Apostle Mary Magdalene's Missionary Journeys
- Elaine R Kelly
- May 14
- 9 min read
Mary Magdala was a Prominent Patron, Disciple and Apostle, so where might she have travelled on her missionary journeys?
The Bible portrays Mary as a mature and devoted disciple and patron present at key moments with Jesus. After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned her as an apostle to the apostles (John 20:1-18). Augustine in the fourth century and St Aquinas in the thirteenth century called Mary Magdalene an ‘apostle to the apostles’ because Jesus sent her to tell the apostles that he had risen.
While Mary Magdalene is prominent in the Gospels, the last possible mention of her is when Jesus appears to women at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). While Acts of the Apostles provides the activities of a few of the male apostles, it says nothing about Mary Magdalene's activities.
So, where might this devoted disciple have gone as an apostle?
In my fiction, Forgotten Followers, from Broken to Bold, I shine the light on several female apostles: Junia, Susannah, Mary Magdalene, and Mariamne, the sister of Apostle Philip.
This is article 3 of 5 articles on female apostles in the Bible and the early church, where I portray Mary Magdalene as a patron and disciple, commissioned by Jesus as an apostle to the apostles.
Who is an Apostle: Are there Female Apostles?
Apostle Junia's Missionary Journeys
France
She likely didn't go to Gaul (France). That idea originated when the church enforced the interpretation that there was a composite Mary, merging Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha, and the 'sinful woman’ of Luke 7. There is no biblical evidence to support the composite Mary, but the teaching of the composite Mary was formalized for the Western church under Roman Catholic Pope Gregory in AD 591.
When the priests plotted to kill Lazarus (John 12:10), church tradition tells us that Mary and her sister Martha and her brother Lazarus escaped Judea with a disciple named Maximin on a boat without sails or oars in AD 42. They landed in Marseille and preached about Jesus in Gaul (present-day France). Today, the bones of Lazarus are in Notre Dame Cathédrale La Major in Marseille, France, and Martha’s tomb is in Tarascon, France. There is a nearby tomb at Sainte-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, found in AD 1279, which was marked as Mary Magdalene's. That was while the church enforced the teaching of the composite Mary. In 1521, it was a heresy worthy of excommunication to oppose the composite Mary. This coffin likely belongs to Mary, the sister of Martha. In 1969, the Catholic Church removed references to the composite Mary and acknowledged them as a distinct women.
Through the first fifteen hundred years of Christianity, the Western Church, lead by the Roman Catholic Pope, enforced the composite Mary, complete with her history as a prostitue that spent the rest of her life doing penance, living as an ascetic in a cave in Gaul (France), where she died and was buried.
On the other hand, the Eastern Orthodox churches have always taught that Mary Magdalene and Mary, Martha's sister, were distinct individuals, and neither was the sinful woman of Luke 7. The Eastern Orthodox church has always honoured Mary Magdalene as an apostle to the apostles, who testified before the Roman Emperor Tiberius, and travelled as an apostle. In my fiction, I refer to her as Marie of Magdala, a variation of the name to keep Mary Magdalene distinct from Mary, the sister of Bethany, and Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene Goes to Rome
The non-canonical Acts of Pilate[1] quotes Mary Magdalene saying, “Who will let these things be heard by all the world? I shall go alone to Rome, to the Caesar. I shall show him what evil Pilate has done in obeying the lawless Jews”.
Early church historian Eusebius wrote that Tiberius knew from Pilate about the rumours that Christ rose, “and did not find anything preposterous in Christ’s teachings”. In addition, Eusebius credits Mary Magdalene’s preaching for Tiberius’s proposal to the senate that they “include Christ in the pantheon of Roman gods”[2]. Mary's visit to Rome would have been prior to Tiberius's death in AD 37.
Mary Magdalene was likely a woman of greater social status to have the wealth and independence to travel [3]. The Eastern Orthodox tradition is that Mary Magdalene appeared before Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome and testified that Jesus rose from the dead, proving her testimony with a miraculous sign. The egg in her hand turned red. That's why many countries where the Eastern Orthodox Church is dominant have a long history of colouring Easter Eggs Red.
