Editing Martha

{{Short description|Biblical figure}}
{{other uses|Martha (disambiguation)|Martha (given name)}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name=Martha of Bethany
|image=Johannes (Jan) Vermeer - Christ in the House of Martha and Mary - Google Art Project (cropped2).jpg
|alt=Detail from painting depicting Martha|caption= Detail from ''[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Vermeer)|Christ in the House of Martha and Mary]]'' by [[Johannes Vermeer|Vermeer]], before 1654–1655
|titles=[[Virgin (title)|Virgin]]
|birth_date= 
|birth_place=probably [[Iudaea Province]], [[Roman Empire]]
|death_date=
|death_place=traditionally [[Larnaca]], [[Roman Cyprus|Cyprus]], Roman Empire<br>or<br>[[Tarascon]], [[Gallia Narbonensis]], Roman Empire 
|feast_day=29 July (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran), 4 June (Eastern Orthodox)
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=Pre-congregation
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|major_shrine=
|attributes=[[broom]]; [[key (lock)|keys]]; [[Tarasque]];<ref name="SQPN">{{Cite web |url=http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-martha |title=Saint Martha |work=Saints.sqpn.com, Star Quest Production Network}}</ref>
|patronage=[[butler]]s; [[cook (profession)|cooks]]; dietitians; domestic servants; homemakers; hotel-keepers; housemaids; housewives; innkeepers; laundry workers; maids; servants; servers; single laywomen; travellers; [[Tarascon]]; [[Villajoyosa]], Spain; [[Pateros]], Philippines; Malagasang II, [[Imus]], Cavite, Philippines
|issues=
|suppressed_date=
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Christianity]], [[Anglican Communion]], [[Lutheran Church]]
}}

'''Martha''' ([[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: מָרְתָא‎) is a [[Bible|biblical]] figure described in the [[Gospels]] of [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] and [[Gospel of John|John]]. Together with her siblings [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] and [[Mary of Bethany]], she is described as living in the village of [[Bethany]] near [[Jerusalem]] and witnessing [[Jesus]] resurrecting her brother, Lazarus. 
{{TOC limit|2}}

==Etymology of the name==
The name ''Martha'' is a [[Latin]] transliteration of the [[Koine Greek]] Μάρθα, itself a transliteration of the [[Aramaic]] מָרְתָא‎ ''Mârtâ'', "the mistress" or "the lady", from מרה "mistress", feminine of מר "master." The Aramaic form occurs in a [[Nabatean]] inscription found at [[Puteoli]], and now in the [[Naples Museum]]; it is dated AD 5 (Corpus Inscr. Semit., 158); also in a [[Tadmor, Syria|Palmyrene]] inscription, where the Greek translation has the form ''Marthein''.<ref name="Pope">{{Cite book |last=Pope |first=Hugh |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09721b.htm |chapter=St. Martha|title=The [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]. Vol. 9. |place=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |year=1919}}</ref>

==Biblical references==
In the [[Gospel of Luke]], Jesus [[Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary|visits the home of two sisters named Mary and Martha]]. The two sisters are contrasted: Martha was "encumbered about many things" while Jesus was their guest, while Mary had chosen "the better part", that of listening to the master's discourse.<ref name="Easton">{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0002400.html#T0002428 |chapter=Mary|title=[[Easton's Bible Dictionary]]|year=1897}}</ref> The name of their village is not recorded, nor (unlike in John 11:18) is there any mention of whether Jesus was near Jerusalem. Biblical commentator [[Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer|Heinrich Meyer]] notes that "Jesus cannot yet be in [[Bethany]],<ref>{{Bibleverse||Luke|13:22|NKJV}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleverse||Luke|17:11|NKJV}}</ref> where Martha and Mary dwelt [according to John's Gospel]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/luke/10.htm |title=Meyer's NT Commentary on Luke 10 |access-date=11 June 2016}}</ref> But the [[Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]] claims that it was "undoubtedly Bethany".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/luke/10.htm |title=Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary on Luke 10|access-date=11 June 2016}}</ref>

{{blockquote|As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"<br />
"Martha, Martha", the Lord answered, "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."<ref>{{Bibleverse||Luke|10:38–42|NIV}}, [[New International Version]]</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

[[Image:Semiradsky Christ Martha Maria.jpg|thumb|300px|Christ in the house of Martha and [[Mary, sister of Lazarus|Mary]], by [[Henryk Siemiradzki]], 1886]]

In the [[Gospel of John]], Martha and Mary appear in connection with two incidents: the [[Lazarus of Bethany#Raising of Lazarus|raising from the dead]] of their brother Lazarus (John 11) and the [[anointing of Jesus]] in Bethany (John 12:3).

In the account of the raising of Lazarus, when Jesus hears of the death it is noted that "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus" (John 11:5). Upon arrival, Jesus meets with the sisters in turn: Martha followed by Mary. Martha goes immediately to meet Jesus as he arrives, while Mary waits until she is called. As one commentator notes, "Martha, the more aggressive sister, went to meet Jesus, while quiet and contemplative Mary stayed home. This portrayal of the sisters agrees with that found in Luke 10:38–42."<ref name="Zondervan">{{cite book|last=Tenney|first=Merrill C.|author-link=Merrill C. Tenney|title=Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary|editor=Kenneth L. Barker & John Kohlenberger III|publisher=Zondervan Publishing House|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan}}</ref> In speaking with Jesus, both sisters lament that he did not arrive in time to prevent their brother's death: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died".<ref>{{Bibleverse||John|11:21, 32|NIV}}</ref> But where Jesus' response to Mary is more emotional, his response to Martha is one of teaching, calling her to hope and faith:

{{Quote|text=When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord", Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes, Lord", she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."<ref>{{Bibleverse||John|11:20–27|NIV}}, [[New International Version]]</ref>|author= |title=|source=}}

As the narrative continues, Martha calls her sister Mary to see Jesus. Jesus has Mary bring him to Lazarus' tomb where he commands the stone to be removed from its entrance. Martha here objects, "But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days", to which Jesus replies, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?".<ref>{{Bibleverse||John|11:39–40|NIV}}</ref> They then take away the stone and Jesus prays and calls Lazarus forth alive from the tomb.

Martha appears again in John 12:1–8, where she serves at a meal held in Jesus' honor at which her brother is also a guest. The narrator only mentions that the meal takes place in Bethany, while the apparently parallel accounts in the Gospels of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]]<ref>{{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:6–13|NIV}}</ref> and [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]]<ref>{{Bibleverse||Mark|14:3–9|NIV}}</ref> specify that it takes place at the home of one [[Simon the Leper]]. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "We are surely justified in arguing that, since Matthew and Mark place the scene in the house of Simon, St. John must be understood to say the same; it remains to be proven that Martha could not 'serve' in Simon's house."<ref name="Pope"/> It is at this meal that a woman (Martha's sister Mary, according to John) [[anointing of Jesus|anoints Jesus]] with expensive perfume.

==Western traditions==
[[File:Cristo en casa de Marta y María, by Diego Velázquez.jpg|thumb|[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Velázquez)|''Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'']], [[Diego Velázquez]], 1618]]

In medieval [[Western Christianity]], Martha's sister Mary was often equated with [[Mary Magdalene]]. This identification led to additional information being attributed to Martha as well:

<blockquote>Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are represented by St. John as living at Bethania, but St. Luke would seem to imply that they were, at least at one time, living in [[Galilee]]; he does not mention the name of the town, but it may have been [[Magdala]], and we should thus, supposing Mary of Bethania and Mary Magdalene to be the same person, understand the appellative "Magdalene". The words of St. John (11:1) seem to imply a change of residence for the family. It is possible, too, that St. Luke has displaced the incident referred to in Chapter 10. The likeness between the pictures of Martha presented by Luke and John is very remarkable. The familiar intercourse between the Saviour of the world and the humble family which St. Luke depicts is dwelt on by St. John when he tells us that "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus" (11:5). Again the picture of Martha's anxiety (John 11:20–21, 39) accords with the picture of her who was "busy about much serving" (Luke 10:40); so also in John 12:2: "They made him a supper there: and Martha served." But St. John has given us a glimpse of the other and deeper side of her character when he depicts her growing faith in Christ's Divinity (11:20–27), a faith which was the occasion of the words: "I am the resurrection and the life." The Evangelist has beautifully indicated the change that came over Martha after that interview: "When she had said these things, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The Master is come, and calleth for thee."<ref name="Pope"/></blockquote>

==Eastern Orthodox tradition==
In [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] tradition, though not specifically named as such in the gospels, Martha and Mary were among the [[Myrrh-bearers|Myrrh-bearing Women]]. These faithful followers of Jesus stood at [[Golgotha]] during the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]] and later came to his tomb early on the morning following [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]] with [[myrrh]] (expensive oil), according to the Jewish tradition, to anoint their Lord's body. The [[Myrrhbearers]] became the first witnesses to the [[Resurrection of Jesus]], finding the empty tomb and hearing the joyful news from an angel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.holymyrrhbearingwomen.org/who-were-the-holy-myrrhbearing-women.html |title=About the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115220901/https://www.holymyrrhbearingwomen.org/who-were-the-holy-myrrhbearing-women.html |archive-date=2022-11-15 |work=Holy Myrrhbearers Women's Choir, Blauvelt, N.Y.}}</ref>

Orthodox tradition also relates that Martha's brother Lazarus was cast out of Jerusalem in the persecution against the Jerusalem Church following the martyrdom of [[St. Stephen]]. His sister Martha fled Judea with him, assisting him in the proclaiming of the Gospel in various lands,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103798 |title=Righteous Mary the sister of Lazarus |work=Orthodox Church in America|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429213117/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103798 |archive-date=2011-04-29 }}</ref> while Mary Magdalene remained with [[John the Apostle]] and assisted him with the Church of Jerusalem. According to Cyprian tradition, Lazarus and Martha later came to [[Cyprus]], where Lazarus became the first Bishop of Kittim (modern [[Larnaca]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://goarch.org/chapel/saints/556 |title=Mary & Martha, the sisters of Lazarus |work=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827012725/http://goarch.org/chapel/saints/556 |archive-date=2009-08-27 }}</ref> All three died in [[Cyprus]].

==Veneration==
[[File:Johannes (Jan) Vermeer - Christ in the House of Martha and Mary - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|[[Johannes Vermeer]] ''[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Vermeer)|Christ in the House of Martha and Mary]]'', 1655]]

Martha is venerated as a [[saint]] in the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], and commemorated by the [[Lutheran Church]] and the [[Anglican Communion]].
Through time, as the reverence for St. Martha developed, the images of maturity, strength, common sense, and concern for others predominated.<ref name=antigonish>{{Cite web |url=http://www.themarthas.com/stmartha.shtml |title="St. Martha", Sisters of St. Martha of Antigonish |access-date=2013-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126212736/http://www.themarthas.com/stmartha.shtml |archive-date=2013-01-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Feast days===
====Roman Catholic====
The [[Latin Church]] celebrates the feast day of Martha, [[Mary of Bethany]] and their brother [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] on 29 July.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 {{ISBN|978-88-209-7210-3}}), p. 398</ref> The feast of Martha, classified as a "semi-double" in the [[Tridentine calendar]], became a "simple" one in the [[General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII]], a "third class feast" in the [[General Roman Calendar of 1960]], and a [[Memorial (liturgy)|memorial]] in the present [[General Roman Calendar]].

Until 2021, the liturgical celebration had been solely of Martha, except among the [[Benedictines]]. In that year, [[Pope Francis]] changed it to commemorate the entire family. He further clarified that, contrary to widespread speculation, this Mary was a separate individual from [[Mary Magdalene]], called the Apostle to the Apostles. 

====Orthodoxy====
The [[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Byzantine Rite]] [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] commemorate Martha and her sister Mary on 4 June. They also commemorate them collectively among the [[Myrrhbearers|Myrrh-bearing Women]] on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers (the Third Sunday of [[Easter|Pascha]] – i.e., the second Sunday after Easter Sunday). Martha also figures in the commemorations of [[Lazarus Saturday]] (the day before [[Palm Sunday]]).

====Lutheran====
Martha is commemorated on 29 July in the [[Liturgical calendar (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church]], together with Mary and Lazarus. 

====Anglican====
Martha is also commemorated on 29 July in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Calendar of saints of the Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oremus: July |url=http://www.oremus.org/calendar/index07.html |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=www.oremus.org}}</ref>

Martha is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] (with [[Mary of Bethany|Mary]] and [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]]) in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)|Lesser Festival]] on [[July 29|29 July]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-04-08|website=The Church of England}}</ref>

==Patronages==
[[File:San roque parish.jpg|thumbnail|Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of [[St. Roch]] in [[Pateros]], [[Metro Manila]], [[Philippines]]. The only shrine in southeast Asia dedicated to St. Martha.]]
The [[Sisters of Saint Martha]] are a [[religious congregation]] founded in [[Antigonish, Nova Scotia]], in 1894.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Congregation History", Sisters of St. Martha of Antigonish |url=http://www.themarthas.com/cong_history.shtml |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125214215/http://www.themarthas.com/cong_history.shtml |archivedate=January 25, 2013}}</ref>

===Churches===
[[File:MarthaRelic.jpg|thumb|upright|Relic from the bones of Saint Martha, venerated in her Diocesan Shrine in Pateros]]
A number of churches are dedicated to St. Martha including:
*Roman Catholic churches [[File:The Parish of Saint Martha at Sunrise, Nov. 2020.jpg|thumb|The Parish of Saint Martha in [[Imus]], [[Cavite]]. The only parish in the Diocese of Imus dedicated to Saint Martha.]]
* Europe:
*** [[Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon]] in [[Tarascon]], France;
** United States:
*** [[St. Martha Catholic Church]] in [[Morton Grove, Illinois]], and others in [[East Providence, Rhode Island]]; [[Valinda, California]]; [[Kingwood, Texas]]; [[Harvey, Louisiana]]; [[Plainville, Massachusetts]]; [[Sarasota, Florida]]; and [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky]]
** Asia
***[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig]]: [[Pateros Church|Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of St. Roch]], [[Pateros|Pateros, Philippines]], and St. Martha Parish of Kalawaan Pasig.
***[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Imus]]: Saint Martha Parish, Greengate Homes, Malagasang II-A, City of [[Imus]], Province of Cavite.
* Australia:
** [[Strathfield, New South Wales]]
* Anglican Communion:
**Canada:
***[[St Mary and St Martha]] in [[Toronto]]
** England:
*** [[St Martha's Hill|St Martha-on-the-Hill]] in [[Surrey]]
*** [[Broxtowe, Nottingham|Broxtowe]], Nottinghamshire
** United States: St. Martha's Episcopal Church in:
*** [[Papillion, Nebraska]]
*** [[Bethany Beach, Delaware]]
*** [[Lexington, Kentucky]]
*** [[Saints Martha & Mary, Eagan, Minnesota]]
***{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20141203031015/http://www.maryandmarthabuford.com/ Saints Mary & Martha, Buford, GA]}}
* Methodist:
** St Martha's Methodist Church in [[Tring]], Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
* Lutheran:
** St. Mary and St. Martha Lutheran Church, [[San Francisco]], United States

==Legends and myths==

===Golden Legend===
According to legend, St. Martha left [[Judea]] after [[Jesus]]' resurrection, around AD 48, and went to [[Provence]] with her sister [[Mary of Bethany|Mary]] (conflated with [[Mary Magdalene]]) and her brother Lazarus. With them, Martha first settled in [[Avignon]] (now in France). The ''[[Golden Legend]]'', compiled in the 13th century, records the Provençal tradition:

<blockquote>Saint Martha, hostess of our Lord Jesus Christ, was born of a royal kindred. Her father was named Syro and her mother Encharia. The father of her was duke of [[Syria]] and places maritime, and Martha with her sister possessed by the heritage of their mother three places, that was, the castle Magdalen, and Bethany and a part of Jerusalem. It is nowhere read that Martha had ever any husband nor fellowship of man, but she as a noble hostess ministered and served our Lord, and would also that her sister should serve him and help her, for she thought that all the world was not sufficient to serve such a guest.<br /><br />After the ascension of our Lord, when the disciples were departed, she with her brother Lazarus and her sister Mary, also Saint [[Maximin of Trier|Maximin]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>actually a 3rd-century figure<nowiki>]</nowiki> which baptized them, and to whom they were committed of the Holy Ghost, and many others, were put into a ship without sail, oars, or rudder governail, of the paynims, which by the conduct of our Lord they came all to [[Marseille]], and after came to the territory of Aquense or [[Aix-en-Provence|Aix]], and there converted the people to the faith. Martha was right facound of speech, and courteous and gracious to the sight of the people.<ref name="Golden">{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden239.htm |title=The Life of Saint Martha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330232134/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden239.htm |archive-date=2010-03-30 |work=text from the [[Golden Legend]]}}</ref></blockquote>

The ''Golden Legend'' also records the grand lifestyle imagined for Martha and her siblings in its entry on Mary Magdalene:

<blockquote>Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdala, a castle, and was born of right noble lineage and parents, which were descended of the lineage of kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her mother Eucharis. She with her brother Lazarus, and her sister Martha, possessed the castle of Magdala, which is two miles from Nazareth, and Bethany, the castle which is nigh to Jerusalem, and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all these things they departed among them. In such wise that Mary had the castle Magdala, whereof she had her name Magdalene. And Lazarus had the part of the city of Jerusalem, and Martha had to her part Bethany. And when Mary gave herself to all delights of the body, and Lazarus entended all to knighthood, Martha, which was wise, governed nobly her brother's part and also her sister's, and also her own, and administered to knights, and her servants, and to poor men, such necessities as they needed. Nevertheless, after the ascension of our Lord, they sold all these things.<ref>"Of Mary Magdalene", [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume4.htm Legenda Aurea, Book IV.]</ref></blockquote>

===St. Martha in Tarascon===
[[File:Taming the Tarasque, from Hours of Henry VIII.jpg|thumb|left|Martha with the Tarasque, from the [[Hours of Henry VIII]]]]

A further legend relates that Martha then went to [[Tarascon]], France, where a [[monster]], the [[Tarasque]], was a constant threat to the population. The ''Golden Legend'' describes it as a beast from Galatia; a great [[dragon]], half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent, that dwelt in a certain wood between [[Arles]] and [[Avignon]]. Holding a cross in her hand, Martha sprinkled the beast with holy water. Placing her sash around its neck, she led the tamed dragon through the village.<ref name=antigonish/>
[[File:Collégiale Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon 04.jpg|thumb|right|Gothic Tomb of Saint Martha in Tarascon]]

There Martha lived, daily occupied in prayers and in fastings. Martha eventually died in Tarascon, where she was buried. Her tomb is located in the [[crypt]] of the [[Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon|local Collegiate Church]].

[[Image:Église Collégiale Sainte Marthe (Tarascon).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon|St Martha's Collegiate Church in Tarascon]]]]The dedication of the Collegiate Church at Tarascon to St. Martha is believed to date from the 9th century or earlier. [[Relics]] found in the church during a reconstruction in 1187 were identified as hers, and reburied in a new shrine at that time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Butler|first=Alban |author2=Paul Burns|title=Butler's lives of the saints|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2000|isbn=978-0-86012-256-2}}, p. 235.</ref> In the Collegiate Church crypt is a late 15th-century [[cenotaph]], also known as the Gothic Tomb of Saint Martha. It is the work of [[Francesco Laurana]], a [[Croatia]]n sculptor of the Italian School, commissioned by [[René of Anjou|King René]]. At its base are two openings through which the relics could be touched. It bears three low reliefs separated by fluted pilasters representing: on the left, Saint Martha and the Tarasque; in the center, Saint Mary Magdalene borne aloft by the angels; on the right, Lazarus as Bishop of Marseille with his mitre and staff. There are two figures on either side: on the left, Saint Front, Bishop of Perrigueux, present at the funeral of Saint Martha, and on the right, Saint Marcelle, Martha's servant.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tarascon.org/en/patrimoine_collegiale.php |title=Church of Saint Martha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529130343/http://www.tarascon.org/en/patrimoine_collegiale.php |archive-date=2009-05-29 |url-status=usurped |work=Tarascon Monuments and Museums, Official website of Tarascon's tourist office}}</ref>

===St. Martha and Villajoyosa===
The town of [[Villajoyosa]], Spain, honors St. Martha as its patron saint and celebrates The Festival of [[Moros y Cristianos|Moors and Christians]] annually in her honor. The 250-year-old festival commemorates the attack on Villajoyosa by Berber pirates led by Zalé-Arraez in 1538, when, according to legend, St. Martha came to the rescue of the townsfolk by causing a flash flood which wiped out the enemy fleet, thus preventing the corsairs from reaching the coast.<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912172725/http://www.spain.info/UK/TourSpain/Eventos/Fiestas/K/AW/0/Moros%20y%20Cristianos%20Villajoyosa.htm?Language=en |archive-date=2012-09-12|url=http://www.spain.info/UK/TourSpain/Eventos/Fiestas/K/AW/0/Moros%20y%20Cristianos%20Villajoyosa.htm?Language=en |title=Moors and Christians Fiesta, Events in Alicante|work=Instituto de Turismo de España}}</ref>

===St. Martha and Pateros===

[[File:3202San Roque Santa Marta de Pateros Church Metro Manila 12.jpg|thumb|St. Martha, who is usually depicted taming the Tarasque, is, instead, depicted taming a giant crocodile that is believed to have plagued the duck farms of [[Pateros]].]]

Tradition recounts that in the 1800s, Saint Martha (who legendarily subdued the Tarasque), was invoked by the people of Pateros, a town in [[Metro Manila]], [[Philippines]], to vanquish a crocodile in the Pateros River that ate their ducks. These animals were the main source of the townspeople's livelihood as their eggs are the main ingredient of the delicacy, ''[[Balut (food)|Balút]]'' (fertilised duck egg), which is what the town is known for.

One evening, under a full moon, an unnamed female ''bayani'' (hero) went to the river to tame the creature. At the river banks, the crocodile saw a light surrounding the figure, who was actually Saint Martha. At the sight of the glowing figure, the creature disappeared and the local duck industry once again flourished. The people of Pateros attributed this event to Saint Martha and a grand fluvial procession in honor of her has been held yearly since, in remembrance of the event.

==Gnostic tradition==
Martha appears in the sacred [[gnostic]] text ''[[Pistis Sophia]]''. She is instructed by the risen Christ on several of the repentances that must be made in order to have salvation. She also makes several prophetic interpretations of different [[Psalms]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pistis Sophia: The First Book of Pistis Sophia: Chapter 38|url=http://gnosis.org/library/pistis-sophia/ps042.htm|access-date=2020-06-21|website=gnosis.org}}</ref>

==Depictions in art and literature==
[[File:Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Martha and Mary Magdalene - WGA04101.jpg|thumb|[[Caravaggio]], ''Martha and Mary Magdalene'', c. 1598. Martha (left) reproaches Mary Magdalen for her lifestyle]] 

The subject of Martha is mostly found in art from the [[Counter-Reformation]] onwards, especially in the 17th century, when the domestic setting is usually given a realistic depiction. Typically, Mary, the elder sister, is preparing or serving food, while Martha is listening to Christ.  However, it appears in some [[Ottonian art|Ottonian]] cycles of the ''[[Life of Christ in art|Life of Christ]]''.

