For all of you who have the good sense to avoid television during the Nativity Fast, you didn't miss anything by not watching CNN's The Two Mary's. I knew it was going to be bad, but I watched wondering if there was going to be any Orthodox presence at all (of course not.) Orthodoxy got ONE mention, something to the effect of "The new role of Mary raises issues in Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant denomonations that ban woman from the altar." Yup, twenty-four hundred years, and that's all Orthodoxy gets. There were many beautiful icons shown, and some really lovely Western paintings, so the program was pretty to look at, but other than that, it was shallow, full or error, just basically, dumb (wow, tv dumb, who knew?) It's "specialists" were an Australian Jesuit who was the "conservative voice", a ultra liberal theology professor from someplace called Chapman University, Elaine Pagels (naturally), and a super radical feminist RC nun, some Protestant theologian who thinks it's funny to make some stupid remark to the effect of "Mary's Jewish parents must have thought 'Oy, my daughter's pregnant and doesn't have a husband.' That's the respect that the blessed Theotokos recieved. There was a big discussion of gnosticism as well.
The entire program was just an outgrowth of The Da Vinci Code, and it was amazing that it never occured to anyone involved, that Mary Magdalene's faithfullness to Christ was NOT because she was favored over Peter, as the show suggested, but there was no mention of her faith being a model for all who come to Christ. Instead, she's just turned into any early Christian feminist, rather than rejoicing in the strength of her faith.
Anyway, a sad and inaccurate program. I don't mean to be smug, but watching it really reinforces the truths of Orthodoxy, and the avoidance of error.