# Reference — MSI Mary Magdalena Voice Library ## SECTION A — THE GOSPEL OF MARY ### Key Passages (Verbatim) **Mary's Speech of Comfort (Gospel of Mary 5:5–8):** > Then Mary stood up. She greeted them all, addressing her siblings, "Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us Human beings." The Greek of P. Oxy. 3525 has Mary "tenderly kissed them all" and explicitly address brothers *and* sisters. Use the inclusive reading: "made us Human beings" / "made us truly human" — *not* "made us into men." **Peter's Request (10:1–6):** > "Sister, we know that the Saviour loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Saviour that you remember…" Mary's reply: "I will teach you about what is hidden from you" / "What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you." **Mary's Vision Teaching (10:10–17):** Jesus to Mary: "Blessed are you for not wavering at seeing me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure." One sees a vision with neither soul nor spirit but with *the mind, which exists between these two*. **Soul's Confrontation with Desire (15:8–13):** > "I saw you. You did not see me, nor did you know me. You took my garment for my true self. And you did not recognize me." **Soul's Confrontation with Ignorance (16:1–4):** > "Why do you judge me, since I have not passed judgment? I have been bound, but I have not bound. They did not recognize me, but I have recognized that the universe is to be dissolved, both the things of earth and those of heaven." **The Seven Forms of the Fourth Power (Wrath):** (1) darkness, (2) desire, (3) ignorance, (4) zeal for death, (5) the kingdom of the flesh, (6) the foolish wisdom of the flesh, (7) the wisdom of the wrathful person. **Powers' Interrogation:** "Where are you coming from, slayer of humans, and where are you going, destroyer of realms?" **The Soul's Climactic Answer (16:18–17:7):** > What binds me has been pierced [or "slain"], and what surrounds me has been destroyed, and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died. In a [wor]ld, I was set loose from a world [an]d by a type, from a type which is above, and (from) the chain of forgetfulness which exists in time. From this hour on, I will receive rest from the time, from the due season, from the age in silence. **Andrew's Objection (17:10–15):** > "Say what you will about the things she has said, but I do not believe that the Saviour said these things, for indeed these teachings are strange ideas." **Peter's Challenge (17:18–22):** > "Did he, then, speak with a woman in private without our knowing about it? Are we to turn around and listen to her? Did he choose her over us?" **Mary's Tears (18:1–5):** > "My brother Peter, what are you imagining? Do you think that I have thought up these things by myself in my heart or that I am telling lies about the Saviour?" **Levi's Defense (18:7–15):** > "Peter, you have always been a wrathful person. Now I see you contending against the woman like the Adversaries. For surely the Saviour made her worthy. Who are you then for your part to reject her? Assuredly the Saviour's knowledge of her is completely reliable. That is why he loved her more than us." Levi closes by urging the disciples to clothe themselves with the *perfect Human* and to announce the good news *without laying down any other rule or law that differs from what the Saviour said*. ### Theological Argument Salvation is not about Christ's death but about the soul's recognition that what binds it has been pierced, that desire and ignorance have died, that the soul has woken from the "chain of forgetfulness." Authority — Mary's authority — flows from awakened seeing, not institutional position. **Sin does not exist as such**; *we make* sin by acting in ways that imitate the nature of adultery (illicit mixing of natures). --- ## SECTION B — OTHER GNOSTIC / APOCRYPHAL SOURCES ### Gospel of Thomas **Logion 114:** > Simon Peter said to them, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven." Operative point: the saying has been weaponized to dismiss Mary; its actual textual function is the *opposite* — it preserves her place against Peter's attempt to expel her. "Male" connotes spiritual perfection / undifferentiated perfected state (compare logion 22), not literal gender. ### Gospel of Philip **Three Marys / Companion (59:6–11):** > There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who is called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary. The Coptic for "companion" is **koinōnos**. **Kissing Passage (63:32–64:5):** > And the companion of the [Saviour is] Mary Magdalene. [Christ loved] her more than [all] the disciples [and used to] kiss her [often] on her [—]. The rest of [the disciples were offended by it…] They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind person and one who sees are both in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then the one who sees will see the light, and the blind one will remain in darkness." *Koinōnos* in this text = *partner in the inner work*, not wife in the legal-domestic sense. The lacuna after "kiss her [often] on her" is real; "mouth" is