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We know something of Mark the evangelist's life from certain New Testament
texts and the testimony of ancient ecclesiastical writers. To fill the
gaps left by these texts there are later sources - Egyptian and Western
- that refer to his apostolate in Egypt and the Venetias. Mark had two
names: John, a traditional Jewish name, and Mark, a very ancient Roman
name deriving from Mars, the god of war.
He is held to be the author of the second gospel which with only sixteen
chapters is the shortest of the four.
Phases in the Life of St. Mark:
Youth
| Mark's crisis
| Mark in Rome
| Mark
in Aquileia | Ermagoras
| Mark
in Egypt | Death
Youth
Mark, son of Paul and Mary, is said to have been born in Cyrene, then
capital of Cyrenaica, in present day Libya.
A fair amount of wealth allowed him to study Hebrew, Greekand Latin, gaining
in-depth knowledge of Holy Scriptures and especially the writings of the
prophets.
John Mark was probably born at the beginning of the Vulgar Era, during
the reign of Augustus. Before the emperor's death Cyrenaica was invaded
by barbarian tribes who pillaged Mark's family's land and property.
Obliged to flee with his parents, he took refuge in Jerusalem, where he
meets the first preachers of Jesus' holy words.
From Jerusalem Mark went to Antioch with Barnabas and Paul. Antioch, today
Antakya in south-west Turkey, stood opposite the island of Cyprus. It
enjoyed the prestige of being a great centre of trade and a capital of
amusement. It came third in the Roman empire after Rome and Alexandria
and was also capital of the Roman province. The Christian community was
open to evangelising among both Jews and the followers of any other religion.
In fact the Acts point out that it was precisely here, for the first time,
that followers of the severe morals preached in the name of Christ were,
perhaps derisively, called Christians.
Barnabas, Paul and Mark arrived at the port of Antioch to take ship for
Cyprus, disembarking at Salamis, the most densely populated city and the
ancient capital. There were numerous synagogues and the two missionaries
set about announcing the gospel with the aid of Mark who was perhaps catechist
and baptiser, perhaps the chronicler of the expedition.
Mark's crisis
On arrival in the city of Cyprus it happened that Mark separated from
the two apostles Paul and Barnabas. The text of the Acts says only that
he left them to return to Jerusalem. The real reason why the young helper
did not want to carry on is unknown, but we do know that Mark's leaving
was seen as a betrayal by Paul.
Mark returned to Jerusalem. Here in 49, on the occasion of the Apostolic
Council, there were also Peter, Paul and Barnabas who had come to justify
the new method of their apostolate regarding pagans who became Christians
without having to follow the rules imposed by Judaic tradition.
With their missionary system approved, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch,
their operational base. In Antioch they met Mark by chance, who may have
arrived with the apostle Peter. Barnabas, who was very close to his cousin
Mark, suggested that Paul take him back as assistant. On this point Paul
refused categorically. Barnabas set to defending Mark so vehemently that
he ended up breaking off his long friendship with Paul.
While Paul headed towards the Christian community of Asia Minor, Barnabas
took ship for Cyprus with Mark for a second evangelisation of the island.
Specific information on the subject is rather dull and is found in the
apocryphal Acts of Barnabas which tell of Mark and Barnabas' Cyprian venture
with a vivacity of detail, novelistic touches and a wealth of adventurous
episodes, quite different from the historical sobriety of the first mission
described in the Acts of the Apostles.
Mark in Rome
Mark reached Rome in 42 or after 50 where, as assistant to Peter, he
carried out his work among the Jews, who numbered about forty-five thousand.
He also approached the pagan Romans, chiefly the military classes.
Mark was a sort of interpreter between Peter, who spoke no Greek or spoke
it badly, and his listeners for whom Greek was the international language.
Around the year 200, Clement of Alexandria stated that Mark had written
his gospel in Rome. According to other ancient ecclesiastical writers
Mark transcribed the preaching of the apostle Peter though without pointing
out where it took place. Clement states that Peter preached the message
of salvation to the Knights of Caesar who, in order to remember what the
apostle had said, induced Mark to write the gospel. Who the Knights of
Caesar were, however, has never been clarified.
Mark in Acquileia
The second part of Mark's life included the apostolate in Aquileia and
in Alexandria.
