Mark the Evangelist

{{short description|Apostle of Jesus}}
{{redirect|Saint Mark}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name= Mark the Evangelist
|birth_date= {{circa|12 AD}}
|birth_place= [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]], [[Crete and Cyrenaica]], [[Roman Empire]]<br/>(according to Coptic tradition)<ref name=cocn>{{cite web | title=St. Mark The Apostle, Evangelist | publisher=Coptic Orthodox Church Network| url= http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/synexarion/mark.html| access-date = November 21, 2012}}</ref>
|death_date= {{circa|68 AD}} (aged {{c.|56}})
|death_place = [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], Roman Empire
|image= File:St Mark.JPG
|imagesize=
|caption=  Detail from a window in the parish church of SS Mary and Lambert, [[Stonham Aspal]], [[Suffolk]], with stained glass representing St Mark the Evangelist
|titles= Evangelist, Martyr
|feast_day=
* 25 April ([[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Julian calendar]] date)
* [[Parmouti 30 (Coptic Orthodox liturgics)|30 Parmouti]] or 8 May ([[Coptic Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Gregorian calendar]] date)
|venerated_in= All Christian churches that venerate saints
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|major_shrine ={{unbulleted list|[[St Mark's Basilica]] ([[Venice]])|[[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria)]]}}
|patronage= [[Barristers]], [[Venice]],<ref name="Walsh, p. 21">[[#Walsh|Walsh]], p. 21.</ref> [[Egypt]], [[Copts]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Through Cyprus|first=Agnes Smith |last=Lewis|year= 2008| isbn=978-0-88402-284-8| page =65|publisher=University of Michigan Press|quote=St. Mark is the patron saint of the Copts.}}</ref> [[Mainar]], [[Podgorica]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://borba.me/markovdan-slava-podgorice/|title=Markovdan: Slava Podgorice|date=May 8, 2023|website=Borba}}</ref> Pangil, Laguna
|suppressed_Date=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
| major_works = [[Gospel of Mark]] (attributed)
}}

'''Mark the Evangelist'''{{efn|{{lang-la|Marcus}}; {{lang-grc|Μᾶρκος|Mârkos}}; {{lang-arc|ܡܪܩܘܣ|Marqōs}}; {{lang-he|מַרְקוֹס|Marqōs}}; {{lang-gez|ማርቆስ|Marḳos}}.}} also known as '''[[John Mark]]''' or '''Saint Mark''', is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the [[Gospel of Mark]]. Modern Bible scholars have concluded that the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author rather than an identifiable historical figure. According to Church tradition, Mark founded the [[episcopal see]] of [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], which was one of the [[Pentarchy|five most important sees]] of [[early Christianity]]. His [[feast day]] is celebrated on April 25, and his [[Saint symbolism|symbol]] is the [[Lion of Saint Mark|winged lion]].<ref name=EECp720>{{Citation
|last=Senior
|first=Donald P.
|year=1998
|edition = 2nd
|contribution=Mark
|editor1-last=Ferguson
|editor1-first=Everett
|title=Encyclopedia of Early Christianity
|place=New York and London
|publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc.
|page=720
|isbn= 0-8153-3319-6
}}</ref>

==Identity==
{{see also|Four Evangelists}}
[[File:Leone marciano andante - Vittore Carpaccio - Google Cultural Institute.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Mark the Evangelist's [[Saint symbolism|symbol]] is the [[winged lion]], the [[Lion of Saint Mark]]. Inscription: {{lang|la|PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS}} ('peace be upon you, Mark, my evangelist'). The same lion is also the symbol of [[Venice]] (on illustration).]]

