Mary of Bethany

Articles relating to Mary of Bethany and her depictions. She is a biblical figure mentioned only by name in the Gospel of John in the Christian New Testament. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Martha, she is described by John as living in the village of Bethany, a small village in Judaea to the south of the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. Medieval Western Christianity identified Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene and with the sinful woman of Luke 7 (Luke 7:36–50), very common for that time period. This influenced the Roman Rite liturgy of the feast of Mary Magdalene, with a Gospel reading about the sinful woman and a collect referring to Mary of Bethany. Since the 1969 revision of that liturgy, Mary Magdalene's feast day continues to be on 22 July, but Mary of Bethany is celebrated, together with her brother Lazarus, on 29 July, the memorial of their sister Martha.