ST MARK; FEAST DAY 25th APRIL

 ST MARK

FEAST DAY 25th APRIL

St Mark’s Gospel was written between 60 and 70 AD. He was the first bishop of Alexandria and founded the Church in Egypt, at Alexandria. His relics are preserved at St Mark’s in Venice, an exquisitely beautiful cathedral dedicated to the saint.

Manuscript evidence of the Gospel of St Mark is present in the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus, both of the 4th century AD. The Codex Vaticanus, found on Mt Sinai, begins with the words, (in Greek), “The Gospel according to Mark”. (1)

Dr Pitre tells us about St Mark: "Mark was a well known figure in the first century church, in Jerusalem and Rome, a companion of both St Peter and St Paul. The letters of Paul identify Mark as “a man of circumcision’ (meaning he was Jewish) and a cousin of Barnabas, Paul’s fellow missionary (Colossians 4:10-11). These letters also tell us that Paul stayed with Mark during one of his periods of imprisonment, probably in Rome (Philemon 23-24;2 Timothy 4;11). Along similar lines, the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Mark’s full name was ‘John Mark’; that his mother, Mary, lived in Jerusalem; and that he travelled with Barnabas and Paul (see Acts 12;12-14, 25)". (2).

Most significantly, however, is St Mark’s relationship with St Peter. The first letter of Peter (1 Peter 5;12-13), describing Rome as ‘Babylon’, refers to Mark, “She who is at Babylon send you greetings and so does my son Mark’. (3).

In this letter, which was written by a scribe, Peter who was illiterate, described Mark as his spiritual son or disciple. St Mark was not an eye-witness to the events of Christ but was a disciple, follower and interpreter for St Peter and faithfully wrote down his teachings:

Papias of Hierapolis (who was a disciple of the Apostle John) says of St Mark: “Mark, having become Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately everything he remembered, though not in order, of the things either said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed Him, but afterward… followed Peter, who adapted his teachings as needed but had no intention of giving an ordered account of the Lord’s sayings.” (4).

Irenaeus of Lyons, (Disciple of Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John) referred to St Mark as: “Mark also, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself handed down to in writing the things which were preached by Peter.” (5).

St Clement of Alexandria, who was a disciple of elders who followed and knew the Apostles and who wrote about the year AD 200, wrote of St Mark’s recordings of the words of St Peter:

“But a great light of godliness shone upon the minds of Peter’s listeners that they were not satisfied with a single hearing or with the oral teaching of the divine proclamation. So, with all kinds of exhortations, they begged Mark, (whose Gospel is extant), since he was Peter’s follower, to leave behind a written record of the teaching given to them verbally, and did not quit until they had persuaded the man, and thus they became the immediate cause of the scripture called ‘’The Gospel according to Mark’. And they say that the Apostle, aware of what had occurred because the Spirit had revealed it to him, was pleased with their zeal and sanctioned the writing for the study in the churches.” (6).

St Mark lived for many years in Alexandria where he was martyred by being dragged through the streets. His symbol is the winged lion and he is most frequently depicted holding his Gospel.

(1) Pitre, Brandt, "The Case for Jesus", Image, 2016, at p. 18.

(2) Ibid., at p. 28.

(3) Ibid., at p. 30.

(4) Ibid., at pp. 40, 43-44.

(5) Ibid., at pp. 40, 44.

(6) Ibid., at pp. 40, 44.