{{short description|Christian saint}} {{Infobox saint |honorific_prefix = [[Saint]] |name=Joanna |birth_date= |death_date= |feast_day={{ubli| {{flatlist| * June 27 * and 3rd Sunday of [[Easter|Pascha]], the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers (Eastern Orthodox & Eastern Catholic)<ref name=OCSA/>}} | May 24 (Roman-rite Catholic) |August 3 (Lutheran)}} |venerated_in={{ubl| [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] | [[Anglicanism]] | [[Catholicism]] | [[Lutheranism]]}} |image=Saint Joanna and the Head of Saint John the Baptist.jpg |imagesize=200px |caption=Joanna and the Head of [[John the Baptist]]: Tradition holds she recovered the saint's head after [[Herodias]] had disposed of it<ref name=OCSA/> |birth_place= |death_place= |titles=[[Myrrhbearer]] |beatified_date= |beatified_place= |beatified_by= |canonized_date=[[Pre-congregation]] |canonized_place= }} [[File:Joanna_wife_of_Chuza.jpg|150px|thumbnail|right|Joanna, wife of Chuza, in the [[Good Friday processions in Baliwag]], 2024. ]] '''Joanna''' ({{langx|grc-x-koine|[[wikt:Ἰωάννα|Ἰωάννα]]|translit=Iōanna}}, also {{langx|el|Ἰωάνα}}), the '''wife of Chuza''' ({{lang|el|γυνὴ Χουζᾶ}}),<ref>[http://biblehub.com/whvar/luke/24.htm ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 24] [Luke 24:10]: Nestle-Åland. ''Novum Testamentum Graece''. [The New Testament in the Original Greek]. 27th edition variants. Westcott and Hort. {{in lang|grc-x-koine}}. Retrieved 9 February 2017.</ref> is a woman mentioned in the [[gospels]] who was healed by [[Jesus]] and later supported him and his disciples in their travels. She is one of the women recorded in the [[Gospel of Luke]] as accompanying Jesus and the [[twelve apostles]] and as a witness to [[Jesus' resurrection]]. Her husband was Chuza, who managed the household of [[Herod Antipas]], the ruler of [[Galilee]]; this is the origin of the distinguishing [[epithet]] commonly attached to her name, differentiating her from other figures named ''Joanna''.<ref name=Zondervan>Douglas, J. D. and Tenney, Merrill C. (2011). ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary''. p. 742. {{ISBN|0310229839}}.</ref>
Her name is from {{langx|he|יוֹחָנָה|translit=Yôḥānāh}} ({{Translation|[[YHWH|'Yahweh]] has been gracious'}}).{{efn| The name is etymologically related to [[Anna (name)|''Anna'']], ''Joanna'' sharing one of its elements with the {{langx|he|חַנָּהיוֹחָנָה|translit=Ḥannāh|lit=grace}}. However, ''Joanna'' is not a compound formation and originated as a separate, unitary derivation, directly from the Hebrew male name [[Johanan (name)|''Yôḥānān'']], [[John (given name)|'John']].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yonge|first1=Charlotte Mary|title=History of Christian Names |date=1884 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |pages=39–46|chapter=Names from 'Chaanach' |id=[Part I, Chapter III, Section V] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924031230182/}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hardcastle |author-link1=Patrick Hanks |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |title=A dictionary of first names |edition=2nd |series=Oxford Paperback Reference |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press|page=356 |isbn=978-0-19-861060-1}}</ref>}}{{r|bauckham 2002|pp=143–145}}
She is recognised as a saint in the [[Anglican]], [[Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox]], and other Christian traditions.<ref name=OCSA>{{cite web |title=Saint Joanna the Myrrhbearer |url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2018/06/27/101827-saint-joanna-the-myrrhbearer |website=The Orthodox Church in America |access-date=22 January 2023 |quote=Commemorated on June 27"{{nbsp}} ... " She is also commemorated on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women.}}</ref>
==In the Gospels== {{See also|The Three Marys|Myrrhbearers}} Joanna is identified as "the wife of Chuza", steward to Herod Antipas, when she is listed as one of the women "cured of evil spirits and infirmities" who accompanied Jesus and the Apostles, and "provided for Him from their substance" in [[Luke 8:2]]–3.{{efn-ua|name="L82"}}
In [[Luke 24:10]], Joanna is mentioned by name, along with [[Mary Magdalene]] and [[Mary of Clopas]], as among the women who took spices to Jesus' tomb and found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. The accounts in the other [[synoptic gospels]] do not mention Joanna as one of the group of women who observe Jesus' burial and testify to his [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]].