According to [[William L. Lane|William Lane]] (1974), an "unbroken tradition" identifies Mark the Evangelist with [[John Mark]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Lane |first=William L.|author-link=William L. Lane|chapter=The Author of the Gospel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIjPDDlweUgC&pg=PA21 |title=The Gospel According to Mark |series=[[New International Commentary on the New Testament]] |year=1974 |publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids |pages=21–3 |isbn=978-0-8028-2502-5}}</ref> and John Mark as the cousin of [[Barnabas]].<ref>Mark: Images of an Apostolic Interpreter p55 C. Clifton Black – 2001 –"... infrequent occurrence in the Septuagint (Num 36:11; Tob 7:2) to its presence in Josephus (JW 1.662; Ant 1.290, 15.250) and Philo (On the Embassy to Gaius 67), anepsios consistently carries the connotation of "cousin", though ..."</ref> However, [[Hippolytus of Rome]], in ''On the Seventy Apostles'', distinguishes Mark the Evangelist ([[2 Timothy 4]]:11),<ref name="bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:11">{{bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:11}}</ref> John Mark ([[Acts 12]]:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37),<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|12:12–25}}, {{bibleverse|Acts|13:5–13}}, {{bibleverse|Acts|15:37}}</ref> and [[Mark the cousin of Barnabas]] ([[Colossians 4]]:10;<ref name="bibleverse|Colossians|4:10">{{bibleverse|Colossians|4:10}}</ref> [[Philemon 1]]:24).<ref name="bibleverse|Philemon|1:24">{{bibleverse|Philemon|1:24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Hippolytus |author-link=Hippolytus of Rome |chapter=The same Hippolytus on the Seventy Apostles |chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf05.iii.v.iii.html |title=Ante-Nicene Fathers|title-link=Ante-Nicene Fathers }}</ref> According to Hippolytus, they all belonged to the "Seventy Disciples" who were sent out by [[Jesus]] to disseminate the [[gospel]] ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 10:1ff.)<ref name="bibleverse|Luke|10:1">{{bibleverse|Luke|10:1}}</ref> in [[Judea]].

According to [[Eusebius of Caesarea]],<ref>''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.9.1–4</ref> [[Herod Agrippa I]], in his first year of reign over the whole of Judea (AD 41), killed [[James, son of Zebedee]] and arrested [[Saint Peter|Peter]], planning to kill him after the [[Passover]]. Peter was saved miraculously by [[angel]]s, and escaped out of the realm of Herod (Acts 12:1–19).<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|12:1–19}}</ref> Peter went to [[Antioch]], then through [[Asia Minor]] (visiting the churches in [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], [[Galatia]], [[Cappadocia]], [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], and [[Bithynia]], as mentioned in [[1 Peter 1]]:1),<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Peter|1:1}}</ref> and arrived in Rome in the second year of [[Emperor Claudius]] (AD 42).<ref>''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.14.6</ref> Somewhere on the way, Peter encountered Mark and took him as travel companion and interpreter. Mark the Evangelist wrote down the [[sermon]]s of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark,<ref>''The Ecclesiastical History'' 15–16</ref> before he left for [[Alexandria]] in the third year of Claudius (AD 43).<ref>{{cite book |first=Jack |last=Finegan |title=Handbook of Biblical Chronology |location=Peabody, Massachusetts |publisher=Hendrickson |year=1998 |page=374 |isbn=978-1-56563-143-4}}</ref>

According to the Acts 15:39,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:39}}</ref> Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas after the Council of Jerusalem.

According to tradition, in AD 49, about 19 years after the [[Ascension of Jesus]], Mark travelled to [[Alexandria]] and founded the [[Church of Alexandria]]. The [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], and the [[Coptic Catholic Church]] all trace their origins to this original community.<ref name="georgetown1">{{cite web |url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/egypt |title=Egypt |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |access-date=December 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220145046/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/egypt |archive-date=December 20, 2011 }} See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire"</ref> Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt|url=http://www.coptic.net/EncyclopediaCoptica/|website=Encyclopedia Coptica|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050831164722/http://www.coptic.net/EncyclopediaCoptica/|archive-date=August 31, 2005}}</ref> He became the first [[bishop]] of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of [[Christianity in Africa]].<ref name=OSVESp401>{{cite book
|last1=Bunson |first1=Matthew |last2=Bunson |first2=Margaret |last3=Bunson |first3=Stephen |title=Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division |year=1998 |place=Huntington, Indiana |page=401 |isbn=0-87973-588-0}}</ref>

According to Eusebius,<ref>''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.24.1</ref> Mark was succeeded by [[Pope Anianus of Alexandria|Anianus]] as the bishop of Alexandria in the eighth year of [[Nero]] (62/63), probably, but not definitely, due to his coming death. Later Coptic tradition says that he was martyred in 68.<ref name=cocn/><ref name=macrory>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09672c.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Mark |access-date=March 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:36–40}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:11|NASB}}</ref><ref name="bibleverse|Philemon|1:24"/>

