol. 118, pp. 417-427.
[10]. Leloup, Jean-Yves, (2004), “The Gospel of Philip: Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Gnosis of Sacred Union”, Translated by Joseph Rowe, Vermont: Inner Traditions.
[11]. MacRae, George, Wilson, R. McL., (1990), “The Gospel of Mary”, The Nag Hammadi library in English, Douglas M. Parrott. Translated by members of the Coptic Gnostic Library project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, New York: Harper One.
[12]. Ehrman, Bart, (2006), Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend, New York: Oxford.
[13]. Mead, G. R. S. (George Robert Stow), (1921), Pistis sophia: a Gnostic miscellany; being for the most part extracts from the books of the Saviour, to which are added excerpts from a cognate literature; englished (with an introduction and annotated bibliography), London: J. M. Watkins.
[14]. Koester, Helmut, (1990), Pagels, Elaine, “The Dialogue of Savior”, Translated by Stephen Emmel, The Nag Hammadi library in English, Edited by James M. Robinson. Translated by members of the Coptic Gnostic Library project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, New York: Harper One.
[15]. Parrott, Douglas, (1990) “Eugnostos the Blessed (111,5 and V,7) and The Sophia of Jesus Christ (111,4 an d BG 8502,5)”, The Nag Hammadi library in English, Edited by James M. Robinson. Translated by members of the Coptic Gnostic Library project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, New York: Harper One.
[16]. Meyer, Marvin, (2003), Secret Gospels: essays on Thomas and the secret Gospel of Mark, New York: Trinity Press International.
[17]. Patterson, Stephen, & others, (2001), The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age, London: T&T Clark International.
[18]. Schoedel, William, (1991), “A Gnostic Interpretation of the Fall of Jerusalem: The First Apocalypse of James”, Novum Testamentum, Vol. 33, pp. 153-178.
Religions and Mysticism
Volume 54, Issue 1
August 2021
Pages 151-133

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics