Abstract

The article is a critical analysis of the publication „Noli me tangere”. Mary Magdalene: One Person, Many Images being a result of interdisciplinary research programme “Mary Magdalene and the Touching of Jesus: An Intra- and Interdisciplinary Investigation of the Interpretation of John 20:17 in Exegesis, Iconography and Pastoral Care” supported by the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders in cooperation with The Centre for Women’s Studies Theology of the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University Leuven (Belgium). The article starts with presenting four papers included in the first part of the publication, which are analyses of the words uttered by Christ to Mary Magdalene on the Resurrection morning, performed by five researchers from the perspective of their own particular discipline: Sabine Van Den Eynde (exegesis of the Hebrew Bible and the Deutero-Canonical books, narrative and gender analysis, semantics), priest Reimund Bieringer (New Testament exegesis), Karlijn Demasure (practical theology, pastoral care of families) oraz Hannelore Devoldere (pastoral theology), Barbara Baert (iconology of Christian art). In the second part of the article, a critical look at the catalogue of twenty nine artworks depicting Noli me tangere motif, created in the period from the 15th to the 21st century and exibited in the Maurits Sabbe Library as a part of the project was taken. Drawing attention to a new aproach taken in the study and catalogue notes such as, inter alia: interpreting the person of Mary Magdalene in the intertextual key, interpreting words Noli me tangere uttered by Christ as imperative to search for His presence in the sacraments of the Church since then, different nature of the gaze passing between Christ and a woman at the feast in the house of Simon the Pharisee and on the resurrection morning, threats posed by the publication were identified. These are, first and foremost: allowing analysis of biblical text in the key of gender understood as ideology being in contradiction with Catholic doctrine, overemphasis on the role of the community of the believers, which is to be the center after the Ascension of Christ, assignment to Mary Magdalene atrributes of Virgin Mary (hortus conclusus, inter alia) and statement that only on the basis of the testimony of Magdalene who first saw resurrected Christ, church could be established. In the conclusion the general direction of the dissertation was indicated, which is more about interpreting the Church in accordance with human imaginations than exploring Christ’s intent for his Church.