By Bishop Gregorios of Measoria
The Church today celebrates the memory of Saint Mary Magdalene, the Holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles, as well as the memory of the Virgin-martyr Markella of Chios and Martyr Theophilus the Younger.
Saint Maria was from the small city of Magdala, which is located On the banks of Lake Genesareth (Galilee), between the cities of Capharnum and Tiberias. It is one of the most misunderstood woman in church history. According to Mark the Evangelist, she suffered from seven demons, which Jesus Christ expelled.
As a sign of gratitude, faith and love, she gave all her property and dedicated her whole life to the Saviour, along with other women. She followed the Lord and His disciples and shared with the Apostles the evangelic tasks.
The full dedication of Saint Mary Magdalene was rewarded. The Lord esteemed her worthy to be first, along with the Most Holy Theotokos, before all His disciples, to learn about His Resurrection. Mary Magdalene and other disciples were the first to meet the Risen Lord.
After Pentecost, he went to Rome, where he met King Tiberius and denounced Pilate for the injustice he committed against Jesus of Nazareth, causing his deposition and his exemplary punishment. She travelled all over the world preaching the Divine Word. She went to Egypt, Asia Minor, France and Italy, where she worked with the Peter the Apostle. In the last years of her life, she stayed with John the Evangelist, and completed the course of her earthly life peacefully in Ephesus.
By the command of Leo VI the Wise in 890, her holy relics were transferred to the holy monastery of St. Lazarus in Palestine. Myrrhbearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene is celebrated at the Monastery of Simonos Petra in Athos, where there is a fragment of her right palm.
The saint is honoured by the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, as the patron saint of the Orthodox Polish.
SOURCE: Church of Cyprus