==Holy Myrrhbearer traditions== {{See also|The Three Marys}} In Orthodox tradition, she is honored as "Saint Joanna the Myrrhbearer" ({{langx|el|Αγία Ιωάννα η Μυροφόρος}}) and is commemorated among the eight women who carried [[myrrh]] on the "Sunday of the [[Myrrhbearers]]", two Sundays after [[Easter|Pascha]] (Orthodox Easter). From this commemoration, in the revised [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]], she is commemorated as one of the Holy Myrrhbearers on August 3, together with other women present at the tomb of Jesus in New Testament accounts. These include [[Mary of Clopas]] (also called Mary, the mother of [[James the Less]] and [[Joses]]) and [[Salome (disciple)|Salome]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pfatteicher |first1=Philip H. |title=The New Book of Festivals and Commemorations: A proposed common calendar of saints |date=2008 |publisher=Fortress Press |location=Minneapolis, US |isbn=9780800621285 |page=376}}</ref>
Joanna is also commemorated in [[the Calendar of the Church Year|the liturgical calendar]] of [[the Episcopal Church]] of the United States on August 3, with one of the [[Lesser Feasts and Fasts]] of 2022, "Joanna, Mary, and Salome, Myrrh-Bearing Women".<ref name="LFF2022">{{cite book |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2022 |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts |url=https://www.episcopalcommonprayer.org/uploads/1/2/9/8/129843103/lesser_feasts_and_fasts_2022_final.pdf |location=New York |publisher=Church Publishing |page= |isbn=9781640656277}}</ref>
==Significance== Although not mentioned by name, Joanna is seen as one of the women who joined the disciples and [[Mary, mother of Jesus]], in the [[Cenacle|upper room]] in prayer. She was believed to be among the group of 120 who chose [[Matthias the Apostle]] to fill the vacancy left by [[Judas Iscariot]], as well as being present on the [[Day of Pentecost]].<ref name=Coptic>[http://suscopts.org/resources/literature/230/joanna/ "Joanna", Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States]</ref>
In his book, ''Gospel Women'', [[Richard Bauckham]] notes that in Luke 24, Joanna's name appears at the very center of a [[chiastic structure]] which is a literary device in an A-B-C-B-A pattern. The fact that Joanna's name appears at the center of a chiasm in this part of Luke's resurrection account indicates that for some reason, she was being presented as a centrally important character or witness.{{r|bauckham 2002|p1=187|rosenthal}} One possible explanation for this relates to the discovery of a first-century ossuary in Jerusalem belonging to a woman named "Joanna" who was the granddaughter of "[[Theophilus ben Ananus|Theophilus]] the high priest".<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27926007 | jstor=27926007 | title=The Ossuary of Yeho?anah Granddaughter of the High Priest Theophilus | last1=Barag | first1=DAN | last2=Flusser | first2=David | journal=Israel Exploration Journal | date=1986 | volume=36 | issue=1/2 | pages=39–44 }}</ref> If this is the same woman mentioned by Luke, her role as a key witness to the empty tomb could be explained by the fact that in [[Luke 1:3]], he wrote to a "most excellent Theophilus",{{efn-ua|{{bibleverse||Luke|1:3|NKJV}} }} and as Theophilus's granddaughter, Joanna would have been someone Luke loved and trusted.<ref name="rosenthal">{{citation |mode=cs1 | url=https://www.academia.edu/129127087 | title=[Preview]: ''Luke's Key Witness'' | work=The Humble Skeptic | date=January 2026 | last1=Rosenthal | first1=Shane }} * {{cite web |last1=Rosenthal |first1=Shane |title=[Comment]: ''Luke's Key Witness: An archaeological discovery sheds light on the identity of Joanna, a disciple of Jesus and witness to the empty tomb'' |url=https://www.humbleskeptic.com/p/joanna-an-obscure-disciple-or-lukes | website = The Humble Skeptic |language=en |date=1 June 2024}}</ref>