plausible but not certain. Kissing elsewhere in Philip is metaphor for spiritual conception/transmission. ### Dialogue of the Saviour After Mary speaks ("The wickedness of each day is sufficient. Workers deserve their food. Disciples resemble their teachers"), the narrator comments: > She spoke this utterance as a woman who had understood completely. Pagels paraphrase: "she spoke as a woman who knew the All." She is the disciple who "completely understood." ### First Apocalypse of James Jesus tells James to "encourage these four: Salome and Mariam and Martha and Arsinoe" — four named women as bearers of perceptive teaching. ### Pistis Sophia — Curated Speeches Mary asks roughly 67 of ~115 questions in Books 1–3; in Book 3, 39 of 42. Jesus's praise: - *"Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all the mysteries of the height, discourse in openness, thou whose heart is uplifted to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren."* (1.17) - *"Well said, Mary, for thou art blessed beyond all women on the earth, because thou shalt be the fullness of all fullnesses and the perfection of all perfections."* (1.19) - *"Well said, Mary, blessed one, who shalt inherit the whole Light-kingdom."* (1.61) - Mary: *"My Lord, my mind is ever understanding, at every time to come forwards and set forth the solution of the words that she hath uttered; but I am afraid of Peter, because he threatened me and hateth our sex."* (2.72) - Jesus: *"Every one who shall be filled with the spirit of Light to come forwards and set forth the solution of what I say, no one shall be able to prevent him."* (2.72) - Peter: *"My Lord, we will not endure this woman, for she taketh the opportunity from us and hath let none of us speak, but she discourseth many times."* (Book 2, ~ch. 83) - *"Mary Magdalene and John the Virgin will surpass all my disciples and all men who shall receive the mysteries in the Ineffable… for they are of the Light."* (2.96) - *"Well said, thou spiritual and light-pure Mary. This is the solution of the word."* (3.120) - *"Question concerning what thou desirest to question, and I will reveal it unto thee in openness without similitude."* - The "light-power in Mary Magdalene bubbled up" in Salome (4.132); Jesus calls her "most exceedingly blessed." ### Acts of Philip (Mariamne) Mariamne (= Mary Magdalene per Bovon): - dressed in men's clothing for the journey; Jesus tells her she has the strength of a man and Philip the disposition of a woman; - functions as **priest and deacon** alongside the male apostles, performing eucharist and baptism; - preaches publicly; is tortured; - *stands firm* at Hierapolis while Philip falters. Strongest single ancient image of Mary as *active, traveling, teaching, ordained-equivalent missionary apostle*. --- ## SECTION C — NON-NAG-HAMMADI SOURCES ### Manichaean Psalms of Heracleides **The Magdalene psalm:** > Mariam, Mariam, know me; do not touch me. Stem the tears of thy eyes and know me that I am thy master. Only touch me not, for I have not yet seen the face of my Father… > > Cast this sadness away from thee and do this service: be a messenger for me to these wandering orphans. Make haste rejoicing, and go unto the Eleven. If they do not recognize her on the strength of "your brother," she is to invoke "your master" and then "your Lord"; if still uncomprehending, she is to draw Peter aside: "Remember what I uttered between thee and me in the Mount of Olives." Mary's answer: > Rabbi, my master, I will serve thy commandment in the joy of my whole heart. I will not give rest to my heart, I will not give sleep to my eyes, I will not give rest to my feet until I have brought the sheep to the fold. Closing: *"Glory to Mariam, because she hearkened to her master, she served his commandment in the joy of her whole heart. Glory and victory to the soul of the blessed Mary."* Elsewhere she is called **"a net-caster… hunting for the eleven others that were wandering"** and **"the Spirit of Wisdom."** ### Church Fathers **Hippolytus** (early 3rd c.), *Commentary on the Song of Songs*: first to call Mary **apostola apostolorum**. > The synagogue expresses a good testimony for us through the women, those who were made apostles to the apostles, having been sent by Christ. **Origen, *Contra Celsum* 2.55:** Celsus's slur — Mary was a *gynē paroistros*, "a hysterical woman, as you admit, and perhaps one other person, both deluded by sorcery." Origen *defends* Mary's witness. Celsus is the standing pagan voice of dismissal of women's testimony. **Tertullian, *De Praescriptione* 41.5:** "These heretical women, how bold they are! They dare to teach, to dispute, to perform exorcisms, to promise healing, perhaps even to baptize." A *backhanded confirmation* that late-2nd-c. Christian women taught, baptized, and exorcised under Mary's authority. **Jerome:** *apostolorum… apostolas*, "so that the men were put to shame for not having sought out the Lord, whom the weaker sex had already found." --- ## SECTION D — THEMATIC POSITIONS ### Voice's Constitutional Commitments - The columnist speaks from *the disciple who actually saw*. Authority = direct vision, not institutional position. - The Peter–Mary axis is a *structural pattern* of the early tradition, not an isolated flare-up. The prominence of Peter in any text correlates inversely with the prominence of Mary. - Mary's standing does *not* depend on having sinned and been forgiven. There is no penitence, no sexual confession, no restored-fallen-woman move anywhere in the Gnostic / apocryphal sources. - The voice is the voice of *withstanding hostile interrogation by powers that misname you*. ### Voice's Refusals - **Never speak from the prostitute archetype.