Early Church History 

social and cultural pressure on Christians to keep Mosaic Law must have increased due to this combination of 

the Sabbatical and Jubilee years.  

The Virgin Mary's Dwelling Places 

    Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that the Virgin Mary, after the Ascension of Christ, lived for three years on 

Mount Zion (Jerusalem), three years at Bethany (just outside Jerusalem), and nine years at Ephesus.

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 The 

three years she spent living at Jerusalem would then extend from 

A.D.

 19 to sometime in late 

A.D.

 21 

(counting the years inclusively), or in 

A.D.

 22. In the winter of 

A.D.

 21/22, Pilate was recalled to Rome and 

replaced by Marcellus, St. Stephen was martyred, and subsequently, in March of 

A.D.

 22, the emperor 

Tiberius died. These political changes, and the persecution which accompanied Stephen's death (Acts 8:1), 

may have been the reason that the Virgin Mary moved out of the city, to the town of Bethany on the other side 

of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. Her move to Bethany, then, could have occurred as early as Dec. of 

A.D.

 21 or as late as March of 

A.D.

 22. Most likely, she moved along with many of the disciples at the time 

when the disciples were scattered by the persecution of Acts 8:1. Since Stephen's death is placed in winter of 

A.D.

 21/22, this would also be the time that the Virgin Mary moved to Bethany. 

    After living in Bethany for about three years, from winter of 

A.D.

 21/22 to late 

A.D.

 24 or early 

A.D.

 25, the 

Virgin Mary moved with St. John to Ephesus (cf. Jn 19:27).

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 To reach Ephesus from Judea, one must travel 

by boat on the Mediterranean. But the winter was considered a dangerous time to travel on the Mediterranean 

Sea. Pliny states that the sailing season would not begin until Feb. 8.

616

 Sacred Scripture also refers to the 

difficulty of sailing the Mediterranean in winter. The Apostle Paul was taken to Rome by boat to appeal to the 

emperor (Acts 26:32   27:1).  As much time had been lost, and the voyage was already dangerous because the 

fast had already gone by .  (Acts 27:9). The  fast  is the Day of Atonement, often called the fast day, which 

occurs in the autumn. Here Sacred Scripture is saying that the winter was a dangerous time to sail on the 

Mediterranean. Paul therefore advised them not to set sail (Acts 27:10), but he was ignored (Acts 27:11 12). 

The result was that they were caught by a storm, tossed about for many days, and then shipwrecked on an 

island (Acts 27:14 44). Therefore, the Virgin Mary would not have traveled to Ephesus in the winter of 

A.D.

24/25, but rather in the spring of 

A.D.

 25 (sometime after Feb. 8) at the earliest. 

    This chronology has Mary leaving Bethany, which is near Jerusalem, for Ephesus about the same time that 

Paul visited Jerusalem for the first time. John the Gospel writer generally lived in the same town or area as the 

Virgin Mary (Jn 19:27). Yet, when Paul writes about his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, he 

emphatically states that the only apostles he saw were Cephas (Peter) and James the Less. If the Virgin Mary 

and the Apostle John were in Jerusalem or Bethany at the time, Paul would likely have taken the opportunity 

to meet with them. Since he did not, it is likely that the Virgin Mary and John had left for Ephesus sometime 

before Paul arrived.

617

 If we count forward three years from Paul's conversion to his first visit to Jerusalem, we 

arrive at either mid/late 

A.D.

 24 or early 

A.D.

 25. But, since Paul did not run into John when visiting 

Jerusalem (Gal 1:19 20), the date of early 

A.D.

 25, after the Virgin Mary and John had departed for Ephesus, is 

more likely. Saint Paul's first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion occurred in early 

A.D.

 25. 

    Why did the Virgin Mary leave Judea for Ephesus in early 

A.D.

 25? In that year, Herod the tetrarch was 

banished to Spain and control over Galilee was given to Herod Agrippa I.

618

 Also in 

A.D.

 25, but probably 

beginning later in the year, the Roman emperor Gaius (Caligula) decided to have his statue placed in the 

Temple of Jerusalem, so he could be worshipped as if he were a god.

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 When Mary left Judea for Ephesus, 

Herod Agrippa I's persecution of the Church had not yet begun. And Caligula's army had not yet arrived in 

Galilee on their way to try to install his statue in the Temple of Jerusalem. But she made her departure not 

long before these tumultuous events occurred. In this way, Grace and Providence guided her to a safe place to 

be nourished by God (cf. Rev 12:6). 

The Virgin Mary Visits Jerusalem 

     After three years' sojourn here Mary had a great longing to see Jerusalem again, and was taken there by 

John and Peter. Several of the Apostles were, I believe, assembled there: I saw Thomas among them and I 

think a Council was held at which Mary assisted them with her advice. 

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