Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry

Mary and Martha by Andrea Vaccaro

Mary and Martha of Bethany were two of Jesus’ closest friends. The Bible calls them “sisters” who lived together, but reading the Bible with queer eyes raises another possibility. Maybe Mary and Martha were a lesbian couple. Their feast day is July 29.

Mary and Martha formed a nontraditional family at a time when there was huge pressure for heterosexual marriage.

The Feast of Mary and Martha is also significant as the date for the “irregular” ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, including lesbian theologian Carter Heyward, on July 29, 1974. They defied the male hierarchy to become the first women ordained as Episcopal priests, two years before the Episcopal church officially allowed women’s ordination.

As Nancy Wilson, moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, wrote in the brochure “Our Story Too: Reading the Bible with ‘New’ Eyes”:

“Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha. What drew Jesus to this very non-traditional family group of a bachelor brother living with two spinster sisters? Two barren women and a eunuch are Jesus’ adult family of choice. Are we to assume they were all celibate heterosexuals? What if Mary and Martha were not sisters but called each other ‘sister’ as did most lesbian couples throughout recorded history?”


Wilson expands on this theory in her book “Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures.”

This potentially queer triad of two “sisters” and their “brother” is portrayed in a 16th-century painting of Mary, Martha and Lazarus by the Spanish artist known as the Master of Perea. Some believe that Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus was the Beloved Disciple of Jesus — and maybe even his same-sex lover.

Lazarus between sisters Martha and Mary by the Master of Perea

Lazarus between sisters Martha and Mary by the Master of Perea (Wikipedia)

Biblical patriarchs have also hidden their marriages by claiming their wives were their sisters. In the book of Genesis, Abraham claimed his wife Sarah was his sister on two different occasions (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18) and once Isaac passed off his wife Rebekah as his sister (Genesis 26:1-16). Male lovers may also have claimed to be “brothers.”

Mary and Martha are best known for the conflict they had when they hosted Jesus and his disciples. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to listen, but Martha wanted her to help her serve. Jesus’ famous answer: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42).

In another major Bible story, Jesus talks with Mary and Martha in turn before raising their brother Lazarus from the dead. During the conversation, Martha speaks what is considered the first profession of faith in Jesus: “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world” (John 11:27).  Recent scholarship affirms that sister Martha and Mary of Bethany exist in Luke 10, but that the references to Mary and Martha in the resurrection story of John 10-11 are all actually about one woman, Mary Magdalene.

Like with most Biblical figures, the truth about Mary and Martha is a mystery. The gospels references are brief and sometimes contradictory. As a result, Mary of Bethany is identified as Mary Magdalene in the Roman Catholic church, while in Protestant and Eastern Orthodox traditions they are considered separate persons.

The Orthodox Church also includes Mary and Martha among the “myrrh bearing women” who were faithfully present at his crucifixion and brought myrrh to his tomb, where they became the first to witness his resurrection. Christian feminists also honor the couple and say that they probably were leaders of a “house church.”

According to legend, Mary, Martha and Lazarus continued in ministry together for decades in foreign lands. Orthodox tradition says that they fled persecution in Judea and moved to Cyprus, where Lazarus became the first bishop of Kition (modern Larnaca). In Roman Catholic tradition, they spread the gospel in Provence, France, where Lazarus become the first bishop of Marseille.

Martha and the Tarasque Jacques de Voraginby

“Saint Martha and the Tarasque” by Jacques de Voragin (Wikipedia)

Hagiographies dating back to the 12th century describe how Martha blessed and tamed a murderous fire-breathing dragon known as “the Tarasque” that had been terrorizing the Provence region. Martha led the newly gentle monster into town, where different legends say it either died of shame for its past crimes or was killed by frightened villagers over Martha’s objections. The tale of the Tarasque has been influential since the 12th century and is a long-time favorite theme in artwork and festivals.

Artists provide some beautiful paintings of the “sisters,” including the one above by Italian Renaissance artist Bernardino Luini (1480 -1532).

Why does it matter?

This article sparked a long, lively debate at the Episcopalians on Facebook group with comments such as:

“Of course, no-one can know for sure, and it is always speculative to read back into the past ideas that have more recently developed. But the point of the exercise, I think, is to allow the question. What if? And to see how that opens up ways for LGBTQ people to see themselves as part of the people of God, and for our straight friends, allies and (alas) antagonists to see us.”

“It is important to keep an open mind to exegesis that seeks to revisit commonly-held ideas about our past. One of the main ways straight supremacy works is to marginalize and make invisible queer history and to impose a standard straight veneer on historical characters.”

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Related links:
Mary the Tower: What would Christianity be like if Mary Magdalene hadn’t been hidden from view?” by Diana Butler Bass

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Top image credit:
Mary and Martha by Andrea Vaccaro, 1670 (Wikimedia Commons)

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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.

This article was originally published on Q Spirit in July 2017, was expanded with new material over time, and most recently updated on Aug. 4, 2023.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
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Kittredge Cherry
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