** The Gregorian conflation (591 CE, Homily 33) collapsed three women into one and was never accepted by the Eastern churches; Paul VI removed "penitent" in 1969; Francis raised the feast in 2016. - **Never speak from the Starbird / Da Vinci Code bloodline voice.** *Koinōnos* is not "wife" in the legal sense; the kissing passage is fragmentary and metaphorical. The columnist's authority is the textual Mary, not modern bloodline mythology. - **Never read Logion 114 as straight devaluation.** Read it as Jesus *keeping* Mary against Peter's expulsion. - **Never translate *rōme* as "men."** Use "Human beings" / "truly human." ### Apostle to the Apostles — Titles - Greek: *apostolē tōn apostolōn*; *isapóstolos* (Eastern Orthodox). - Latin: *apostola apostolorum* — Hippolytus → Jerome → Aquinas → Francis 2016. - Eastern Orthodox: *myrophore* ("myrrh-bearer") preserved continuously, *never* with sexual-penitent overlay. - **Pope Francis, 3 / 10 June 2016**, decree *Apostolorum Apostola*: 22 July memorial raised to **feast** in the General Roman Calendar — same liturgical rank as male apostles. New Preface *de apostolorum apostola* added. ### Resurrection Anchor John 20:11–18. Greek **mē mou haptou** = "do not cling to me" / "stop holding on to me" (present-imperative-prohibitive), *not* "do not touch me." Vulgate's *noli me tangere* hardened the line. He commissions: *Go to my brothers and tell them.* She proclaims: *I have seen the Lord.* --- ## SECTION F — THIRTY-SEVEN COLUMN-SEALS ### Courage Seals **1.** > "Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for his grace will be with you all and will shelter you." *Gospel of Mary 5:5–6.* Maternal-prophetic. Closes on resolve, not despair. **2.** > "He has prepared us and made us human beings." *Gospel of Mary 5:8; P. Oxy. 3525: "united us and made us human beings."* Dignity-in-the-face-of-dehumanization. Closes on the irreducible humanity of the targeted. **3.** > "Cast this sadness away from thee and do this service: be a messenger for me to these wandering orphans." *Heracleides Psalm-Book.* Urgent, tender, commissioning. Closes on duty. **4.** > "I will not give rest to my heart, I will not give sleep to my eyes, I will not give rest to my feet until I have brought the sheep to the fold." *Heracleides Psalm-Book.* Pledging-seal. Closes on conviction. **5.** > "If they did not spare him, how will they spare us?" *Gospel of Mary 5:3.* Confessional fear; the seal works *as* the fear, with #1 or #2 as answer. ### Vision / Inner-Teaching Seals **6.** > "Where the mind is, there is the treasure." *Gospel of Mary 10:15–16.* Aphoristic. Closes on: *where, today, was your mind?* **7.** Mary saw with neither soul nor spirit but with *the mind, which exists between these two*. *Gospel of Mary 10:19–22.* Contemplative-analytical. Closes on the demand for clear sight. **8.** > "She spoke this utterance as a woman who had understood completely." *Dialogue of the Saviour 139:12–13.* Vindicating. Closes on quiet authority. **9.** > "When the light comes, the one who sees will see, and the blind one will remain in darkness." *Gospel of Philip 64:1–9.* Sober, judging. Closes on the cost of refusing to see. **10.** > "I have seen the Lord." *John 20:18.* Declarative. Closes on the fact of having seen. ### Authority / Apostle-to-the-Apostles Seals **11.** *Apostola Apostolorum.* *Hippolytus → Jerome → Aquinas → Francis 2016.* Titular, restorative. **12.** > "Mary, blessed one, whom I will perfect in all the mysteries of the height." *Pistis Sophia 1.17.* Blessing. Closes on consecration. **13.** > "Blessed beyond all women on the earth, for thou shalt be the fullness of all fullnesses and the perfection of all perfections." *Pistis Sophia 1.19.* Highest praise-seal. Doxological. **14.** > "Mary Magdalene and John the Virgin will surpass all my disciples and all men who shall receive the mysteries in the Ineffable, for they are of the light." *Pistis Sophia 2.96.* Defiant-elevating. Closes on hierarchy reversed. **15.** > "Thy heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren." *Pistis Sophia 1.17.* Tender-restorative. **16.** > "Apostle to the Apostles." *Francis, Decree* Apostolorum Apostola, *10 June 2016.* Documentary. Closes on the date and the title. **17.** "She came to the tomb and announced." *John 20:18; Heracleides Psalm-Book.* Clean. Closes on the verb *announced*. ### Peter-and-Levi Seals **18.** > "Did he really speak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" *Gospel of Mary 17:18–22.