Academic Journal

​Will you help us? Our intention is to publish an academic journal devoted to the studies of Mary Magdalene in time, partly based on the papers at our annual conference. 

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​list of categories of research and topics discussed at conferences

• Mary Magdalene in modern scholarship

• ​Gnostic traditions about Mary Magdalene

 

• Apocalyptic visions of Mary Magdalene among modern neo-gnostic groups

 

• ​Mary Magdalene as portrayed in the history of art
  
  
• ​How might the teachings of a Mary Magdalene church differ from conventional Christian theologies 
  
  
• ​Jewish understandings and (re)appropriations of Mary Magdalene 
  
  
• ​The church’s teachings on sacred sexuality 
  
  
• ​Jesus and Mary as a “wisdom affair” and what that means 
  
  
• What does the Pistis Sophia say about Mary Magdalene and where did it come from? 

 

• What has the Gospel of Mary Magdalene from Nag Hammadi  got to tell us and what is its provenance ? 
  
  
• ​Tracing the Western art history tradition of the “Penitent Mary”  
  
  
• Researching the changing images of Mary Magdalene role in literature and feminist fiction 
  
  
• Is it possible to publish a new comprehensive edition of the Bible with all the lost gnostic texts included in it, including the Books of Enoch and the Gospel of Mary and the Pistis Sophia ? 
   
• What is the status of Mary Magdalene in paganism and among contemporary pagan scholars ? 
  
  
• Mary Magdalene has a long tradition of being honoured among French and European occult groups – what is the history and context of this ? 
  
  
• Among scholars of Western European esotericism, has Mary Magdalene been an object of special study ? 
  
  
• Druids and Druidical Christianity and their attitudes to Mary Magdalene: Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Gallic, Breton and Celtic Christian teachings on Mary Magdalene 
  
  
• Which PhD students worldwide are currently focusing on Mary Magdalene for their researches ?
   
• Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip and Thomas from Nag Hammadi was seen as Sophia – what is the Sophianic tradition of Christianity and its connection to  Mary Magdalene ?
   
• Islam teachings on Mary Magdalene: Jesus is mentioned 49 times in the Koran, but Mary Magdalene is not mentioned once – why ? Is there any evidence Muhammad had heard of Mary Magdalene and if not, why not and what does it tell us about the differences of Christian and Islamic theology ? 
  
  
• Black Madonnas, Mary and the Song of Solomon: It was customary to recite from the Song of Songs on Mary Magdalene’s day (July 22) in church liturgy – where Mary was equated to the black bride in the text – why ? 
  
  
• What is the history and provenance of the sites associated with Mary Magdalene in France: Vezelay (where a huge basilica was built to her memory) Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (where she landed, in the Camargue near Arles, arriving with Mary Salome and Mary of Clopas, and Joseph of Arimathea, all three Mary’s being witnesses of the crucifixion), Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (where she went on retreat, died and is buried), Marseilles (where Mary Magdalene, Lazarus and Martha lived some time) 
  
  
• ​Why was Magdalene important to scholarship at Oxford and Cambridge, where two important colleges were dedicated to her memory in Mediaeval times  ? Did academics in Europe especially revere Mary
  
  

• Magdalene and which other colleges in European lands are called after her ? 
  
  
• How important is Mary Magdalen to Romani (Gypsy) culture and spirituality, given that St Sarah is a figure of special veneration for them, who was with Mary Magdalen; what is the history of this tradition on the South of France ? 
  
  
• Among the self-identified contemporary Mary Magdalene churches, what was their history and provenance? 
  
  
• Among the churches of Africa (Ethiopia, Coptic, Sub Saharan Africa, African diaspora churches, Rastafarian) what is and was the status of Mary Magdalene ?  
  
  
• What was the status of Mary Magdalene among Arian, Nestorian, and other forms of Christianity ? 
• Did the Cathar church have special teachings about Mary Magdalene and if so, what was it ? 
   
• Was the equal status given to women in Cathar Christianity connected to its persecution by the mainstream church ? 
  
  
• What if anything do we know of Manichean teachings about Mary Magdalene ? Does Mani mention her in his surviving writings ? Is there evidence he had heard of her ? What was Mani’s attitude to women in general ? 
  
  
• Why was Mary Magdalene chosen as the patron Saint of the Dominican Order, and how does that sit with their becoming the instruments of the Inquisition ? What have Dominican thinkers made of Mary Magdalene over the centuries ? 
  
  
• Mary Magdalene, Gnosticism Cathars and reincarnation: what facts can we establish regarding reincarnation theory and transpersonal history ? 
  
  
• Anthroposophy: Rudolf Steiner, Mary Magdalene and Christian Gnostic traditions
   
• Theosophical traditions, Mary Magdalen and the status of Cathars in theosophical traditions 
  
  
• Freemasonry and Mary Magdalene – how do Freemasons view Mary Magdalene ? 
  
  
• The church of St Mary Magdalene at Rennes le Chateau: why so many mysteries attach to this place? 
  
  
• Mary Magdalene and Comparative Diabology 
  
  
• Did Mary Magdalen write the 4th gospel, later ascribed to St John ? Arguments for and against 
  
  
• Does Mary present the possibility of reconciliation between exoteric and esoteric forms of Christianity ? 
  
  
• Mary Magdalene and contemporary shamanistic feminist movements utilising her as their icon 
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• Mary Magdalene and the church’s teachings on peace: what does the Magdalene tradition say on peacemaking, war and violence ? 

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