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Saint Mark
Image: Scriptorium of the Lorsch Abbey (Hofschule Karls des Großen), Germany · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Mark

Recorder of the Gospel that bears his name, companion of Paul and Peter

Rank
Saint
Kind
Evangelist, Martyr
Life
d. ~68
Era
1st century
Feast
25 April
Countries
Libya, Egypt, Italy
ItalyEgyptLibya

Life story

Mark, whose Jewish name was John, appears in the Acts of the Apostles: his mother's house in Jerusalem was a place where early believers gathered for prayer. He was a cousin of Barnabas. He set out with Paul and Barnabas for Cyprus on the first missionary journey but left them at Perga, and later Paul and Barnabas disagreed over whether to take him again. Barnabas took him back to Cyprus, and Paul later spoke of him again as a useful co-worker.

The first letter of Peter calls him my son Mark, and the Church Father Papias, quoted by Eusebius, says he was Peter's interpreter and wrote down carefully what Peter taught. Tradition therefore links him with the second Gospel of the New Testament, which scholars often consider the oldest.

According to Eusebius, Mark was the first to bring the Gospel to Alexandria in Egypt, where he founded a community that laid the base of the later Coptic Church. Tradition says he was martyred there around 68. In the ninth century, Venetian merchants carried his relics to Venice, where St Mark's Basilica was built to house them. His feast is kept on 25 April, and the lion became his traditional symbol in Christian art. Scholars generally agree that the Gospel of Mark was written in Greek, probably in the decades around the year 70, and that Matthew and Luke later used it as a source.

Works and witness

  • Co-worker of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey
  • According to Papias, Peter's interpreter
  • Tradition attaches the second Gospel to his name
  • According to Eusebius, founded the Christian community in Alexandria
  • According to tradition, relics taken to Venice in the ninth century

Patron of

Venice

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Luke, Saint Joseph

References

  • Tân Ước: Công vụ Tông đồ, thư 1 Phêrô, Tin Mừng Marcô (New Testament: Acts, 1 Peter, Mark)
  • Eusebius, Church History
  • Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.