St Mark, the Writer of a Gospel

St Mark the Evangelist was an African who worked with St Peter and St Paul, and went on to found the Church in Egypt.

St Mark at a Glance
Name at birth: Yoḥanan Markos
Born: c. 12 AD in Cyrene, Pentapolis (modern Libya)
Died: c. 68 AD in Alexandria, Egypt, Roman Empire
Feast: April 25
Patronages: Notaries, Egypt, Venice

Saint Mark the Evangelist, whose feast the Church celebrates on April 25, is one of the great Africans in Church history. He is traditionally identified as the author of the Gospel of Mark, and his life was intertwined with the earliest Christian history, especially through his relationship with St Peter, St Paul and St Barnabas, and his apostolic mission to Egypt, where Christians venerate him as the first bishop of Alexandria and apostle of the Coptic Church.

The tradition that identifies the evangelist Mark as John Mark, whom we encounter in the Acts of the Apostles, goes back to apostolic times, though even early Christian writers, such as Hippolytus of Rome in the early 3rd century, argued that they were separate people.

Matters are not being made clearer by the fact that John was a very popular name among Jews of the time, and Mark the most common Greek name. There is no full consensus of whether or to what extent Mark the Evangelist, John Mark and the cousin of Barnabas were one and the same person. Still, the tradition holds that they were the same person.

Born in Africa

Mark is believed to have been born around 12 AD in Cyrene, an important city in modern-day Libya whose sons also included Simon, the man who was made to help Jesus carry his cross. By the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Mark and his mother, Mary, were living in Jerusalem, and Mark might have been among the 70 disciples sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1).

Some scholars suggest that Mark is referring to himself in the Gospel when he describes the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane: “Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked” (Mark 14:51-52). There are, however, also other candidates for the mysterious wearer (and then not) of the linen garment.

Mary’s large house was a meeting place for the early Christians of Jerusalem, including the Apostles. In Acts 12:12, we read that Peter took refuge there after escaping from prison, finding many of his fellow followers of “The Way” at prayer in the house.

Tantalisingly, the Coptic Church suggests that the house of Mark’s mother was the place where Christ appeared to the disciples after his resurrection and that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost in the same house. By extension, this would then be the site of the Upper Room and the Last Supper.

On mission with St Paul

Mark joined Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey but left them in Perga and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13). This caused disagreement between Paul and Barnabas as they were planning their second journey. Barnabas wanted to take Mark along again, but Paul disagreed, leading to their separation (Acts 15:36-41). Instead Barnabas and Mark went to preach in Cyprus.

Paul might not have been satisfied with Mark on his missionary journey, but that did not change the friendship between them. When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, Mark was there to care for him (Colossians 4:10). In Rome, Mark also became an aide to Peter, who regarded the younger man as a “son” (1 Peter 5:13).

It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel under the direction of Peter, aiming it specifically at a Gentile audience. There are, however, also scholars who believe that Mark had nothing to do with it, arguing that the author of the Gospel had never been to Palestine, and knew little about its geography or even about Judaism. In any case, the author of Mark — the first Gospel to be written — clearly had access to detailed information, and served as a source for both Matthew and Luke (the latter, as the author of the Acts of the Apostles, also wrote about Mark).

Founded Egypt’s Church

Early Christian tradition holds that after leaving Rome, Mark went on to preach the Gospel in Egypt. The Coptic Church of Egypt venerates Mark as the founder of the Church in Alexandria — one of the five most important sees of early Christianity — and its first bishop. Again, there are question marks raised because neither of the great theologians from Alexandria, Cyril and Origen, mention Mark in their surviving writings. However, this might have been because Mark’s standing in the Church of Alexandria was so well-known and self-evident that it required no particular discussion.

According to tradition, Mark suffered martyrdom at the hands of the pagans in Alexandria around 68 AD, having been dragged with a rope around his neck through the streets until he was dead.

His relics seem to have been kept in Alexandra until the 9th century, when they were taken to Venice. St Mark became the city’s patron, with the magnificent basilica being dedicated to him.

In iconography, St Mark is often depicted as a winged lion. Aside from Egypt and Venice, he is also the patron saint of notaries.

Published in the April 2024 issue of The Southern Cross magazine