A Resurrection mystery we really do not celebrate in our Western tradition is that of theMYRRAHBEARERS. In the Orthodox Christian tradition they are the people mentioned in the New Testament who were directly involved in the burial or who discovered the empty tomb following the resurrection of Jesus. The term traditionally refers to the women with myrrh who came to the tomb of Christ early in the morning to find it empty.
In Western Christianity, the two women at the tomb, the Three Marys (the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Salome) or other variants are the terms normally used. The women followed Jesus during his earthly ministry in Galilee, providing for him and his followers out of their own means (Mark 15:41). They remained faithful to him even during the most dangerous time of his arrest and execution, and not only stood by the cross, but accompanied him to his burial, noticing where the tomb was located
"The myrrh-bearing women forestalled the dawn, seeking, as it were day, the Sun that was before the sun and Who had once set in the tomb, and they cried out one to another: O friends! come, let us anoint with spices the life-bringing and buried Body, the Flesh that raised up fallen Adam, that now lieth in the tomb. Let us go, let us hasten, like the Magi, and let us worship and offer myrrh as a gift to Him Who is wrapped now not in swaddling clothes but in a shroud. And let us weep and cry aloud: O Master, arise, Thou Who dost grant to the fallen, resurrection. " (Ikos: Ancient hymn)
Some of the most striking art for this mystery is given to us by contemporary Eastern European artists. Here are some of my favorites. (To the right is "St. Joanna" by Sviatoslav Valadyka of the Ukraine.)
The Divine Element—(God, Christ, the Holy Spirit) |
Myrrh-Bearers |
Margaret Junkin |
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Julia Stankova-
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