On the second Sunday after Pascha, we commemorate the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women. The myrrh-bearers had brought funeral spices and ointments to finish committing Christ's body to the grave. They were the first to see the empty tomb and were instructed by the risen Lord to bring the joyful news to the apostles.
Who are the Myrrh-bearing women!
There are eight women who are identified as the myrrh-bearers or the Myrrh-bearing Women and they are:
1. Mary Magdalene: from which Christ had pull out seven demons. After the Ascension of Christ, she went to Rome and met the emperor Tiberius. According to tradition, during a dinner with the emperor Tiberius Caesar, Mary Magdalene was speaking about Christ's Resurrection. Caesar scoffed at her, saying that a man could rise from the dead no more than the egg in her hand could turn red. Immediately, the egg turned red. Because of this, icons of Mary Magdalene sometimes depict her holding a red egg. In addition, this is believed to be an explanation for dyeing eggs red at Pascha. Mary Magdalene died in Ephesus where she was buried by St. John the Theologian. Later the Emperor Leo the Wise took her relics to Constantinople.
2. Mary, the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary)
3. Joanna: she is the wife of Chouza, the steward-administrator of King Herod Antipas. She is listed in Luke 8:3 as one of the women who followed Christ from Galilee and supported the disciples, along with Susanna, Mary Magdalene, and others. The Church celebrates her feast day on June 27, as well as on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers.
4. Salome: who was one of the women disciples of Jesus. She was the daughter of St. Joseph the Betrothed and his first wife (who was also named Salome), making the Theotokos her step-mother. She married Zebedee and became the mother of the Apostles James and John. Her feast day is celebrated on August 3. As one of the myrrh-bearing women who brought spices to Christ's tomb and found it empty, she is celebrated as one who first brought tidings of the Resurrection to the world, especially on the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women. She was mentioned in the bible four times.
5. Mary the wife of Cleopas: This Mary, the evangelist John calls "Sister of Mary". Joachim, the father of the Virgin Mary had a brother when he died without a child; Joachim took his wife as his wife according to the Mosaic law and from her he had a child, which is Mary the wife of Cleopas.
6. Susanna: who is She is associated in the group as one of the wealthy women who provided support for Jesus during his three-year public ministry.
7. Mary of Bethany: she is the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She and her sister believed in Christ even before Jesus Christ raised their brother, St. Lazarus, from the dead. After the Ascension of Christ, Mary assisted with her sister Martha their brother in the proclaiming of the Gospel in various lands. Mary and her sister reposed in Cyprus, where their brother became the first Bishop of Kition after his resurrection from the dead.
8. Martha of Bethany: she is the sister of Mary and Lazarus. She and her sister believed in Christ even before Jesus Christ raised their brother, St. Lazarus, from the dead. After the Ascension of Christ, Martha assisted with her sister Mary their brother in the proclaiming of the Gospel in various lands. Martha and her sister reposed in Cyprus, where their brother became the first Bishop of Kition after his resurrection from the dead.
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