Mark the Evangelist

Identity

According to William Lane (1974), an unbroken tradition identifies Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, and John Mark as the cousin of Barnabas. However, Hippolytus of Rome, in On the Seventy Apostles, distinguishes Mark the Evangelist (2 Timothy 4:11), John Mark (Acts 12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37), and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). According to Hippolytus, they all belonged to the "Seventy Disciples" who were sent out by Jesus to disseminate the gospel (Luke 10:1ff.) in Judea.

According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Herod Agrippa I, in his first year of reign over the whole of Judea (AD 41), killed James, son of Zebedee and arrested Peter, planning to kill him after the Passover. Peter was saved miraculously by angels, and escaped out of the realm of Herod (Acts 12:1–19). Peter went to Antioch, then through Asia Minor (visiting the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, as mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1), and arrived in Rome in the second year of Emperor Claudius (AD 42). Somewhere on the way, Peter encountered Mark and took him as travel companion and interpreter. Mark the Evangelist wrote down the sermons of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark, before he left for Alexandria in the third year of Claudius (AD 43).

According to the Acts 15:39, Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas after the Council of Jerusalem.

According to tradition, in AD 49, about 16 years after the Ascension of Jesus, Mark travelled to Alexandria and founded the Church of Alexandria, having already been in Egypt for 4-5 years. The Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and the Coptic Catholic Church all trace their origins to this original community. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself. He became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honoured as the founder of Christianity in Africa.{{cite book

According to Eusebius, Mark was succeeded by 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.

Modern Bible scholars (i.e. most critical scholars) have concluded that the Gospel of Mark is anonymous and doubt the traditional attribution to Mark, Peter’s interpreter. Scholarship is inconclusive on authorship, with some denying that the gospel was written by anyone named Mark while others accept the view John Mark was the author. Others argue the gospel was written by a Mark not mentioned in the Bible or connected to Peter. Leach, Wells, and Hatina argue author of the Gospel of Mark knew very little about the geography of the region, mediating against traditional authorship Heidi Roskam defends Mark’s familiarity with Galilee, judging much of the geography in 1-4 and 8-9 to be accurate. Michael Kok finds claims that the author of Mark was ignorant of Palestinian geography or customs to be unwarranted. The author “was very far from being a peasant or a fisherman", was unacquainted with Jewish customs (unlikely for someone from Palestine), and was probably "a Hellenized Jew who lived outside of Palestine". 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. Similarly, "Francis Moloney suggests the author was someone named Mark, though maybe not any of the Marks mentioned in the New Testament". The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus takes the same approach: the author was named Mark, but scholars are undecided who this Mark was.

The four canonical gospels are anonymous and most researchers agree that none of them was written by eyewitnesses, though that would not preclude the theory that Mark's gospel was based on Peter's eyewitness testimony.

Biblical and traditional information

Evidence for Mark the Evangelist's authorship of the Gospel of Mark that bears his name originates with Papias ().{{Citation |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.

The 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), as Hippolytus confirmed.

According to the Coptic tradition, Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa (now Libya). This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Paul to Colossae (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24.) Some, however, think these actually refer to Mark the Cousin of Barnabas), and serving with him in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11); from Pentapolis he made his way to Alexandria.{{cite web |access-date = May 14, 2009}} When Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their traditional gods.

Veneration

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 through the year 2099. The Coptic Orthodox Church observes the Feast of St Mark on 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 remembered in the Church of England and in much of the Anglican Communion, with a Festival on 25 April.

In art

Mark the Evangelist is most often depicted writing or holding his gospel. In Christian tradition, Mark the Evangelist is symbolized by a winged lion.

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 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 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.

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, File:Folio 19v - The Martyrdom of Saint Mark.jpg|The martyrdom of Saint Mark. Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (Musée Condé, Chantilly), and 1416. File:Andrea Mantegna 087.jpg|St Mark by Andrea Mantegna, 1448 File:Evangelist-with-lion.jpg|Mark the Evangelist with the 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 () File:GRM Inv. J-3179.jpg|Saint Mark the Evangelist Icon from the royal gates of the central iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, 1804 File:Tzanes Emmanuel - St Mark the Evangelist - Google Art Project.jpg|An icon of 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, 1411–1413, by Donatello (Orsanmichele, Florence) File:StMarkcoptic.jpg|Coptic icon of Saint Mark the Evangelist

