The Feast Day of Saint Mark the Evangelist
Saint Mark is recognized by all Christians world-wide as one of the four Evangelists who wrote a Holy Gospel. He was also one of the seventy apostles. Although the disciples and the apostles are considered ecumenical or universal bishops for the Church in general, every church refers to her initial preacher as her first bishop and as such, Saint Mark is the first bishop of the See of Alexandria.
Upon the first day of his arrival, Saint Mark wandered about the streets of Alexandria until his worn shoes fell apart. Saint Mark stopped at the first shoemaker shop he approached to have his shoes repaired. The shoemaker’s name was Anianos and this shoemaker would later become the second bishop of Alexandria. While Anianos was working to repair Saint Marks’ worn shoes, the needle in which he was using to repair the soles of Saint Mark’s shoes injured his hand and Anianos cried out, “Oh God, the only One!” At this exclamation, Saint Mark spit upon the ground, made mud, and placed the mixture upon Anianos’ finger and healed it immediately. Discussion ensued between Saint Mark and Anianos related to his One God. Anianos confessed to Saint Mark that he had only heard of such a God but did not actually know of this One God.
Saint Mark began to preach to Anianos about the One God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The message of salvation through the Holy Cross was taught and welcomed by Anianos and his family. Anianos’ home is considered the first Church in the land of Egypt. Within a few short years Christianity had spread throughout the land of Egypt. Christianity not only spread and was accepted, through its teachings the behavior and morals of the Egyptian people would also change for the better. The great success of Saint Mark’s evangelism led to the persecution and torture of Christians in Alexandria by the idolatrous governors and people of the city. St Mark was one of the ones who would ultimately be put to death because of his ardent belief in the Lord.
On April 16, 68 AD, Saint Mark celebrated the Glorious Resurrection Feast with the believers which coincided with the Feast of Serabis, the most famous of idols worshipped in the City of Alexandria. The idolaters angrily broke into the church and attacked Saint Mark while the saint was praying at the altar. The crowds of idolaters tied up Saint Mark with a band around his neck and dragged him into the streets of Alexandria. They continued to torture the bleeding Saint Mark until finally he was thrown into prison. The Lord Jesus Christ through a great Heavenly light appeared to Saint Mark and healed him saying, “Be strong My beloved apostle, your heart will be filled with joy. Be in peace as tomorrow you will have the crown of martyrdom and be with Me in the Heavenly Jerusalem.”
The following day, the idolaters tied up the apostle once again with a neck bond and dragged his body through the streets as they had done before. This time they dragged his body until his head separated from his body. Upon this day, Saint Mark received three crowns, the crown of apostolicity, the crown of evangelism, and the crown of martyrdom. All the while during his torture, Saint Mark prayed, “Thank you Lord because you have allowed me to suffer persecution and torture for Your Holy Name.” Saint Mark, near his death, requested that the Lord forgive those who brought about his death, and then departed from his earthly existence.
Adapted from Mystagogy: The Weblog of John Sandinopoulos
