453 M A 
t'he name of Candlemas Day. This practice continued in 
England till the fecond year of Edward the Sixth, when 
archbilhop Cranmer forbade it by order of the privy-coun¬ 
cil. The Greeks call this feftival Hypante, which figni- 
fies “ the meeting,” becaufe Simeon and Anna met our 
Lord in the Temple on this day. The candles carried 
about on this day were bleffed by the priefts. Mr. Brand, 
in his obfervations on Bourne’s xixth chapter, from Ba¬ 
con’s Reliques of Rome, makes a quotation which informs 
us, that the Romans, in the fervice of their god Mars and 
his mother Februa, made proceflions in the city of Rome 
with lighted torches ; the remains of which culfom Itill 
exifting with the vulgar in the time of pope Sergius, he 
commanded that it ihould be converted into an holy office 
of the Chriftian church, and that the congregation on the 
fame day made their approach to the high altar with lighted 
tapers, in honour of the holy Virgin. Thofe who figh 
for the fanftity of the church in fuch reviews of her cere¬ 
monies, mult confider this was done to conciliate the minds 
of thofe long ufed in fuch fpeCtacles and folemn (hows ; 
and that an aufterity which (liould at once have abolilhed 
fuch adts, to which almoft every mind was prejudiced, 
would have greatly retarded,if not totally prevented, the 
progrefs of converfion. 
5. Laftly, the Assumption. —This is a feftival of the 
Greek and Roman churches, in honour of the fuppofed 
miraculous afcent of the Virgin Mary into heaven. It is 
liolden on the 15th of Augult. 
MA'RY, the wife of Cleophas, and filler to the Virgin 
Mary. John xix. 25. The other evangelilfs call her Mary 
the mother of James. Cleophas and Alpheus are the 
fame perfon ; as “James fon of Mary wife of Cleophas,” 
is the fame' as “James fon of Alpheus.” Alpheus and 
Cleophas are the fame in Greek, and differ only in the 
Hebrew name. We know very few particulars of the life 
of Mary of Cleophas. It is thought (lie was the fitter of 
the Holy Virgin ; and the mother of James the Lefs, of 
Jofes, of Simeon, and of Judas, who in the Gofpel are 
named brethren of our Lord, i. e. his coulin-germans : others 
fuppofe that Cleophas was brother to Jofeph, whence the 
fame relationffiip would enfue. This Mary believed early 
on Jefus Chrilt, and accompanied him in fome of his jour¬ 
neys to miniller to him. She was prefent at the death of 
our Saviour: (he followed him to Calvary, and was with 
the virgin at the foot of his crofs. She was alfo prefent 
at his burial, and prepared perfumes to embalm him. 
The year of her death is not known ; but the Greeks 
keep April 8, in memory of the holy women who brought 
perfumes to embalm the body of Chrift ; and pretend that 
they are buried at Conllantinople, in a church built by 
Jultin II. The Roman martyrology places the feltival of 
Mary, wife of Cleophas, April 6. 
MA'RY, or Salome, daughter of Mary the wife of 
Cleophas; filter of James the Lefs, and others, called the 
brethren of our Lord. She was coufin-german to Jefus 
Chrift according to the flefti, and niece to the holy virgin. 
She was properly called Salome ; and without any reafon 
received the name of Mary, which belongs to her mother. 
Others pretend that Salome was the daughter of Jofeph, 
the hufband of the Virgin Mary by a former wile ; and 
this is the opinion of the modern Greeks, founded on the 
teftimony of Epiphanius, Hteref. 78. cap. 8. The Roman 
martyrology gives the name of Mary Salome to the mother 
of James the Lefs. It is not known what grounds they 
had for this ; for it cannot be found in Scripture, or in 
any good author, that (he was. called Mary, but was cer¬ 
tainly called Salome. Compare Matth. xxvii. 56. with 
Mark xv. 4.0. And fee Origen on St. Matthew 5 and 
other interpreters. Calmet. 
MA'RY, the lifter of Lazarus, who has been prepofte- 
roufly confounded with that woman-{inner, mentioned 
Luke vii. 37-39. whofe name is not noticed. Mary the 
filter of Martha and Lazarus, lived with her brother and 
filter at Bethany, a village near Jerulalem. Jefus Chrift 
had a particular affection for this family, and oiten retired 
r y. 
to their houf&. See Martha, p. 431. When Many 
anointed Jefus’s feet with ointment, (John xi.) Judas 
Ifcariot murmured at it; but our Lord undertook Mary’s 
defence, faying, by this (lie anticipated his embalm¬ 
ment, and, in a manner, had declared his death and bu¬ 
rial at band. For farther particulars of this Mary, fee 
the word Martha before referred to. 