Modern Bible scholars (i.e. most critical scholars) have concluded that the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author rather than by Mark.<ref name="Ehrman 2004 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ehrman | first=Bart D. | title=The New Testament | publisher=Oxford University Press, USA | date=2004 | isbn=0-19-515462-2 | pages=58–59 | quote=Proto-orthodox Christians of the second century, some decades after most of the New Testament books had been written, claimed that their favorite Gospels had been penned by two of Jesus' disciples&mdash;Matthew, the tax collector, and John, the beloved disciple&mdash;and by two friends of the apostles&mdash;Mark, the secretary of Peter, and Luke, the travelling companion of Paul. Scholars today, however, find it difficult to accept this tradition for several reasons.}}</ref><ref name="Jeon Baugh 2017 p. 181">{{cite book | last1=Jeon | first1=Jeong Koo | last2=Baugh | first2=Steve | title=Biblical Theology: Covenants and the Kingdom of God in Redemptive History | publisher=Wipf & Stock | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-5326-0580-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVoQDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181 | access-date=13 August 2023 | page=181 fn. 10 | quote=10. Just as historical critical scholars deny the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, so they also deny the authorship of the four Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.{{nbsp}}[...] But today, these persons are not thought to have been the actual authors.}}</ref><ref name=lost>{{cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D.|author-link=Bart D. Ehrman|title=Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA235|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-518249-1|page=235|quote=Most scholars today have abandoned these identifications,{{sup|11}} and recognize that the books were written by otherwise unknown but relatively well-educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the second half of the first century.}}</ref><ref name=nickle>{{cite book |last=Nickle |first=Keith Fullerton |title=The Synoptic Gospels: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SSytjasmAgC&pg=PA43|date=January 1, 2001|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-22349-6|page=43|quote=We must candidly acknowledge that all three of the Synoptic Gospels are anonymous documents. None of the three gains any importance by association with those traditional figures out of the life of the early church. Neither do they lose anything in importance by being recognized to be anonymous. Throughout this book the traditional names are used to refer to the authors of the first three Gospels, but we shall do so simply as a device of convenience. }}</ref> For instance, the author of the Gospel of Mark knew very little about the geography of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (having apparently never visited it),<ref name="leach">{{cite book | last=Leach | first=Edmund | editor-last1=Alter | editor-first1=Robert | editor-last2=Kermode | editor-first2=Frank | title=The Literary Guide to the Bible | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-674-26141-9 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSEwEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT354 | chapter=Fishing for men on the edge of the wilderness | page=590 | quote=5. The geography of Gospel Palestine, like the geography of Old Testament Palestine, is symbolic rather than actual. It is not clear whether any of the evangelists had ever been there.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Wells | first=George Albert | title=Cutting Jesus Down to Size: What Higher Criticism Has Achieved and Where It Leaves Christianity | publisher=Open Court | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-8126-9867-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuccAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 | access-date=13 August 2023 | page=25 | quote=Mark's knowledge even of Palestine's geography is likewise defective.{{nbsp}}[...] Kümmel (1975, p. 97) writes of Mark's "numerous geographical errors"}}</ref><ref name="Evans 2014 p. 252"/>{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=36|ps=: "Evidence in the Gospel itself has led many readers of the Gospel to question the traditional view of authorship. The author of the Gospel does not seem to be too familiar with Palestinian geography.{{nbsp}}[...] Is it likely that a native of Palestine, as John Mark was, would have made such errors?"{{nbsp}}[...] Also, certain passages in the Gospel contain erroneous statements about Palestinian or Jewish practices."}} "was very far from being a peasant or a fisherman",<ref name="leach"/> was unacquainted with Jewish customs (unlikely for someone from Palestine),<ref name="Evans 2014 p. 252"/>{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=36|ps=: "Evidence in the Gospel itself has led many readers of the Gospel to question the traditional view of authorship. The author of the Gospel does not seem to be too familiar with Palestinian geography.{{nbsp}}[...] Is it likely that a native of Palestine, as John Mark was, would have made such errors?"{{nbsp}}[...] Also, certain passages in the Gospel contain erroneous statements about Palestinian or Jewish practices."}} and was probably "a Hellenized Jew who lived outside of Palestine".<ref>{{cite book | last=Watts Henderson | first=Suzanne | editor-last1=Coogan | editor-first1=Michael | editor-last2=Brettler | editor-first2=Marc | editor-last3=Newsom | editor-first3=Carol | editor-last4=Perkins | editor-first4=Pheme | title=The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2018 | isbn=978-0-19-027605-8 | chapter=The Gospel according to Mark | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T05WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1431 | access-date=13 August 2023 | page=1431 | quote=suggest that the evangelist was a Hellenized Jew who lived outside of Palestine.}}</ref> Mitchell Reddish does concede that the name of the author might have been Mark (making the gospel possibly homonymous), but the identity of this Mark is unknown.{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=36|ps=: "Evidence in the Gospel itself has led many readers of the Gospel to question the traditional view of authorship. The author of the Gospel does not seem to be too familiar with Palestinian geography.{{nbsp}}[...] Is it likely that a native of Palestine, as John Mark was, would have made such errors?"{{nbsp}}[...] Also, certain passages in the Gospel contain erroneous statements about Palestinian or Jewish practices."}} Similarly, "Francis Moloney suggests the author was someone named Mark, though maybe not any of the Marks mentioned in the New Testament".<ref name="Tucker Kuecker 2020 p. 70">{{cite book | last1=Tucker | first1=J. Brian | last2=Kuecker | first2=Aaron | title=T&T Clark Social Identity Commentary on the New Testament | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2020 | isbn=978-0-567-66785-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKbDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 | access-date=13 August 2023 | page=70 | quote=Francis Moloney suggests the author was someone named Mark, though maybe not any of the Marks mentioned in the New Testament (Moloney, 11-12).}}</ref> ''The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus'' takes the same approach: the author was named Mark, but scholars are undecided who this Mark was.<ref name="Evans 2014 p. 252">{{cite book | last=Hatina | first=Thomas R. |editor-last=Evans | editor-first=Craig A. | title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-317-72224-3 | chapter=Gospel of Mark | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StasAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA252 | access-date=13 August 2023 | page=252 | quote=Like the other synoptics, Mark's Gospel is anonymous. Whether it was originally so is, however, difficult to know. Nevertheless, we can be fairly certain that it was written by someone named Mark.{{nbsp}}[...] The difficulty is ascertaining the identity of Mark. Scholars debate{{nbsp}}[...] or another person simply named Mark who was not native to Palestine. Many scholars have opted for the latter option due to the Gospel's lack of understanding of Jewish laws (1:40–45; 2:23–28; 7:1–23), incorrect Palestinian geography (5:1–2, 12–13; 7:31), and concern for Gentiles (7:24–28:10) (e.g. Marcus 1999: 17–21)}}</ref>

The four canonical gospels are anonymous and most researchers agree that none of them was written by eyewitnesses.<ref name="Millard 2006">{{Cite book|last=Millard|first=Alan|chapter=Authors, Books, and Readers in the Ancient World|editor1-last=Rogerson|editor1-first=J.W.|editor2-last=Lieu|editor2-first=Judith M.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies|publisher=Oxford University Press|year= 2006|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKZYMifS1fAC&dq=%22written+virtually+entirely+in+a+form+of+ancient+Greek%22&pg=PA558|isbn=978-0-19-925425-5|page=558|quote=The historical narratives, the Gospels and Acts, are anonymous, the attributions to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John being first reported in the mid-second century by Irenaeus}}</ref>{{sfn|Reddish|2011|pp=13, 42}}{{sfn|Cousland|2010|p=1744}}{{sfn|Cousland|2018|p=1380}} Some conservative researchers defend their traditional authorship, but for a variety of reasons most scholars have abandoned this theory or support it only tenuously.{{sfn|Lindars|Edwards|Court|2000|p=41}}

==Biblical and traditional information==
Evidence for Mark the Evangelist's authorship of the Gospel of Mark that bears his name originates with [[Papias of Hierapolis|Papias]] ({{circa|60|130 AD}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oyc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/canon_0.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705013329/http://oyc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/canon_0.pdf |archive-date=2016-07-05|title=From Stories to Canon|access-date=2023-08-20}}</ref><ref name="Papias01">{{cite book|chapter=[[s:Ante-Nicene Christian Library/Fragments of Papias|Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord]]|title=Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Volume I|year=1885|publisher=T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh|author=Papias|author-link=Papias of Hierapolis|translator=Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson}}</ref><ref name=NJBCp596>{{Citation
|last=Harrington
|first=Daniel J.
|year=1990
|contribution=The Gospel According to Mark
|editor1-last=Brown
|editor1-first=Raymond E.
|editor1-link=Raymond_E._Brown
|editor2-last=Fitzmyer
|editor2-first=Joseph A.
|editor2-link=Joseph_A._Fitzmyer
|editor3-last=Murphy
|editor3-first=Roland E.
|title=The New Jerome Biblical Commentary
|place=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
|publisher=Prentice Hall
|page=596
|isbn=0-13-614934-0
}}</ref> Scholars of the [[Trinity Evangelical Divinity School]] are "almost certain" that Papias is referencing [[John Mark]].<ref>[[D. A. Carson]], [[Douglas J. Moo]] and [[Leon Morris]], ''An Introduction to the New Testament'' (Apollos, 1992), 93.</ref> Modern mainstream Bible scholars find Papias's information difficult to interpret.<ref name="MuddimanBarton2010">{{cite book|first1=Henry|last1=Wansbrough|editor-first1=John|editor-last1=Muddiman|editor-first2=John|editor-last2=Barton|title=The Gospels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utMUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA243|date=22 April 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-958025-5|page=243|quote=Finally it is important to realize that none of the four gospels originally included an attribution to an author. All were anonymous, and it is only from the fragmentary and enigmatic and—according to Eusebius, from whom we derive the quotation—unreliable evidence of Papias in 120/130 CE that we can begin to piece together any external evidence about the names of their authors and their compilers. This evidence is so difficult to interpret that most modern scholars form their opinions from the content of the gospels themselves, and only then appeal selectively to the external evidence for confirmation of their findings.}}</ref>

The [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Church]] accords with identifying Mark the Evangelist with [[John Mark]], as well as that he was one of the Seventy Disciples sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1),<ref name="bibleverse|Luke|10:1"/> as [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]] confirmed.<ref name=Shen01/> Coptic tradition also holds that Mark the Evangelist hosted the disciples in his house after Jesus's death, that the resurrected Jesus came to Mark's house ([[John 20]]), and that the [[Holy Spirit]] descended on the disciples at [[Pentecost]] in the same house.<ref name=Shen01/> Furthermore, Mark is also believed to have been among the servants at the [[Marriage at Cana]] who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine ([[John 2]]:1–11).<ref>{{bibleverse|John|2:1–11}}</ref><ref name=Shen01>[[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda III]], ''The Beholder of God Mark the Evangelist Saint and Martyr'', Chapter One. [http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Stmark/ Tasbeha.org]</ref>

According to the Coptic tradition, Mark was born in [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]], a city in the [[Pentapolis (North Africa)|Pentapolis of North Africa]] (now [[Libya]]). This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] to [[Colossae]] ([[Colossians]] 4:10;<ref name="bibleverse|Colossians|4:10"/> [[Epistle to Philemon|Philemon]] 24.)<ref>{{bibleverse|Philemon|24}}</ref> Some, however, think these actually refer to [[Mark the Cousin of Barnabas]]), and serving with him in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11);<ref name="bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:11"/> from Pentapolis he made his way to [[Alexandria]].<ref name=SUSCopt>{{cite web
|publisher = Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
|url = http://www.suscopts.org/diocese/about/
|title = About the Diocese}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url = http://www.suscopts.org/coptic-orthodox/church/saint-mark/
|title=Saint Mark
|access-date = May 14, 2009}}</ref> When Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their [[Hellenistic religion|traditional gods]].<ref name=Shen07/> In AD 68, they placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.<ref name=Shen07>[[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda III]]. ''The Beholder of God Mark the Evangelist Saint and Martyr'', Chapter Seven. [http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Stmark/ Tasbeha.org]</ref>

==Veneration==
{{See also|Saint Mark's relics}}
[[File:La tradizione del dono del "Bocol".jpg|thumb|''Festa del bocoło'' ([[rose]]bud festival) in [[Piazza San Marco|St Mark's Square]], Venice (Italy)]]
The [[Feast of St Mark]] is observed on April 25 by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. For those Churches still using the [[Julian calendar]], April 25 according to it aligns with May 8 on the [[Gregorian calendar]] until the year 2099. The Coptic Orthodox Church observes the Feast of St Mark on [[Parmouti 30 (Coptic Orthodox liturgics)|Parmouti 30]] according to the [[Coptic calendar]] which always aligns with April 25 on the [[Julian calendar]] or May 8 on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

Where [[John Mark]] is distinguished from Mark the Evangelist, John Mark is celebrated on September 27 (as in the [[Roman Martyrology]]) and Mark the Evangelist on April 25.

Mark is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] in the [[Church of England]] and in much of the Anglican Communion, with a [[Festival (Anglicanism)|Festival]] on [[April 25|25 April]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England}}</ref>

==In art==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2018}}
Mark the Evangelist is most often depicted writing or holding his gospel.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/christianiconog00millgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/christianiconog00millgoog/page/n369 356]|quote=St. Mark iconography.|title=Christian Iconography: The Trinity. Angels. Devils. Death. The soul. The Christian scheme. Appendices|first=Adolphe Napoléon|last=Didron|date=February 20, 1886|publisher=G. Bell|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In Christian tradition, Mark the Evangelist is symbolized by a winged lion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.christianiconography.info/mark.html|title=St. Mark in Art|website=www.christianiconography.info}}</ref>

Mark the Evangelist attributes are the lion in the [[desert]]; he can be depicted as a [[bishop]] on a throne decorated with lions; as a man helping [[Venice|Venetian]] sailors. He is often depicted holding a book with ''pax tibi Marce'' written on it or holding a palm and book. Other depictions of Mark show him as a man with a book or scroll, accompanied by a winged lion. The lion might also be associated with Jesus' [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] because lions were believed to sleep with open eyes, thus a comparison with Christ in his tomb, and Christ as king.

Mark the Evangelist can be depicted as a man with a halter around his neck and as rescuing Christian slaves from [[Saracens]].

<gallery widths="180" heights="200" caption="Depictions of Mark the Evangelist">
File:Accademia - St Mark's Body Brought to Venice by Jacopo Tintoretto.jpg|Venetian merchants with the help of two Greek monks take Mark the Evangelist's body to [[Venice]], by [[Tintoretto]]
File:Codexaureus 21.jpg|Mark the Evangelist listening to the [[winged lion]], Mark; image 21 of the [[Codex Aureus of Lorsch]] or Lorsch Gospels
File:Vangeli di ebbone (evangelista marco), epernay, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms. 1 f 18 v., 20,8x26 cm, ante 823.jpg|Mark the Evangelist looking at the lion, c. 823
File:Folio 19v - The Martyrdom of Saint Mark.jpg|The [[martyrdom]] of Saint Mark. ''[[Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry]]'' ([[Musée Condé]], [[Chantilly, Oise|Chantilly]]), c. 1412 and 1416.
File:Andrea Mantegna 087.jpg|''[[St Mark (Mantegna)|St Mark]]'' by [[Andrea Mantegna]], 1448
File:Evangelist-with-lion.jpg|Mark the Evangelist with the <!-- smiling --> lion, 1524
File:Bodleian Library MS. Arm. d.13. Armenian Gospels-0041-0.jpg|A painted miniature in an Armenian Gospel manuscript from 1609, held by the [[Bodleian Library]]
File:Åhus kyrka-15.jpg|Saint Mark on a 17th-century [[naive painting]] by unknown artist in the choir of St Mary church (Sankta Maria kyrka) in [[Åhus]], Sweden
File:Pasquale Ottino San Marcos escribe sus Evangelios al dictado de San Pedro Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux.jpg|''St. Mark writes his Evangelium at the dictation of St. Peter'', by [[Pasquale Ottino]], 17th century, Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux
File:Il Pordenone - San Marco - Budapest.jpg|Mark the Evangelist by [[Il Pordenone]] (c. 1484–1539)
File:GRM Inv. J-3179.jpg|Saint Mark the Evangelist Icon from the royal gates of the central iconostasis of the [[Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg|Kazan Cathedral]] in Saint Petersburg, 1804
File:Tzanes Emmanuel - St Mark the Evangelist - Google Art Project.jpg|An [[icon]] of [[Saint Mark (Tzanes)|Saint Mark the Evangelist]], 1657
File:San Marco cathedral in Venice.JPG|[[Saint Mark's Basilica]]
File:Nuremberg chronicles f 104r 1.png|St Mark in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]''
File:Stmark.jpg|''[[Saint Mark (Donatello)|Saint Mark]]'', 1411–1413, by [[Donatello]] ([[Orsanmichele]], [[Florence]])
File:StMarkcoptic.jpg|[[Coptic iconography|Coptic icon]] of Saint Mark the Evangelist
</gallery>