Major shrines

• Basilica di San Marco (Venice, Italy)
• Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria, Egypt)
• Saint Mark's Church, Belgrade, Serbia
• Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Cairo, Egypt)
• St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City, NY, the United States
• St. Mark The Evangelist Parish Church, Pangil, Laguna, Philippines
• St. Mark The Evangelist Parish, Linao, Ormoc City,

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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References

1. "St. Mark The Apostle, Evangelist". Coptic Orthodox Church Network.
2. [[#Walsh. Walsh]], p. 21.
3. Lewis, Agnes Smith. (2008). "Through Cyprus". University of Michigan Press.
4. (May 8, 2023). "Markovdan: Slava Podgorice".
5. (2020). "T&T Clark Social Identity Commentary on the New Testament". Bloomsbury Publishing.
6. Hatina, Thomas R.. (2014). "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus". Taylor & Francis.
7. Lane, William L.. (1974). "The Gospel According to Mark". Eerdmans.
8. 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 ..."
9. {{bibleverse. 2 Timothy. 4:11
10. {{bibleverse. Acts. 12:12–25, {{bibleverse. Acts. 13:5–13, {{bibleverse. Acts. 15:37
11. {{bibleverse. Colossians. 4:10
12. {{bibleverse. Philemon. 1:24
13. Hippolytus. "Ante-Nicene Fathers".
14. {{bibleverse. Luke. 10:1
15. ''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.9.1–4
16. {{bibleverse. Acts. 12:1–19
17. {{bibleverse. 1 Peter. 1:1
18. ''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.14.6
19. ''The Ecclesiastical History'' 15–16
20. Finegan, Jack. (1998). "Handbook of Biblical Chronology". Hendrickson.
21. {{bibleverse. Acts. 15:39
22. "Egypt". [[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]].
23. "The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt".
24. ''The Ecclesiastical History'' 2.24.1
25. "Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Mark".
26. {{bibleverse. Acts. 15:36–40
27. {{bibleverse. 2 Timothy. 4:11. NASB
28. Ehrman, Bart D.. (2004). "The New Testament". Oxford University Press, USA.
29. (2017). "Biblical Theology: Covenants and the Kingdom of God in Redemptive History". Wipf & Stock.
30. Ehrman, Bart D.. (2005). "Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew". Oxford University Press.
31. Nickle, Keith Fullerton. (January 1, 2001). "The Synoptic Gospels: An Introduction". Westminster John Knox Press.
32. Ehrman, Bart. (2004). "The New Testament". Oxford University Press.
33. Leach, Edmund. (1990). "The Literary Guide to the Bible". Harvard University Press.
34. Wells, George Albert. (2013). "Cutting Jesus Down to Size: What Higher Criticism Has Achieved and Where It Leaves Christianity". Open Court.
35. Roskam, Heidi. (2004). "The Purpose of the Gospel of Mark in its Historical and Social Context". Brill.
36. Kok, Michael. (2015). "The Gospel on the Margins: The Reception of Mark in the Second Century". Fortress Press.
37. Watts Henderson, Suzanne. (2018). "The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version". Oxford University Press.
38. (2020). "T&T Clark Social Identity Commentary on the New Testament". Bloomsbury Publishing.
39. Hatina, Thomas R.. (2014). "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus". Taylor & Francis.
40. Millard, Alan. (2006). "The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies". Oxford University Press.
41. "From Stories to Canon".
42. Papias. (1885). "Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Volume I". T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh.
43. [[D. A. Carson]], [[Douglas J. Moo]] and [[Leon Morris]], ''An Introduction to the New Testament'' (Apollos, 1992), 93.
44. (22 April 2010). "The Gospels". Oxford University Press.
45. 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 in Christianity. John. 2:1–11
46. [[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]
47. {{bibleverse. Philemon. 24
48. Pope Shenouda III]]. ''The Beholder of God Mark the Evangelist Saint and Martyr'', Chapter Seven. [http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Stmark/ Tasbeha.org]
49. "The Calendar".
50. Didron, Adolphe Napoléon. (February 20, 1886). "Christian Iconography: The Trinity. Angels. Devils. Death. The soul. The Christian scheme. Appendices". G. Bell.
51. "St. Mark in Art".