*[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Velázquez)|''Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'' (Velázquez)]], a 1618 oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish painter Velázquez.
*[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Vermeer)|''Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'' (Vermeer)]], a 1655 painting by [[Johannes Vermeer]].
*[[Martha and Mary Magdalene (Caravaggio)|''Martha and Mary Magdalene'' (Caravaggio)]], a 1598-9 painting by the Italian Baroque master [[Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio]].

Literary works about Martha include: 
*''Martha and Mary'', a story in [[Karel Čapek]]'s ''Apocryphal Tales'' (1932)<ref>{{cite book|title=Kniha apokryfů|orig-year=1932|edition=2nd|year=1945}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|publisher=Catbird Press|title=Apocryphal Tales|year=1997|author=Čapek, Karel|authorlink=Karel Čapek|translator=Norma Comrada|pages=188|isbn=0945774346|lccn=96-54505}}</ref>
*"Saint Martha and the Dragon", a poem by [[Charles Causley]] in his collected works.<ref>{{cite news|date=1992-08-29|title=POETRY / Cornish pastimes: Andrew Brown on the Cornish poet Charles|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/poetry-cornish-pastimes-andrew-brown-on-the-cornish-poet-charles-causley-who-has-just-celebrated-his-1543164.html|access-date=2020-06-21|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>
*''[[Sons of Martha|The Sons of Martha]]'' (1907), a poem by [[Rudyard Kipling]].
*In ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'', the dystopian novel of [[Margaret Atwood]], infertile women forced to be servants for the ruling class are called "Marthas", as their service is considered imitating Martha.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5" caption="Attributes">
File:Saint martha.jpg|Saint Martha from the [[Isabella Breviary]], 1497
File:Vincentius Bellovacensis Speculum historiale fol 340v détail.jpg|Saint Martha and the [[Tarasque]], from a 15th-century manuscript
File:Saint Martha of Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines.jpg|Statue of Saint Martha used in [[Holy Week]] Processions at the National Shrine and Parish of Saint Anne in [[Hagonoy, Bulacan|Hagonoy]], [[Bulacan]], [[Philippines]]. She, together with her sister, [[Mary of Bethany]], are among the characters typically seen in Lenten Processions in the Philippines, especially on [[Good Friday]].
File:3202San Roque Santa Marta de Pateros Church Metro Manila 08.jpg|Saint Martha in her shrine in [[Pateros]], [[Metro Manila]], Philippines.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Saints|Biography|Christianity|Bible}}
* [[205 Martha]]
* [[Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary]]
* [[Lazarus of Bethany]]
* [[Mary of Bethany]]
* [[Myrrhbearers]]
* [[Santa Marta de Pateros]] (Philippine Version)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author=McGerr, Patricia|author-link=Patricia McGerr|date=1960|title=Martha, Martha: A Biblical Novel |location=New York |publisher=  P. J. Kenedy|oclc=849011}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Martha}}
{{Wikiquote}} 
* {{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=79 |title=St. Martha|website= catholic.org}}
* {{cite web|url=http://goarch.org/chapel/saints/556|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026182320/http://goarch.org/chapel/saints/556|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-10-26|title= Mary & Martha, the sisters of Lazarus|website=goarch.org|publisher= Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintm05.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929231422/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintm05.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-09-29 |title=Patron Saints: Martha|website= catholic-forum.com}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden239.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330232134/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden239.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-03-30 |title=The Life of Saint Martha|work=[[Golden Legend]]|via= catholic-forum.com}}

{{New Testament people}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1st-century Christian female saints]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the New Testament]]
[[Category:Followers of Jesus]]
[[Category:Myrrhbearers]]
[[Category:Order of the Eastern Star]]
[[Category:Saints from the Holy Land]]
[[Category:Women in the New Testament]]