Investigating Mary Magdalen: Church Fathers

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Investigating Mary Magdalen
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Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe

Mary Magdalen and the Early Church Fathers

Between 100 and 600 CE, various Christian bishops and teachers set forth the basic tenets of the Church. The authors of those tenets that tended to prevail in later disputes over doctrine became known collectively as the Fathers of the Church. Today, these are divided between the Eastern Orthodox or Greek Church and the (Western) Roman Catholic (or Latin) Church. Among the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church are: St. Athanasius, St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzen. The Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church include St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Leo I (Leo the Great), and St. Gregory I (Gregory the Great).
A number of the early Fathers of the Church, both 'Greek' and 'Latin', distinguished Mary Magdalen from other women also named Mary (such as Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus) who appear in the canonical gospels.
St. Augustine
Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
St. Augustine (354–430 CE) in Tractate CXX, Commentary on John 20, 1-9
Mary Magdalen meets Jesus
St. Augustine (354–430 CE) in Tractate CXXI, Commentary on John 20, 10-29

Origen
Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
Origen (184/185–253/254 CE) in Contra Celsum, Book II
According to Origen, Celsus was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher who opposed Christianity

John Chrysostom
Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
John Chrysostom (c. 349–407 CE) in Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew (no. 88, with excerpts from no. 89)
Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
John Chrysostom (c. 349–407 CE) in Homily 85 on the Gospel of John