A fifteenth-century wall fresco from the Chapelle de St-Erige depicting the assumption of Mary Magdalene

A fifteenth-century wall fresco from the Chapelle de St-Erige depicting the assumption of Mary Magdalene

She is an iconic image for us.  She has many faces - disciple, friend, lover, prostitute, demon-possessed, repentant.  Her various images served as ciphers for different early Christian communities.  I was able to take time to discuss her as a historical and memorial figure at The Tomb of Jesus and His Family conference which Yale  convened in Jerusalem in 2008. 

Alan Segal, Simcha Jacobovici, and April DeConick at The Tomb of Jesus and His Family conference, Jerusalem, 2008

Alan Segal, Simcha Jacobovici, and April DeConick at The Tomb of Jesus and His Family conference, Jerusalem, 2008

“The Memorial Mary Meets the Historical Mary: The Many Faces of the Magdalene in Ancient Christianity” 

2013.  “The Memorial Mary Meets the Historical Mary: The Many Faces of the Magdalene in Ancient Christianity.”  Pages 267-290 in The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem’s Walls. Edited by James H. Charlesworth.  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013.