Mary Cleophas
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According to the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
, Mary of Clopas ( grc, Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clopas'' in the Greek text is ambiguous as to whether Mary was the daughter or wife of Clopas, but
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
has commonly favoured the reading "wife of Clopas". Hegesippus identified Clopas as a brother of Saint Joseph. In the ''
Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...
'' she is remembered with Saint Salome on April 24. Along with Mary Magdalene and
Mary, mother of James Mary, mother of James is identified in the synoptic gospels as one of the women who went to Jesus' tomb after he was buried. and refer to "Mary the mother of James" as one of the Myrrhbearers, the women who went to the tomb of Jesus. Along w ...
, Mary of Clopas is known as one of the
Three Marys The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, several of whom were, or have been considered by Christian tradition, to have been named Mary (the most c ...
at the tomb of Jesus. Her relics are said to be in France at the
Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer The Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer is a Romanesque fortified church built in the 9th century in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence. Dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus and to The Three Marys, it is the subje ...
.


Appearances in the gospels

Mary of Clopas is explicitly mentioned only in John 19:25, where she is among the women present at the
crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
: The Gospels of Mark and Matthew each include similar passages that are nearly identical to one another: This has led some scholars to identify Mary of Clopas with " Mary the mother of James and Joseph/Joses". The Gospels of Matthew and Mark mention James and Joseph/Joses (with Mark always using the less common variation "Joses") among the four
brothers of Jesus The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi ( grc-gre, ἀδελφοί, adelphoí, of the same womb)Greek singular noun ''adelphos'', from a- ("same", equivalent to homo-) and delphys ("womb," equivalent to splanchna). are named in the New Testament a ...
. According to some interpretations, the same Mary was also among the women that on resurrection morning went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. Matthew calls her "the other Mary" to distinguish her from Mary Magdalene, while Mark uses the name " Mary, the mother of James" (''Maria Iacobi'' in Latin).


Apocryphal writings

In a manner very similar to the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
, the apocryphal
Gospel of Philip The Gospel of Philip is a non-canonical Gnostic Gospel dated to around the 3rd century but lost in medieval times until rediscovered by accident, buried with other texts near Nag Hammadi in Egypt, in 1945. The text is not closely related to the ...
(3rd century) also seems to list Mary of Clopas among Jesus' female entourage: Adding to the confusion, the Gospel of Philip seems to refer to her as Jesus' mother's sister ("her sister") and Jesus' own sister ("his sister"). The
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (or The Infancy Gospel of Matthew) is a part of the New Testament apocrypha. In antiquity the text was called The Book About the Origin of the Blessed Mary and the Childhood of the Savior. Pseudo-Matthew is one of a g ...
(7th century) presents Mary of Cleophas as the daughter of Cleophas and Anna:


Identity of Clopas

The expression ''Mary of Clopas'' in the Greek text is ambiguous as to whether Mary was the daughter or wife of Clopas, but
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
has commonly favoured the reading "wife of Clopas". Clopas appears in early Christian writings as a brother of
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, and as the father of
Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, so ...
, the second bishop of Jerusalem. Eusebius of Caesarea, referencing the works of Hegesippus, relates in his ''
Church History __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...
'' (Book III, ch. 11), that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Christians of Jerusalem: This identification would make
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
a brother-in-law of Mary of Clopas. Clopas was sometimes further identified with
Cleopas Cleopas (Greek Κλεόπας, ''Kleopas''), also spelled Cleophas, was a figure of early Christianity, one of the two disciples who encountered Jesus during the Road to Emmaus appearance in . Etymology Some writers claim that the name Clopas ...
and Alphaeus, father of James, one of the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
. In 1982, Stephen S. Smalley, Dean Emeritus of
Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...
, deemed this identification "probable"S. S. Smalley. "Mary," ''New Bible Dictionary'', 1982 p. 793. In medieval tradition, Clopas was identified as the second husband of Saint Anne and as the father of Mary of Clopas, allowing Mary to be identified as the half-sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.


Mary of Clopas and the brothers of Jesus

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
(347-420), writing ''Against Helvidius'' in defense of perpetual virginity of the mother of Jesus, argued that the
brothers of Jesus The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi ( grc-gre, ἀδελφοί, adelphoí, of the same womb)Greek singular noun ''adelphos'', from a- ("same", equivalent to homo-) and delphys ("womb," equivalent to splanchna). are named in the New Testament a ...
( James,
Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
, Jude (also identified in tradition with
Judas Thaddeus Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...
), and Joses or Joseph) were children of Mary of Clopas, the sister of the mother of Jesus, making them first cousins of Jesus and not direct siblings.. Jerome also identified James, the brother of Jesus, with the Apostle James, son of Alphaeus (James the less) and thus supposed that Mary of Clopas was married to Alphaeus (Clopas). This view finds support in a fragment found in a medieval manuscript, which lists four Maries mentioned in the gospels and bears the inscription " Papia" on the margin. According to Papias, "Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, was the mother of James, Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph." The attribution of this fragment to
Papias of Hierapolis Papias ( el, Παπίας) was a Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD. He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' ( el, Λογίων Κυριακῶν Ἐξ ...
(ca. 70-163 AD) however has been disputed in favour of a medieval author (possibly Papias the lexicographer, fl. 1040s–1060s) by Anglican bishops and theologians J.B. Lightfoot (1828-1889). and Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901). For example Lightfoot argued that it seems quite impossible for Jerome not to quote Papias who would have fully supported his view, despite having access to his writings, and the quote seems to be derived from Jerome's writings, some parts being almost word for word with what Jerome said in adv. Helvid.
James Tabor James Daniel Tabor (born 1946 in Texas) is a Biblical scholar and Professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has taught since 1989 and serv ...
deduced that "Mary the mother of James and Joses" is none other than
Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
herself. This interpretation would necessitate that Mary the mother of Jesus married a man named Clopas, after her marriage to
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(perhaps after his death). Tabor proposes that a brother of Joseph would have been obliged to wed his widowed wife in a Levirate marriage, despite this only being permissible if the first marriage had been childless. The most likely outcome is that Mary the wife of Cleophas (or Clopas) is the same as Mary the mother of James the Less, Simon, Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) and Joses, as well as Clopas' wife. This indicates that the term, 'brothers of Jesus' stood for cousins rather than siblings.


References

{{New Testament people 1st-century Christian female saints Followers of Jesus Saints from the Holy Land Gospel of John Women in the New Testament People in the canonical gospels Myrrhbearers The Three Marys