Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Mary in Encratic traditions

So I'm almost done with chapter 5 "Is Marriage a Sin?" Today I am putting the finishing touches on the last section which deals with portraits of Mary Magdalene in encratic literature. Not surprisingly the prominent image of Mary in the encratic literature is the "male" Mary who is the Apostle to the Apostles.

Photo: St. Albans Psalter; Mary Magdalene as Apostle to the Apostles

2 comments:

Pastor Bob said...

Interesting painting. Mary is male in shape but has no beard in comparison with the rest and wears a woman's head covering. But she is clearly teaching the men.

April DeConick said...

Yes. My chapter includes "male" females!