MA'RY, furnamed Magdalene, has been fuppofed by 
many to be the perfon called a /inner in the feventh chapter 
of St. Luke’s Gofpel; but Dr. Lardner has adduced a va¬ 
riety of circumltances in his “Letter to Jonas Hanway,efq.” 
which make it very probable, that Mary Magdalene was 
not the perfon to whom the evangelift there refers; and he 
therefore objedls to the appellation Magdalen Houfe , as ap¬ 
propriated to an afylum for penitent proftitutes. Mary 
Magdalene was fo called, probably from Magdala, tlie 
place of her nativity, a town fituated l'omewhere befide 
the lake, and mentioned Matth. xv. 29; whereas it ap¬ 
pears from the hiltory jn Luke (vii. 37.) that the woman 
there mentioned was of the city in which our Lord then 
was ; which city was Capernaum, or Naim ; and there is 
no reafon for believing that Mary Magdalene refided a-t 
either of thofe places. Another paffage (Luke viii. 1, 2, 3.) 
affords additional reafons for fuppofing that Mary Mag¬ 
dalene is not the woman intended in the preceding chapter. 
This Mary appears to have been a woman of high Itation 
and opulent fortune, not likely to have been defignated 
under the defeription of a woman in the city which was a 
/inner-, file is mentioned by St. Luke before Joanna, the 
wife of Herod’s Upward 5 and liefides, when the other 
evangelifts have occafion to fpeak of our Lord’s female 
friends, they commonly affign the firft place to Mary Mag¬ 
dalene. See Matth. xxvii. 56, 61. xxviii. 2. Mark xv.40. 47. 
Luke xxiv. 10. This precedence, as Lardner fuggefts, 
might have been, partly, owing to her age. She is alfo- 
mentioned with divers other honourable women, who at¬ 
tended our Lord in his journeys, and miniltered to him of 
their fubftance. And it is jultly queftioned, whether our 
Lord would have allowed of that, if Mary’s conduct had 
been difreputable in the former part of her life ; nor can 
we reafonably imagine, that any women of diftindlion and 
good credit would admit into their fociety one who had 
been under the reproach of a diforderly life. Among: 
thefe women was our Lord’s mother; and undoubtedly 
an exadt decorum was obferved, according to the Jewilh. 
cuftom. Moreover, Mary Magdalene feems to have pre- 
fided in the direction of the affairs which were under their 
care. On the other hand, the woman called a /inner, was 
ablolutely excluded from having any part in that com¬ 
pany. (Luke vii. 47, 48, 50.) “ I conceive of her,” fays= 
the judicious and candid Lardner, “as a woman of a fine 
underltanding, and known virtue and diferetion, 1 with a 
dignity of behaviour becoming her age, her wifdom, and 
her high Itation ; by all which (he was a credit to him 
whom (he followed as her matter and benefadlor. She 
fhovved our Lord great refpedl in bis life, at his death, and 
after it; and ihe was one of thofe to whom he firft Ihowed 
himfeif after his refurredtion. See Matth. xxviii. 1—io* 
Mark xvi. 9. John xx. 1-18. 
Some have fuppofed, that Mary, filler of Martha and 
Lazarus, was the fame as Mary Magdalene. Dr. Lardner 
refutes this opinion alfo, by alleging, that Mary Magdalene 
derived her name from a place in Galilee; whereas La¬ 
zarus and his lifters were inhabitants of Bethany near Je- 
rufalem ; Mary Magdalene is frequently named with other 
women who attended- our Lord in his journeys, and 
came up with him from Galilee to Jerufalem at the times 
of the great feafts ; whereas Lazarus and his filters relided 
at Bethany ; and Mary Magdalene is particulaily men¬ 
tioned with others, whom our Lord had miraculouily 
healed of infirmities ; but nothing of a like kind is ever 
faid or hinted of Mary, filler of Lazarus. 
The 22d of July was the day firit dedicated to the me¬ 
mory of Mary Magdalene, by king Edward VI. and, in his. 
Common Prayerj.theGofpeldortheday is from Luke vii.,36. 
upon. 
