SAINT Mark, the Evangelist, wrote the first and the shortest of the four gospels. The gospel is described by Stephen Fortosis in The Great Men and Women of the Bible as an “action-packed gospel which emphasizes sheer power of Christ over all obstacles.” Mark, sometimes known as John Mark, is the only apostle at the foot of the cross on Good Friday with the Blessed Mother, and the first to see the empty tomb on Easter morning. He is also the first to recognize the Lord on the shore after the Resurrection.
Peter called him ‘my son’
The son of a rich widow who offered their house as a place where the Christian community in Jerusalem convened, the house is considered as the first Christian Church. The Last Supper on Holy Thursday, the encounters of the apostles with the Risen Christ, and the coming of the Holy Spirit took place at the house of Mark’s mother.
The apostle Peter, who was persecuted by Herod Agrippa, sought refuge there after his miraculous escape from prison. And their place in the garden at Gethsemane was where Jesus and His apostles met.
So Mark knew Christ’s teaching by heart, and joined the Christians in their prayers. Fortosis writes that after Peter’s release from prison, Mark became a close companion and assistant. He called him “my son.”
Mark the Evangelist
Mark in the late autumn of 45 AD joined Saints Paul and Barnabas in their journeys to Jerusalem, Caesarea, Cyprus, Paphos to Asia Minor (now the Asian part of modern Turkey and Armenian highland). They traveled waters made tough by mountain climbing, described by Jesus Urtega in The Defects of the Saints as “long, difficult, exhausting, dangerous with roads that are tortuous, rugged and unpassable.”
From Antioch (an ancient Greek city) they went to Lystra (central Anatolia, now part of present-day Turkey), where “Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead.”
Mark, was “demoralized.” He, who was not used to difficulties complained, left them and went home to Jerusalem. On the second journey to visit Christian communities, Mark volunteered to accompany Paul and Barnabas. Paul refused him. He considered him “immature, inconstant, incapable of sacrifice and can very well be a bother than a support,” Jesus Ortega said. Barnabas, Mark’s uncle, however, was willing to give him a second chance. But neither Paul nor Barnabas changed their decisions. So, the two went on separate missions.
So Barnabas and Mark sailed to Cyprus, while Paul and Silas went to Syria (Acts 15:38).
Then, Peter assigned Mark as his secretary and interpreter and took him to Rome, where he reconciled with Paul. The early Church fathers refer to Mark as the “mouthpiece or interpreter of apostle Peter.” Having been a companion of Peter he was familiar with the parables and teachings of Jesus which were the topics during evangelizing missions and meetings.
When Peter died, “eyewitnesses to Jesus ministry were dying off, too.” Christians were persecuted and reassurance about faith was needed.
Mark wrote a religious pamphlet, the Martyr’s Gospel according to Malcolm Day in A Treasury of Saints. It was distributed to Roman Christians and “fledgling churches as a source of encouragement during hard times.”
In AD 49, Mark founded the church of Alexandria and became its first bishop. The Coptic Orthodox church and Greek Orthodox church today acknowledge Saint Mark as their Father. He is also honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa.
Relics of Saint Mark
The Venetian merchants with the cooperation of two Greek monks took the relics of Saint Mark in 828 from Alexandrea to Venice.
A new basilica in Venice to house his relics in 1063 was constructed. But his relics could not be located.
According to tradition, it was Saint Mark himself who showed where his remains were. Wikipedia disclosed that “he extended an arm from a pillar,” where his relics were hidden. Retrieved, they were placed in a sarcophagus in the basilica.
The Coptics claim that the head of Saint Mark remains in a church named after him in Alexandria. Some relics are in the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. Mark is often depicted holding a book with “Pax Tibi Marce [Peace be with you, Mark],” written on it.
He is also shown accompanied by a winged lion that rescued the Christian slaves from the Saracens.
His feast day is on April 25.
Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education-National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College, Laguna.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
1 comment
John Mark is not the same person as John the Apostle, the one who is at the foot of the cross on Good Friday with Mary and who is the first to see the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.