The few historical data regarding the person of Mark the Evangelist are traditionally drawn from citations in the letters of Peter and Pau and in the Acts of the Apostles. Mark, a Judeo-Christian from Jerusalem, was one of the leading apostles immediately after Jesus’ death. Together with Barnabas he followed Paul for a time in his preaching activities. He settled in Alexandria and became the first bishop of the city’s Christian community.
It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel, considered to be the oldest of the four, in Rome just after the middle of the first century AD at the behest of the apostle Peter or of the Christian community who wanted to preserve the memory of Peter’s preaching.
Having returned to Alexandria, Mark was martyred on 25th April 68.
It was only between the 8th and 9th centuries that the legend spread of Mark’s preaching in the Venetian lagoon area, and in particular in the Roman city of Aquileia which was proud of its faith in Christ being founded on Mark’s evangelising. The first bishop of Aquileia was said to be his disciple Ermagoras whom he took to Rome to be ordained by Peter. In the centuries around the year 1000 the legend that had grown in Aquileia became Venetian.
FURTHER INFORMATION
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.
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, GreekandLatin, 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 forCyprus, 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.
THE 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 AQUILEIA
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 inRome 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 toAlexandria. 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 in620 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.