Christ at the house of Martha and Maria Magdalene

The visit of Christ and his disciples to the house of Martha and Mary Magdalene of Bethany is narrated only by the gospel of Luke (Luke 10:38-42) and is represented on this capital.

Both sisters, of whom only Martha serves the guests, are differentiated as pre-figurations of the vita activa and the vita contemplativa.

One the west side stands Christ – identifiable by his crossed nimbus and the accompanying inscription IHC NAZARENUS. The south side of the capital contains both Martha and Mary (MARTA / MARIA MAGDALENA), who kneels down, in order to the wipe Christ’s feet with her hair.
The east side depicts the disciple Bartholomew, while the north side contains James the Lesser - both identified by inscriptions: BARTOLOMEVS / IACOBUS ALFEI.

vita-contemplativa vita-activa visit sister prefiguration nimbus Mary-Magdalene Martha Luke Lesser James inscription house hair guest gospel foot follower disciple cross-nimbus Christ Bethany Bartholomew apostle