Two Marys
Today we honor the witness of two Marys who likely knew of each other, even if they never met. Both of them worked tirelessly towards the strengthening and growth of the early Church in the cities where God had placed them.
According to tradition, Mary the wife of Cleopas was the daughter of St. Joseph by his first wife. She was still very young when the Theotokos was betrothed to the Righteous Joseph and brought to his house.
After Joseph returned to Nazareth from Egypt with the Savior and the Mother of God, his daughter Mary was married to Cleopas. Their son Symeon was one of the most famous and long-standing leaders of the early church in Jerusalem, until his martyrdom under the emperor Trajan. She was therefore both the Theotokos’ sister-in-law and Jesus’ aunt.
Mary and Cleopas were likely disciples of Jesus who traveled with him from Galilee on his final journey to Jerusalem. After his death and resurrection, they became prominent members of the early Jewish Christian community in Palestine, where—like other of Jesus’ relatives—they actively spread the gospel.
It is possible, although not certain, that Mary of Cleopas knew of another Mary, one living in Rome and working with similar zeal to strengthen and support the early Church there. At the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote a series of greetings to significant people in Rome. In verse six, he writes: “Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. ”
That is all we know about this woman who seems to have played an active role in supporting Paul’s ministry and the well-being of the Church. In his sermon on this chapter of Romans, St. John Chrysostom said of Mary, “A woman again is honored and proclaimed victorious!”
St. John Chrysostom then compared Mary of Rome and her fellow workers to spirited lions, “sharing with the Apostles their labors for the Gospel’s sake. In this way they went travelling with them, and also performed all other ministries. And even in Christ’s day there followed Him women, ‘which ministered unto Him of their substance’ (Luke viii. 3)” (Homily XXXI).
Both Marys were changed by their encounter with Christ, and used their intelligence, skills, and capability for hard work towards the spread of the Gospel and the wellbeing of their Christian community. Today we have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of their lives as we labor side by side as Orthodox women wherever God has placed us, in the service of Christ our God.
We are nearing the end of our Mythbearing Women Fundraiser, and we’d love to send you a high-quality 8×10 print of Heather MacKean’s Women of the New Testament Icon, which contains both of these Marys! Your support directly makes possible gatherings, scholarships, and resources that enable Orthodox women to come together across differences, deepen in faith, and find the encouragement and training they need to live out their callings in the Church.