Mary of Bethany

Saint Mary of Bethany
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Johannes Vermeer, before 1654–1655, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh) – Mary is seated at the feet of Jesus
Righteous Mary the sister of Lazarus; Myrrhbearer
Venerated in	Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism
Feast	June 4 (Orthodox), July 29 (Catholic/Lutheran/Anglican)
Attributes	woman holding a myrrh jar and a handkerchief

Mary of Bethany (Judeo-Aramaic מרים, Maryām, rendered Μαρία, Maria, in the Koine Greek of the New Testament; form of Hebrew מִרְיָם, Miryām, or Miriam, "wished for child", "bitter" or "rebellious") is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of John and Luke in the Christian New Testament. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Martha, she is described by John as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem; in Luke only the two sisters, living in an unnamed village, are mentioned. Most Christian commentators have been ready to assume that the two sets of sisters named as Mary and Martha are the same, though this is not conclusively stated in the Gospels, and the proliferation of New Testament "Marys" is notorious.

Medieval Western Christianity identified Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene and with the sinful woman of Luke 7:36–50. 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. In Eastern Christianity and some Protestant traditions, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are considered separate people. The Orthodox Church has its own traditions regarding Mary of Bethany's life beyond the gospel accounts.