03 — Apostle to the Apostles
The heart of Mary Magdalene’s standing in the Church: the scene in John 20:11–18 in which she, weeping at the empty tomb, is the first to see the risen Lord, is called by name — “Mary!” — answers “Rabbouni,” is told “do not cling to me,” and is sent to tell the brethren. From this commissioning flow the two titles by which the East honors her: isapostolos, “Equal-to-the-Apostles,” and the still older patristic title apostola apostolorum, “the apostle to the apostles.”
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Equal-to-the-Apostles, Myrrh-bearer)
That a woman should be the first witness of the Resurrection, and the first sent to proclaim it, is among the most striking facts of the Gospel — so striking that it has long been noted as an argument for the narratives’ authenticity, since no first-century forger would have invented it. This section reads John 20:11–18 closely, and then traces the title that the patristic tradition built upon it: from Hippolytus, who already in the early third century calls the women at the tomb “apostles,” to the Byzantine liturgical books that crown Mary Magdalene “Equal-to-the-Apostles.”
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The First Witness | John 20:11–18 in detail: the weeping at the tomb, the angels, the supposed gardener, “Mary!” and “Rabbouni,” the me mou haptou (“do not cling to me” / “touch me not”), and the sending to the brethren; the “criterion of embarrassment” and the women as first witnesses across all four Gospels. |
| Apostle to the Apostles | The title apostola apostolorum and its patristic basis — Hippolytus on the myrrh-bearers, the Latin and Byzantine tradition, Thomas Aquinas’s use of the phrase — and the Eastern title isapostolos, “Equal-to-the-Apostles,” its meaning and the small company of women who bear it. |
See Also
- At the Cross and the Tomb — the fidelity that leads to the tomb
- The Eastern Tradition — the Magdalene the East honors, undivided from no penitent
- Ephesus and the Theotokos — the apostolic mission continued in the tradition
- The Church Fathers — the patristic witness to the title
References
- The Holy Bible, RSV: John 20:1–18; Matthew 28:1–10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1–11.
- Hippolytus of Rome. Commentary on the Song of Songs 24–25. (The myrrh-bearers as “apostles to the apostles.”)
- Chrysostom, John. Homilies on the Gospel of St. John, Hom. 85–86. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 14.