Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene

The Da Vinci Code presents the marriage of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene as a historical fact deliberately suppressed by the early Christian Church. This relationship forms the central secret guarded by the Priory of Sion and is the true meaning of the Holy Grail, which is not a cup but Mary Magdalene herself, the vessel that bore Jesus' royal bloodline.

Historical Suppression and the Council of Nicaea

The novel argues that the marriage was covered up during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Constantine, a lifelong pagan, sought to unify the Roman Empire under a single religion. He elevated Jesus from a mortal prophet to the divine Son of God through a vote, a move that solidified the Church's power. To support this new doctrine, Constantine commissioned a new Bible that omitted gospels describing Jesus' human life, including his marriage to Mary Magdalene. Gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits were outlawed, gathered, and burned. The word "heretic" derives from this moment, meaning "choice"—those who chose the original history of Christ were the first heretics.

Evidence from the Gnostic Gospels

The novel cites the Gnostic Gospels, discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945, as historical records that contradict the canonical Bible. In the Gospel of Philip, Mary Magdalene is described as the "companion" of the Saviour, a term that in Aramaic literally meant "spouse." The text states that "Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth," causing offense among the other disciples. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene portrays Peter as jealous of her, questioning why the Saviour spoke with a woman and preferred her to the male disciples. These documents, the novel claims, reveal that Jesus intended for Mary Magdalene, not Peter, to lead his Church after his crucifixion.

Symbolic Representation in Art

The novel uses Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper as a primary piece of evidence. It points out that the figure seated to Jesus' right is not the Apostle John, but Mary Magdalene, identifiable by her flowing red hair, delicate hands, and the hint of a bosom. The two figures are clothed as mirror images—Jesus in a red robe and blue cloak, Mary in a blue robe and red cloak—creating a yin-yang balance. The negative space between them forms a clear V shape, the symbol of the chalice and the female womb. Furthermore, their bodies together create the outline of a prominent letter "M," which stands for either "Matrimonio" or "Mary Magdalene." This hidden symbolism, the novel argues, was Da Vinci's way of revealing the truth about their union.

The Royal Bloodline and the Holy Grail

The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, according to the novel, produced a child, a daughter named Sarah. This union fused two royal bloodlines: Jesus, a descendant of King David and Solomon, and Mary Magdalene, of the House of Benjamin. Their child thus had a legitimate claim to the throne of the King of the Jews. The Holy Grail is not a cup but an allegory for Mary Magdalene's womb, which carried the "royal blood" or Sang Real of Jesus Christ. The quest for the Grail is a quest to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene and to protect the secret of her bloodline, which was carried into France and eventually became the Merovingian line of kings. The Priory of Sion was founded to protect this secret and the Sangreal documents that prove it.