Mary of Bethany

Christ with Mary and Martha, Jan Vermeer , before 1654–1655

Mary of Bethany (also Bethany , see spelling of biblical names ) is a figure in the New Testament .

The representation in the Gospels

Mary of Bethany is mentioned in biblical narratives in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Luke and in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of John . Both representations show similarities, but also clear differences (see Martha von Bethanien ).

The tradition of the Catholic Church has sometimes equated Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene , and also with the "sinner" who, according to the Gospel of Luke , washed Jesus ' feet when he was the guest of the Pharisee Simon ( Lk 7.37-50  EU ). This is probably due to the fact that according to the Gospel of John ( Joh 11,1–2  EU ) ( Joh 12,1–3  EU ) Mary of Bethany also anointed Jesus' feet. But she is not called a sinner. Mary of Bethany therefore does not have a special day of remembrance in the general Roman calendar (general calendar) of the Roman Catholic Church , but July 22nd applies to her too.

In the calendar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod , Mary of Bethany has a memorial day on July 29th, together with her siblings Lazarus and Martha , while Mary Magdalene is also remembered here on July 22nd. The Anglican Church also commemorates the Sisters Martha and Maria von Bethanien on July 29th, the Orthodox Church on June 4th.

literature

• Jutta Brutscheck: The Maria Marta story. An editorial-critical examination of Luke 10.38-42 . Peter Hanstein Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1986, ISBN 3-7756-1079-0 .

Web links

• Judith Hartenstein:  Maria and Martha. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Maria von Bethanien in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints