Among the disciples of Jesus Christ, those apostles stand out who not only preached the teachings of Jesus, but also were the authors of the sacred Christian texts included in the canon of the books of the New Testament. One such writer was Mark the Evangelist.
The apostle and evangelist Mark was one of the 70 apostles. He came from the tribe of Levi, was related to the apostle Barnabas. Mark lived in Jerusalem. Another name of the saint is known - John (sometimes the evangelist is called John-Mark).
The Apostle Peter became the one who converted Mark to faith in Christ. John-Mark was a companion of the apostles Paul and Barnabas, as well as the apostle Peter, during various missionary travels of the latter.
When Mark was in Rome with the Apostle Peter, local Christians asked to write a gospel for them. They wanted Mark to state what he had heard from the chief apostle Peter about Christ. Mark also witnessed some events in the life of Christ. For example, it is known that it was this young man who fled from the Garden of Gethsemane during the time when Christ was taken into custody.
The Apostle Mark wrote the gospel. This constituted the shortest gospel account in the canon of the books of the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark contains only 16 chapters.
Mark the Evangelist worked hard in preaching the Christian faith. So, he preached in Egypt. There he founded one of the remarkable early Churches, which eventually became the Patriarchate of Alexandria. In Egypt, the Apostle Mark ended his days with a martyrdom.
The pagan Egyptians, seeing the effect of Mark's preaching on the inhabitants, decided to kill the saint on the feast of their god Serapis, which coincided with the celebration of Easter. The pagans broke into the temple founded by Mark during the divine service, and seized the evangelist and, tying a rope around his neck, dragged him along the city streets for two days. At the same time, the evangelist was stoned and humiliated in every possible way. The saint courageously endured all the torments with gratitude to God that He deigned him to become a witness of faith in the true God. Mark with prayer on his lips departed to the Lord. This event took place around 68 AD.
The relics of St. Mark are in Venice. They were transferred there in 828 on the occasion of the invasion of Egypt by the Arabs who professed Islam. The head of the holy apostle is kept in Egypt, in Alexandria. There is also an ancient manuscript of the Gospel of Mark, which is written on Egyptian papyrus. Some scholars believe that the apostle Mark wrote this manuscript himself. There is also a particle of the apostle's relics in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