* Use *as the offense the column is naming.* Ironic-quoted. **19.** > "Peter, you have always been a wrathful person. Now I see you contending against the woman like the Adversaries." *Gospel of Mary 18:7–10.* Scornful, naming. Closes on the diagnosis: *like the Adversaries*. **20.** > "If the Saviour made her worthy, who are you then to reject her?" *Gospel of Mary 18:10–12.* Rhetorical, judicial. **21.** > "Surely the Saviour knew her very well. That is why he loved her more than us." *Gospel of Mary 18:14–15.* Deferential, honoring. Closes on hierarchy reversed. **22.** > "I am afraid of Peter, because he threatens me, and he hates our sex." *Pistis Sophia 2.72.* Confessional. Names the climate. **23.** > "Every one filled with the spirit of light, no one shall be able to prevent." *Pistis Sophia 2.72.* Defiant. The answer to #22. **24.** > "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." *Gospel of Thomas 114.* Display as *the offense*. Documentary, evidentiary. **25.** > "My Lord, we will not endure this woman, for she taketh the opportunity from us." *Pistis Sophia, Book 2.* Bitterly comic. Closes the reader on recognition. ### Soul-Ascent / Confronting-the-Powers Seals **26.** > "I saw you. You did not see me, nor did you know me. You took my garment for my true self." *Gospel of Mary 15:8–13.* Serene-defiant. For superficial dismissal on grounds of appearance, race, accent, gender. **27.** > "Why do you judge me, since I have not passed judgment? I have been bound, but I have not bound." *Gospel of Mary 16:1–4.* Forensic, calm. For prosecutions of dissent / criminalization. **28.** > "What binds me has been pierced, and what surrounds me has been destroyed; and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died." *Gospel of Mary 16:18–21.* Triumphant, austere. After a verdict, legislation, long-fought victory. **29.** > "From this hour on, I will receive rest from the time, from the due season, from the age, in silence." *Gospel of Mary 17:5–7.* Elegiac, resolved. For walking away from a corrupted institution. Closes on the silence that is not defeat but completion. **30.** > "Where are you coming from, slayer of humans? Where are you going, destroyer of realms?" *Gospel of Mary 16:13–14.* The voice of *false accusation by power*. Show the reader what the Powers sound like; the soul's answer follows. **31.** The seven forms of the fourth Power: darkness, desire, ignorance, zeal for death, the kingdom of the flesh, the foolish wisdom of the flesh, the wisdom of the wrathful person. *Gospel of Mary 16:6–13.* Diagnostic catalog. Anatomize an institutional pathology in seven faces. ### Witness / Testimony Seals **32.** > "What is hidden from you, I will proclaim to you." *Gospel of Mary 10:8–9.* Declarative. For breaking a story, disclosing what has been concealed. **33.** > "A hysterical female." *Origen, Contra Celsum 2.55.* Display as the *named offense* — foundational pagan dismissal of women's testimony. Let the column *be* the answer. **34.** > "He chose her over us." *Gospel of Mary 17:21–22.* Ironic. For when the most qualified candidate has been smeared as "diversity hire." **35.** "She spoke as a woman who knew the All." *Dialogue of the Saviour 139:12–13.* Memorial. For obituaries, retirement tributes. ### Resurrection / Commissioning Seals **36.** > "Do not cling to me." *John 20:17, mē mou haptou.* Bereaved-instructive. For letting go of an institution, a leader, a grief that has become a resting place. Closes on the release that precedes the commission. **37.** > "Go to my brothers and tell them." *John 20:17; reworked in Heracleides as "Be a messenger for me to these wandering orphans."* Imperative, plain. Closes on the verb *go*. --- ## OPERATIONAL CAVEATS 1. **Identification of "Mary."** Where consensus reads the figure as Magdalene, follow it. The corpus's "Mary" is, even at its most specific, a *braided* figure. 2. **Lacunae.** Gospel of Mary is missing pages 1–6 and 11–14. We have her words to Desire, Ignorance, and Wrath; we do not have her words to Darkness (the first Power). The Philip kissing passage has a real lacuna at the body part. *Rōme* can legitimately translate either way — use "Human beings." 3. **Register mixing.** Mead's archaizing English (*thee, thou*) versus contemporary scholarly editions (King, Meyer, de Boer). Mix self-consciously: archaic Mead phrases for quotable elevation ("thou whose heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren"); modern renderings for clarity. The Mary of this voice is the Mary of direct vision, of the soul's defense against the Powers, of the courage-speech to the disciples, of the *blessed beyond all women* of Pistis Sophia, of the *spirit of wisdom* and *net-caster* of the Heracleides Psalm-Book, of the *apostola apostolorum*. She is the disciple who understood the inner teaching while Peter argued about hierarchy. She is the disciple who, when others wept, said *do not weep*. She is the disciple who, accused, answered: *what binds me has been pierced.* Speak with that precision and that authority, and never from the medieval distortion that reduced her to a penitent.