
History of Saint Mark the Evangelist
He was born in Qurinaya, in the ancient Marj province. He is the son of Barnabas's sister. In the gospel written by Mark, Christ appears as the Savior who came to redeem man. Motivated by his supreme love, he indulges in acts of mercy; he fills the need of man, relieves his sorrows, and then makes himself a ransom for him. Hence, Mark focused more on the miracles of Christ than on his teachings.
This gospel ends by talking about the end times and what will happen when Christ returns, then recounts the events related to Christ's passion, death, resurrection, and ascension to glory, and emphasizes Christ's support for his disciples as they spread the good news throughout the world. According to church tradition, The Last Supper was held in Mark's house.
On the second trip, he went with Barnabas to Cyprus. The lower Morocco was the first home of the Christian Vocation on the African continent, at the hands of St. Mark coming from the company of Jesus through Greece, and then he set off to lay the first building block of Christianity in Egypt in 55 AD, but he soon returned to Cyrenaica again after the priests were afraid of him, as Christianity spread strongly among the Copts.
His upbringing
He was born in the Roman Empire in Kairouan, one of the five Western cities located in present-day Libya, in a town called Shahat. One day one of the Berber tribes attacked their property, so they went to their native land in Palestine.
His preaching
He began his ministry with St. Peter in Jerusalem in Judea. He went with Paul and Barnabas to preach on the first missionary journey to Antioch, Cyprus, and then to Asia Minor, but he did not complete the journey with them, so he returned to Jerusalem. Then he went with the Apostle Paul to help him preach in Rome. Then he again went to Cyprus after the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:39. Then he went to visit the five Western cities.
His preaching in Egypt
In about 60 AD, he went to Alexandria and entered it from the western side, coming from the five cities. Because of the frequent travel, Mark's shoes had worn out, so he went to the cobbler Anianus to fix his shoes. While Anianus was repairing Mark's shoes, he put the Awl in his hand and said, "O One God," and Mark healed him, so this was Mark's first miracle in Egypt. He ordained Ennianus as a bishop, along with three priests and seven deacons. The pagans in Alexandria attacked Mark and wanted to kill him, so he went to visit the rest of the cities of Egypt, then the five Western cities, and then to Rome to help St. Paul.
he decided to go again to the five Western cities and then return again to Alexandria. On the day of the last judgment, it was also consonant with the feast of the god Serapis, the day on which the pagans agreed to kill St. Mark. They attacked him while he was at the church established by Christians in the area of Boualik near the Mediterranean Sea.
in the evening, they put him inside a dark prison. The next morning, they dragged him again through the streets until he died. They lit a fire and put his body on it to burn, but heavy rain fell and extinguished the fire. The Christians took his body and shrouded him.
The body of St. Mark
His body was restored by the Coptic Church in 1968 in the days of Pope Cyril VI. And on the morning of Wednesday, June 26, 1968, a prayer service was celebrated on the altar of St. Mark's Cathedral, and at the end of the Mass, Pope Cyril VI carried the relics of St. Mark to where he was deposited in his present shrine under the Great Temple in the east of the cathedral.
Veneration
The feast of St. Mark is celebrated on April 25 by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. As for the churches that still use the Julian calendar, according to him, April 25 corresponds to May 8 according to the Gregorian calendar until 2099.
Art
In the Christian tradition, Mark the evangelist is symbolized by a winged lion.