Mary Magdalene

Mary of Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee, followed Jesus and supported his mission; Luke says seven demons had gone out of her. All four Gospels place her at the crucifixion and at the empty tomb, and in John and the longer ending of Mark she is the first to see the risen Jesus, who sends her to tell the disciples.

The later Western identification of her with the sinful woman of Luke 7 has no basis in the Gospels and was set aside by the Catholic Church in 1969. Second- and third-century texts, including the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip and Pistis Sophia, make her a favoured disciple and a recipient of teaching, often in rivalry with Peter.