WHO WAS ST. MARK?
By Rudy A. Arizala
On 25 April 2009, the town of Infanta, province of Quezon, will
celebrate its traditional town fiesta, its patron saint being St.
Mark. Aside from being one of the four evangelists who wrote the
Gospel in the New Testament, who was St. Mark? What was his symbol
and what other things did he accomplish in his liftetime, how and
where did he die?
Symbol, Birth and Accomplishments
According to tradition, St. Mark is represented by the “lion”
because he starts his Gospel with St. John the Baptist, “the voice
of one crying in the desert,” and emphasizes the miraculous powers of
the Savior. St. Mark wrote the second Gospel in Greek for the
Gentile converts to Christianity while he was in Rome. His purpose
is to show to the Romans that Jesus is the Savior, and that He is
divine. Thus, in his Gospel he emphasizes more the miracles of Jesus
Christ than his sermons.
According to the Coptic church, St. Mark was born in the Pentapolis
of North Africa. Tradition also says that he is sometimes called
“John Mark.” Both he and his mother Mary, were highly respected in
the early Church, and his motheer's house in Jerusalem served as a
meeting place for Christians there. St. Mark was associated with St.
Paul and St. Barnabas (who was Mark's cousin) on their missionary
journey through the island of Cyprus. Later, he accompanied St.
Barnabas alone. He was also with St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome.
Later in life, after being sent by St. Paul to Colosse and serving
with him in Rome: from Pentapolis he made his way to Alexandria.
Tradition ascribes to him the founding of the Chuch in Alexandria.
St. Mark is also believed by many traditions to be the first bishop
of Alexandria and the first Pope of Alexandria.
It was suggested by some that St. Mark was one of the servants at
the marriage feast at Canaan who poured out the water that Jesus
turned into wine. It is also said that Mark have been one of the
Seventy Apostles sent out by Christ , the man who carried the water
to the house where the Last Supper was held; the young man who ran
away naked when Jesus was arrested; the one who hosted the disciples
in his house after the death of Jesus and into whose house the
resurrected Jesus Christ came. When Mark returned to Alexandria, the
people there are said to have resented his efforts to turn them away
from the worship of their traditional Egyptian gods. In AD 68 they
tied him to several horses and dragged him through the streets until
he was dead.
Feast Day; What Happened to His Relics
In 828, relics believed to be the body of St. Mark were stolen from
Alexandria by two Venetian merchants and were taken to Venice. In
1063, during the construction of a new basilica in Venice, St. Mark's
relics could not be found. However, according to tradition, in
1094, the saint himself revealed the location of his remains by
extending an arm from a pillar. The newfound remains were placed in
a sarcophagus in the basilica.
The Roman Catholic church celebrates his feast day on 25 April, the
anniversary of his martyrdom on 25 April 68 AD, in Alexandria; while
the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates St. Mark's feast day on 4
January (for those churches which follow the traditioanal Julian
calendar, January 4 currently falls on January 17 of the modern
Gregorian calendar).
St. Mark is venerated in Oriental Orthodox Church, Byzantine Church,
Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglcan Church,
Lutheran Church and some other Protestant Churches.
Major Shrines for St. Mark are located in Saint Mark's Coptic
Orthodox Church Cathedral, Cairo; Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox
Church, Alexandria; and at Basilica di San Marco, Venice, Italy.