==Identification with Junia== {{see also|Junia (New Testament person)}} [[Richard Bauckham]] argues for identifying Joanna, the wife of Chuza, with the [[Junia (New Testament person)|Junia]] mentioned in Paul's [[Epistle to the Romans|letter to the Romans]] [[Epistle to the Romans#Andronicus and Junia (16:7)|16:7]], "Joanna" being her Jewish name, and "Junia" her Roman. Joanna is mentioned as one of the members of the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, travelling with him among the other twelve and some other women, city to city.{{efn-ua|name="L82"}}
{{blockquote|After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.|[[Luke 8:1-3]]}}
Joanna is also mentioned alongside Mary Magdalene and other women as those who first visited the tomb and found it to be empty, and it is to this group of women, including Joanna, that Jesus first appears and instructs to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee in [[Matthew 28:8]]-[[Matthew 28:10|10]].{{efn|[[Luke 24:10]] mentions Joanna.}} Bauckham notes that Paul describes Junia as having been a member of the Christian community prior to him, and given that Paul himself converted within three years of the death of Jesus, that would require Junia to have been a member of the community from a very early period.
Whereas ''[[Joanna]]'' is a [[Hellenized]], Grecian, adaptation of a Hebrew name,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cohick|first1=Lynn H.|author-link=Lynn H. Cohick|title=Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life |date=2009 |publisher=Baker Academic |location=Grand Rapids |isbn=9780801031724 |page=315 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xahzBQAAQBAJ&q=Joanna&pg=PA315}}</ref> ''Junia'' is a Latin name. Jews often adopted a second, Latin name that were nearly sound equivalents to their original name. Joanna and Junia act as near sound equivalents in the native languages, which Bauckham says is indicative of the identification between the two. Finally, Paul describes Junia as being "prominent among the apostles". Given that Junia is described as an earliest member of the community, and as one of the most prominent members, that she is not named elsewhere is indicative, as Bauckham argues, that she and Joanna are the same individual, given Joanna's high prominence during the ministry of Jesus.<ref name="bauckham 2002">{{cite book |last1=Bauckham |first1=Richard |title=Gospel Women: Studies of the named women in the gospels |date=2002 |publisher=T & T Clark; Eerdmans |location=London; Grand Rapids, MI, USA |isbn=978-0567088703 |pages=109–202 |chapter=Joanna the Apostle|author-link1=Richard Bauckham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ahb7rcCzNuwC}}</ref>{{rp|pp=172–180}}
==In popular culture== * ''Joanna, wife of Chuza'' ({{langx|uk|Йоганна, жінка Хусова}}) is a [[verse drama]] by Ukrainian writer [[Lesya Ukrainka]], first published in 1909.<ref>{{Citation |title=Йоганна, жінка Хусова |website=Енциклопедія життя і творчості Лесі Українки |url=https://www.l-ukrainka.name/uk/Dramas/Johanna.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927144152/https://l-ukrainka.name/uk/Dramas/Johanna.html |archive-date=2023-09-27 }}</ref> * In the 2015 television miniseries [[Killing Jesus (miniseries)|''Killing Jesus'']] Rotem Zissman-Cohen plays Joanna.<ref name=Peter> Chattaway, Peter (19 March 2015). [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/filmchat/2015/03/joanna-gets-a-speaking-role-in-killing-jesus-and-a-d.html "Joanna gets a speaking role in ''Killing Jesus'' and ''A.D.'']". ''Patheos''.</ref> * In the 2015 television miniseries ''[[A.D. The Bible Continues]]'', Joanna is portrayed by {{interlanguage link|Farzana Dua Elahe|af||arz|فارزانا دوا الاه|bn|ফারজানা দুআ এলাহি|fr||ru|Элахе, Фарзана Дуа}}.<ref name=Peter/> * Joanna is a fictional character in ''The Lost Wisdom of the Magi'' (2020), by Susie Helme, published by Conrad Press{{cn|date=March 2026}} * In the third season of the 2017 television series ''[[The Chosen (TV series)|The Chosen]]'', Joanna is portrayed by Amy Bailey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''The Chosen'': Season 3 Begins in Theaters (TV Series 2022– ) |website= IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt23177930/fullcredits |access-date=2023-01-16}}</ref> She is deeply moved by the [[Sermon on the Mount]] and helps [[Andrew the Apostle|Andrew]] meet the imprisoned [[John the Baptist|John the Baptizer]]. In the fourth season she announces John's execution to the other disciples.
==See also== * [[Women in the Bible]] * [[List of Christian women of the patristic age]] * [[Theophilus ben Ananus]]
==Notes== {{notelist}}
===Biblical verses=== {{notelist-ua|refs= {{efn-ua|name="L82"|{{bibleverse||Luke|8:2–3|NKJV}} }} }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last1=Lockyer |first1=Herbert |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0YrW3bxxGAsC&dq=Joanna%2C+wife+of+Chuza&pg=PA78 |title=All the women of the Bible: The life and times of all the women of the Bible |date=1988 |publisher=Zondervan |location=Grand Rapids, US |isbn=978-0310281511 |edition=Revised}} * Maloney, Robert P. (March 28, 2024). [https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/03/28/joanna-apostle-easter-maloney-247567?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=38216&pnespid=pLk2UCJAJPhCyqaepiytFJac502nCJhzKLSsw_hl9QBm89cqbbH8_txzmB6ngZ7FmQI07UZdcQ "Remembering Joanna, the forgotten witness to Christ’s resurrection."] ''America''. Accessed March 31, 2024. * {{cite book |last1=McGrath |first1= James F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nP8hEAAAQBAJ |title=What Jesus Learned from Women |date=2021 |publisher=Cascade |location=Eugene, US |isbn=9781532680601 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Ng |first1=Esther Yue L. |title=Did Joanna become Junia? |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |date=September 2022 |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=523–534 |url=https://www.etsjets.org/JETS_current_non |publisher=The Evangelical Theological Society |language=en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20230122065734/https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/65/65-3/JETS_65.3_523-34_Ng.pdf Archived PDF] * {{cite journal |last1=Witherington |first1=Ben III |title=Joanna. Apostle of the Lord – or jailbait? |journal=Bible Review |date=Spring 2005 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=12–14 |url=https://ixtheo.de/Record/1650455836/Details |language=English |issn=8755-6316}}
==External links== * [http://www.aletheiacollege.net/bl/19-1Joanna_Character_Study.htm Character Study of Joanna] * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035858/http://www.comeandseeicons.com/j/sgp15.htm Icon of St. Joanna the Myrrh-Bearer]}}
{{New Testament people}} {{catholic saints - disciples}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanna}} [[Category:Followers of Jesus]] [[Category:Saints from the Holy Land]] [[Category:Christian saints from the New Testament]] [[Category:1st-century Christian female saints]] [[Category:People in the Gospel of Luke]] [[Category:Women in the New Testament]] [[Category:Angelic visionaries]] [[Category:Myrrhbearers]]