In Because She Was Called, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Early Church, I imagine Mary Magdalene and Junia appearing together before Emperor Tiberius and Mary Magdalene deciding to stay and serve the church in Rome.
Mary Magdalene in Alexandria, Egypt
In AD 1896, fragments of the non-canonical Gospel of Mary were found in Upper Egypt. Likely dating to the second century, these scrolls were written in Coptic and show Mary Magdalene as a disciple with special revelations from Jesus. They were likely written by followers of people who had heard Mary preaching or teaching in Egypt. Philo of Alexandria was a well-known Jewish theologian who interpreted scriptures through Plato's thinking. He visited Rome in AD 40. It's possible that Mary Magdalene remained in Rome after her appearance to Emperor Tiberius in AD 36 or 37. While the canonical gospels focus on Jewish and Roman views of early Christianity, the Gospel of Mary shows the Greek views of the life and purpose of Jesus. It contains ideas familiar to those accustomed to Plato's teachings [4].
Let's look at how Plato influenced Philo's understanding of Scripture and how that may have impacted the Gospel of Mary.
Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish scholar and philosopher who led a delegation to Emperor Caligula to request support in stopping the riots between Greeks and Jews, the persecution of Jews, and the placement of imperial cult statues in Jewish synagogues. Those of the imperial cult accused Jews of not honouring the emperor, while Greek philosophers and scientists were upset that Jews rejected their scientific advances. Aulus Avilius Flaccus, a Roman Governor of Egypt, had established discriminatory policies, stripping the Jews of rights and citizenship, encouraging destruction of Jewish property, and limiting them to living in a ghetto.
In AD 40, Philo of Alexandria's delegation requested that Emperor Caligula stop the persecution and riots [5]. Caligula mocked the Jews and their beliefs and threatened to execute them. In addition to encouraging the imperial cult, Caligula announced he would put a statue of himself as a god in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the fall of that year, Caligula announced to the Senate that he would move to Alexandria and rule the Roman Empire from there as a divine monarch and Roman Pharaoh. He was assassinated in January of AD 41.
Philo was a Jewish scholar who interpreted scripture through Plato's thought [6]. Plato suggested that on earth, we see shadows of a world of perfect forms in the mind of the maker. Philo positioned Plato's world of perfect forms in God's mind before creation, with God as the source of perfect forms, patterns, structures, and ideas.
The ‘shadow’ concept of Plato may impact how we understand the Bible. What we understand while we are on earth is just a small, vague, imperfect imitation of what we will understand in future. It seems possible that New Testament writers referred to the familiar concept of Plato’s shadow world when they described our world as a shadow of what is in heaven.
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. (Hebrews 8:5a ESV)
These are a shadow of the things to come. (Colossians 2:17a ESV)
For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7 ESV)
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV)
Just as Plato's thoughts influenced Philo's understanding of scripture, and likely influenced New Testament writers, Plato may also have influenced the writers of the Gospel of Mary. This ancient text describes special knowledge (gnosis), obtained through Mary's visions or revelations, revealing the true nature of God and our relationship with God.
Rather than focusing on rules for morality or religious sacraments, it emphasizes self-awareness and the need to focus on the return to God [7]. Sin is associated with losing focus on God, rather than a moral transgression. The Gnostic Gospels discuss sin as a disorientation where we lose our attunement with the divine. We lose sight of God, who lives within each of us. Salvation comes from seeking the divine, recovering the divine spark within oneself, and reconnecting with God as a path to liberation. It is within our power to reorient our focus on God. Jesus lived to show us how to reorient our desire and connect with God. With this view of sin and salvation, there is no need for organized religion, rituals, or sacraments, though organizations could help us to reorient and focus on God.
