Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles

First to the tomb. First to see the risen Christ. First sent with the message. Every gospel places women at the center of the resurrection morning, in a legal culture where a woman's testimony did not count in court.

All four gospels name Mary Magdalene among the first witnesses of the resurrection. John 20 gives her the most extended scene: she meets the risen Jesus alone in the garden, he calls her by name, and he sends her to the apostles with the announcement of his resurrection and ascension. The church fathers — Hippolytus among them — called her apostola apostolorum, "apostle to the apostles." The choice is jarring by first-century legal standards: rabbinic law disallowed female testimony in many kinds of proceedings. Jesus breaks that rule at the most important commissioning in the gospel.