==Major shrines==
* [[St Mark's Basilica|Basilica di San Marco]] ([[Venice]], Italy)
* [[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria)|Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral]] ([[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]])
* [[St. Mark's Church, Belgrade|Saint Mark's Church (Serbian Orthodox) in Belgrade, Serbia]]
* [[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral]] ([[Cairo]], [[Egypt]])
* [[St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery]], New York City
* St. Mark The Evangelist Parish Church, Pangil, Laguna, Philippines
* St. Mark The Evangelist Parish, Linao, Ormoc City,

==See also==
* [[Baucalis]]
* [[Feast of Saint Mark]]
* [[John the Evangelist]]
* [[Luke the Evangelist]]
* [[Rogation days]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===

* {{Cite book
|last1      = Fant
|first1     = Clyde E.
|last2      = Reddish
|first2     = Mitchell E.
|title      = Lost Treasures of the Bible
|publisher  = Eerdmans
|year       = 2008
|url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj6zVQJz7zYC
|isbn      = 978-0-8028-2881-1
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Reddish
|first         = Mitchell
|title         = An Introduction to The Gospels
|year          = 2011
|publisher     = Abingdon Press
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=hliGUOv18cQC
|isbn          = 978-1-4267-5008-3
}}
* {{Cite book|first=J.R.C.|last=Cousland|editor-first4=Pheme|editor-last4=Perkins|editor-first1=Michael David|editor-last1=Coogan|editor-first2=Marc Zvi|editor-last2=Brettler|editor-first3=Carol Ann|editor-last3=Newsom|title=The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|page=1744|isbn=978-0-19-528955-8}}
* {{cite book|first=J.R.C.|last=Cousland|editor-first1=Michael David|editor-last1=Coogan|editor-first2=Marc Zvi|editor-last2=Brettler|editor-first3=Carol Ann|editor-last3=Newsom|editor-first4=Pheme|editor-last4=Perkins|title=The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T05WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1380|date=1 March 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-027605-8|page=1380}}
* {{Cite book
 | title = The Johannine Literature
 | last1 = Lindars | first1 = Barnabas
 | last2 = Edwards | first2 = Ruth
 | last3 = Court | first3 = John M.
 | year = 2000
 | publisher = A&C Black
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qVOD0PhayhsC
 | isbn = 978-1-84127-081-4
 }}


{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|grt}}
{{s-new|creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Patriarch of Alexandria|Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria]]|years=43–68}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Anianus of Alexandria|Anianus]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Gospel of Mark}}
{{New Testament people}}
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{{Coptic saints}}
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{{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= Bible}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark the Evangelist}}
[[Category:Mark the Evangelist| ]]
[[Category:12 births]]
[[Category:68 deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century Popes and Patriarchs of Alexandria]]
[[Category:1st-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:1st-century writers]]
[[Category:Burials at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria)]]
[[Category:Christian missionaries in Africa]]
[[Category:Early Jewish Christians]]
[[Category:Gospel of Mark]]
[[Category:Saints from Roman Egypt]]
[[Category:People in Acts of the Apostles]]
[[Category:Christian writers]]
[[Category:Seventy disciples]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Four Evangelists]]
[[Category:Body snatching]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]