Amazon Sanctuary Publications Category:  Religion Publisher: Sanctuary Publications, Inc. ISBN-10:  0974699543 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 322 Copyright: 2005 ISBN-13: 9780974699547 The historical tradition of the first apostle of Christianity, and the ancient Church's campaign to suppress it. From the earliest days of Christianity, Mary Magdalene has been the subject of controversy, rumor and innuendo. Yet the historical Mary was neither a prostitute nor the wife of Jesus. The canonical Gospels are clear that Mary was Jesus' most faithful disciple. She witnessed his crucifixion after all the male disciples had fled in fear. Shortly after Jesus died, Mary had a powerful experience of the living Jesus and, as a consequence, became the first apostle of Christianity. The Gnostic Gospels further claim that Mary was a leader, teacher, visionary, and especially favored by Jesus because of her holiness. But while it was the sixth century pope, Gregory the Great, who scandalized Mary by reinventing her as a penitent sinner, the patriarchs of orthodox had been taking measures to conceal the truth about Mary Magdalene since the beginning of Christianity itself. Why did the Church find Mary so dangerous? The Crucifixion of Mary Magdalene answers this question through a careful study of Christian origins and a detailed analysis of all of the canonical, apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels in which Mary Magdalene appears. Excerpt From: IV. The Reinvention of Mary We now realize that the Mary Magdalene of history and the Mary Magdalene of historical tradition bears no resemblance to the Mary Magdalene of popular imagination. But what was the process by which Mary, the holy woman, was transformed into Mary the whore? And why did the patriarchs of the early orthodox Church feel it necessary to deflower Mary? Mary's tradition became associated with a form of Christian theology (Gnostic Christianity) which the early Church fathers found unacceptable, but also because Mary had been considered a female apostle, teacher and leader, her resurrection tradition was in conflict with Peter's tradition, and because she was first witness to the Easter event. While all of these aspects of Mary's tradition had theological implications for the early patriarchs of the Church, these men were most concerned about their political implications. If a patriarchal hierarchy in the Church was to be established, then all matriarchal Christian traditions had to be suppressed by any means necessary. Ann Brock in her book, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle, notes that in politics, the most effective way of undermining opponents is to attack them on moral grounds by suggesting sexual improprieties. Theological opponents are just as vulnerable to such attacks, and the gender politics of the early Church encouraged various orthodox polemicists to use this method to discredit the historical tradition of Mary Magdalene. Rosmary Ruether suggests that "The tradition of Mary Magdalene as a sinner was developed in orthodox Christianity to displace the apostolic authority claimed for women through her name." Mary Magdalene, in other words, became collateral damage in the early Church's war over who had authority to speak for Jesus.

Susan Rangitsch, Ed.D, Integritas Foundation
"Richard Hooper has laid open the seminal roots of patriarchy through his scholarly restoration of Mary Magdalene's rightful place in history. The implication of Richard's conclusions are huge and outraeously accurate--women have inspired the faith of men! But byond the restoration of the original character of Mary Magdalene, Richard uncovers the essence of her teachings and exposes the essential realm of feminine divinity within spirituality. "

Robert W. Graff, PhD, Professor of Psychology
This book is an excellent resource of information about the many faces of Mary Magdalene. Written with expertise, Richard Hooper's insightful analysis is a solid contribution to the dialogue on Mary that is rapidly attracting the attention of mainstream theologians. History , religion, spirituality and mysticism are equally represented