Karen L. King, Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, and author of The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the first woman apostle, says the Gospel of Mary provides:
an intriguing glimpse into a kind of Christianity lost for almost fifteen hundred years...[it] presents a radical interpretation of Jesus' teachings as a path to inner spiritual knowledge; it rejects His suffering and death as the path to eternal life; it exposes the erroneous view that Mary of Magdala was a prostitute for what it is – a piece of theological fiction; it presents the most straightforward and convincing argument in any early Christian writing for the legitimacy of women's leadership; it offers a sharp critique of illegitimate power and a utopian vision of spiritual perfection; it challenges our rather romantic views about the harmony and unanimity of the first Christians; and it asks us to rethink the basis for church authority.[8]
In Finding Her Voice, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles, I imagine Mary Magdalene meeting Philo of Alexandria when he visits Rome. Perhaps she and other Jewish Christians in Rome hosted Philo and his delegation. I imagine her travelling with Philo to Egypt, the place where the Gospel of Mary was discovered in 1896. This novel posits that Mary Magdalene and Philo of Alexandria discussed philosophy, theology, scripture, Plato, and the gospel. My fiction shows Mary Magdalene as a prominent patron and disciple, a reliable witness to Jesus's life, and an apostle who receives visions from God and a model woman leader in the early church.
Mary Magdalene in Ephesus
The Gospel of Mary shows the writer was familiar with the Gospel of John. It is possible that Mary of Magdala, whose visions are described in the Gospel of Mary, went to Ephesus to discuss them with John and compare them to his visions and revelations. The Apostle John apparently lived in Ephesus for a time, possibly taking Jesus's mother there for safety after Herod killed John's brother, James. John likely established the first Christian community in Ephesus and led it before Paul arrived in Ephesus. John wrote the Gospel of John, the three letters of John, and the book of Revelation. Under Roman law, the penalty for prophecy, astrology and magic was banishment. John is said to have lived in Ephesus until he was banished to the island of Patmos under Roman Emperor Domitian (AD 81 – 96), and later returned to Ephesus and died there.
The sixth-century historian Gregory of Tours noted that Mary Magdalene later travelled to Ephesus (present-day Turkey), where she was buried. In AD 886, Byzantine Emperor Leo VI had her remains moved to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
Rome
The Orthodox church recognizes Mary Magdalene back in Rome when Paul greeted her saying, “Mary, who works hard for you” (Romans 16:6)[9]. Jews had been banned from Rome under Emperor Claudius and were not permitted to return until after his death in AD 54. Paul wrote his letter to the Jewish and Greek Christians in Rome in the late AD 50s.
Conclusion
We don't have clear records of where Mary Magdalene went as an Apostle. However, some traditions position her as going to Rome and Ephesus. The Gospel of Mary gives evidence that Mary went to Alexandria and parts of Egypt. My fiction portrays Mary Magdalene as a devout disciple and leading apostle, working in Rome, Alexandria, and Ephesus.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles (coming October 2025)
Sources:
[1] Kirby, Peter. “Gospel of Nicodemus: Acts of Pilate” Early Christian Writings, Accessed May 3, 2025 https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelnicodemus-roberts.html#google_vignette
[2] Makary (Veretennikov) “Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene”. OrthoChristian.Com, Orthodox Christianity , https://orthochristian.com/122857.html
Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
[3] Alon Bernstein, Isaac Scharf, “Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but a devoted disciple who supported Jesus financially and spiritually, scholars say”, Independent, 1 April 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mary-magdalene-feminism-metoo-jesus-disciples-apostle-christianity-judaism-pope-francis-vatican-a8281731.html
[4] Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur, “The Gospel of Mary of Magdala by Karen L. King, 2022, EBSCO, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/gospel-mary-magdala-karen-l-king
[5] "Philo", The Roman Empire in the First Century, PBS, Accessed 3 May 2025, https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/philo.html
[6] Rabbi Joshua Garroway, “Inside the Mind of God: Plato’s Influence on Ancient Judaism and Christianity,” CSP – Community Scholar Program, April 8, 2022,
[7] Edmund, "'God's truth' and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene", Medium, December 29, 2024, https://medium.com/@mundsworld/gods-truth-and-the-gospel-of-mary-magdalene-e04d5946eee3
[8] "Gospel of Mary", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mary. Accessed 3 May 2022
[9] Makary (Veretennikov) “Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene”. OrthoChristian.Com, Orthodox Christianity, Accessed May 3, 2025, https://orthochristian.com/122857.html
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