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1 SAINT MARY MAGDALENE The name and personality of St Mary Magdalene is essential to Christianity – as the Gospels point out, she was the first witness and the first bearer of the good news of the Resurrection of Christ. The centuries, however, have overlaid the image of Magdalene with some mystery. This mystery was born in the age of Early Christianity, when the doctrine of the holy Fathers of the Church, the Gnostic teachings, and many legends and traditions intersected. It is inherent of our time as well, especially after reading a great deal of the ancient manuscripts, found in Qumran and Nag Hammadi, which gave a new impetus to the fantasy of writers and researchers. It would hardly be fatal, if it did not marginalize important moments, related to Mary Magdalene at the expense of other, more curious but unproven – a fundamental territory of authors seeking rapid and sensational glory. This edition has neither ambition to add nor to take away the layered mystery, and even less, to debate with such authors. What it seeks to achieve is to highlight a clear and righteous image of Mary Magdalene, who, despite the disagreement, has been left behind in the centuries-old tradition of Christianity. In addition, to show that if there is a mystery with St Mary Magdalene, it is nothing but her virtue, devotional love and service in the name of Christ, that dawned on her earthly path, and continued after death. The first witness and the first messenger of the resurrection deserves both respect and wonder. A real mystery is how one can endure this and continue to live with the thought that it happened: that you are worthy first to be touched by the voice of the resurrected God, to soak His first words after the Resurrection, to become their first messenger to the apostles themselves, to bear the meaning of these words with you throughout your life, to give this meaning to others.
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