05 — The Later Life
What the Eastern tradition tells of Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection, handled as tradition pinned to its attestation rather than as documented biography: her journey with the Apostle John to Ephesus and her companionship with the Theotokos, her preaching, her repose and burial at Ephesus; and the celebrated tradition of the red egg presented to the Emperor Tiberius, with an honest account of its late attestation.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Equal-to-the-Apostles, Myrrh-bearer)
The Gospels fall silent on Mary Magdalene after the morning of the Resurrection. The Eastern Church, however, preserves a coherent later tradition: that she joined the Apostle John and the Mother of God, went with them to Ephesus, labored in the apostolic mission, and died and was buried there — whence her relics were later translated to Constantinople. This section sets out that tradition with its earliest sources, marks where it is late or insecure with [Disputed: ...] notes, and treats the famous red-egg story for exactly what it is: a beloved tradition whose written attestation is comparatively late.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Ephesus and the Theotokos | The Eastern tradition of Mary Magdalene at Ephesus with the Apostle John and the Theotokos; her preaching and repose there; the relation to the wider Ephesus traditions (John, the Mother of God); the contrast with the Western Provençal claim; the attestation and the disputes. |
| The Red Egg Tradition | The tradition that Mary Magdalene, granted audience with the Emperor Tiberius, proclaimed the Resurrection and the egg in her hand turned red — the origin-story of Paschal red eggs; the late written attestation of the account; what is old (the egg symbolism) and what is later (the Tiberius narrative). |
See Also
- Apostle to the Apostles — the apostolic mission the later life continues
- The Relics at Constantinople — the translation from Ephesus
- The Iconography — the red egg in her icons
- St. John the Theologian — the apostle of Ephesus
References
- The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, July 22. Trans. Holy Apostles Convent. Buena Vista, CO, 2008.
- The Menaion, July. (The service to St. Mary Magdalene; the tradition of Ephesus and the translation of relics.)
- Modestus of Jerusalem (attrib.). Encomium on St. Mary Magdalene (seventh century). (An early homiletic witness to her later life.)