The former preceded the latter. The doge Andrea Dandolo, in the extensive
Chronica written in Venice around 1350, maintains that Mark was Peter's
disciple in Rome where he wrote his gospel at the request of the local
Christians so that the apostle's preaching should not be lost. When Peter
came to know of it he was cheered and ordered that the text of the gospel
be delivered to the various churches. He invited Mark to go to Aquileia
to preach the word of the Lord, and the disciple went willingly, taking
his holy book with him.
The newly converted Christians asked Mark for copies of the gospel and
he complied so that they might observe it with constancy. At this point
Mark, considering his mission completed, planned to return secretly to
Peter in Rome. But the people of Aquileia, who by divine inspiration knew
of this intention, asked him to provide them with a successor.
Ermagoras
Mark's successor in Aquileia was Ermagoras, an eminent citizen of the
town who was esteemed by all for his exemplary Christian life.
Mark and Ermagoras set out for Rome along the lagoon canals linking Aquileia
with Ravenna. The boat with the two saints had to cross the intricate
meanders of the present-day lagoon of Venice, a city that did not yet
exist. As soon as they reached the small Port of Rivalto, the territory
of St. Mark in the times of doge Andrea Dandolo, a high wind obliged them
to take emergency shelter at a small island. Here Mark went into ecstasy
and an angel appeared before him prophesying that his apostolic efforts
would continue and a marvellous city would be built to receive his remains.
The ecstasy over, Mark proceeded towards Rome, heartened by the prophesy.
Here he gave Peter an account of his missionary activities and introduced
Ermagoras who was to be ordained bishop of Aquileia. Peter willingly agreed
to his disciple's request.
It was then the year 50: Ermagoras returned to Aquileia and Mark went
to Egypt, to Alexandria, where he was the first to announce Christ and
where he organised the ecclesiastical community right up to his death.
Though the stories by Dandolo and his predecessors about Mark's arrival
and apostolate in Aquileia between 48 and 50 may be legendary, it is fairly
historically certain that Ermagoras was the city's first bishop, albeit
without any links with Mark and Peter.
Mark in Egypt
Mark's apostolate in Alexandria is first dealt with in Eusebius' Historia
ecclesiastica. Later historians and hagiographers expanded on the information,
reconstructing a complete life of the saint from birth to martyrdom.
According to the Coptic sources, after the deaths of his cousin Barnabas
and the apostles Peter and Paul, Jesus appeared before Mark and invited
him to depart for Egypt, a land to be evangelised. The saint, obedient
to the Lord's invitation, returned to Jerusalem for a last farewell to
his mother, who was close to death, and began his new voyage. Once in
Cyrene, Mark began preaching and performing marvels and miracles. All
the inhabitants followed the new preaching. Mark's voyage continued to
Alexandria, a city that was antagonistic to Rome and counted a million
inhabitants. The historian Simone Logoteta tells of the plots of the city's
religious leaders who, as soon as they became aware of the surprising
number of believers in Christ resulting from Mark's teachings, tried to
capture and kill him. Having learnt of their plans through divine inspiration
he ordered his disciples to build a great church in honour of the Immaculate
Virgin Mary and he set up an actual ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Leaving Alexandria in secret he returned to Cyrene where he remained several
years to consolidate the faith and establish a proper hierarchy. With
this phase over the evangelist decided to go back to Alexandria. The number
of Christians in the great city had increased and they were actively proselytising.
They had already built a church for their worship in the locality of Boucolis.
Death
It was not long before the opportunity arose to get rid of the evangelist.
Mark's enemies, taking advantage of the Easter ceremonies held by the
saint, sent armed men who surprised and arrested him while he was celebrating
Mass. Mark died the following day, 25th April 68.
The multitude of persecutors, anxious to get rid of all traces of the
saint, threw his body on a fire. At this point the Lord intervened providentially,
sending a violent storm that destroyed buildings and killed many inhabitants.
The saint's killers took flight, running away from his body. When the
storm had passed some men gathered Mark's remains and took them to the
place where he used to sing his prayers and psalms - to Boucolis. Mark's
tomb soon became an internationally famous sanctuary, drawing the faithful
after the end of the great persecutions. In Alexandria new patriarchs
were ordained and received investiture on his tomb, holding the saint's
head, wrapped in precious cloths, in their hands.
Mark's sanctuary was spared during the Persian invasion of Egypt in 620
but was partly burnt during the Arab invasion of 644-646. The saint's
relics were removed from the ruins until the Patriarch of Alexandria was
granted permission to rebuild the ancient building where the evangelist's
remains were laid to rest.
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