Mark the Evangelist
Egypt, Roman Empire | |
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Venerated in | All Christian churches that venerate saints |
Major shrine | |
Feast |
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Major works | Gospel of Mark (attributed) |
Mark the Evangelist
Identity
According to
According to
According to the Acts 15:39,[20] Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas after the Council of Jerusalem.
According to tradition, in AD 49, about 19 years after the
According to Eusebius,[24] 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.[1][25][26][27][11]
Modern Bible scholars (i.e. most critical scholars) have concluded that the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author rather than by Mark.[28][29][30][31] For instance, the author of the Gospel of Mark knew very little about the geography of Palestine (having apparently never visited it),[32][33][34][35] "was very far from being a peasant or a fisherman",[32] was unacquainted with Jewish customs (unlikely for someone from Palestine),[34][35] and was probably "a Hellenized Jew who lived outside of Palestine".[36] 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.[35] Similarly, "Francis Moloney suggests the author was someone named Mark, though maybe not any of the Marks mentioned in the New Testament".[37] The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus takes the same approach: the author was named Mark, but scholars are undecided who this Mark was.[34]
The four canonical gospels are anonymous and most researchers agree that none of them was written by eyewitnesses.[38][39][40][41] Some conservative researchers defend their traditional authorship, but for a variety of reasons most scholars have abandoned this theory or support it only tenuously.[42]
Biblical and traditional information
Evidence for Mark the Evangelist's authorship of the Gospel of Mark that bears his name originates with Papias (c. 60 – c. 130 AD).[43][44][45] Scholars of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School are "almost certain" that Papias is referencing John Mark.[46] Modern mainstream Bible scholars find Papias's information difficult to interpret.[47]
The
According to the Coptic tradition, Mark was born in
Veneration
The
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.[54]
In art
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2018) |
Mark the Evangelist is most often depicted writing or holding his gospel.[55] In Christian tradition, Mark the Evangelist is symbolized by a winged lion.[56]
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
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Venetian merchants with the help of two Greek monks take Mark the Evangelist's body to Venice, by Tintoretto
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Mark the Evangelist listening to the winged lion, Mark; image 21 of the Codex Aureus of Lorsch or Lorsch Gospels
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Mark the Evangelist looking at the lion, c. 823
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TheTrès Riches Heures du duc de Berry (Musée Condé, Chantilly), c. 1412 and 1416.
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St Mark by Andrea Mantegna, 1448
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Mark the Evangelist with the lion, 1524
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A painted miniature in an Armenian Gospel manuscript from 1609, held by the Bodleian Library
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Saint Mark on a 17th-centurynaive painting by unknown artist in the choir of St Mary church (Sankta Maria kyrka) in Åhus, Sweden
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St. Mark writes his Evangelium at the dictation of St. Peter, byPasquale Ottino, 17th century, Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux
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Mark the Evangelist by Il Pordenone (c. 1484–1539)
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Saint Mark the Evangelist Icon from the royal gates of the central iconostasis of theKazan Cathedralin Saint Petersburg, 1804
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An icon of Saint Mark the Evangelist, 1657
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Saint Mark's Basilica
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St Mark in the Nuremberg Chronicle
Major shrines
- Basilica di San Marco (Venice, Italy)
- Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria, Egypt)
- Saint Mark's Church (Serbian Orthodox) in Belgrade, Serbia
- Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Cairo, Egypt)
- St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City
- St. Mark The Evangelist Parish Church, Pangil, Laguna, Philippines
- St. Mark The Evangelist Parish, Linao, Ormoc City,
See also
Notes
- Ge'ez: ማርቆስ, romanized: Marḳos.
References
Citations
- ^ a b "St. Mark The Apostle, Evangelist". Coptic Orthodox Church Network. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
- ^ Walsh, p. 21.
- ISBN 978-0-88402-284-8.
St. Mark is the patron saint of the Copts.
- ^ "Markovdan: Slava Podgorice". Borba. May 8, 2023.
- ISBN 0-8153-3319-6
- ISBN 978-0-8028-2502-5.
- ^ 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 ..."
- ^ a b 2 Timothy 4:11
- ^ Acts 12:12–25, Acts 13:5–13, Acts 15:37
- ^ a b Colossians 4:10
- ^ a b Philemon 1:24
- Ante-Nicene Fathers.
- ^ a b Luke 10:1
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History 2.9.1–4
- ^ Acts 12:1–19
- ^ 1 Peter 1:1
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History 2.14.6
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History 15–16
- ISBN 978-1-56563-143-4.
- ^ Acts 15:39
- ^ "Egypt". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011. See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire"
- ^ "The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt". Encyclopedia Coptica. Archived from the original on August 31, 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ISBN 0-87973-588-0.
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History 2.24.1
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Mark". Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Acts 15:36–40
- ^ 2 Timothy 4:11
- ISBN 0-19-515462-2.
Proto-orthodox Christians of the second century, some decades after most of the New Testament books had been written, claimed that their favorite Gospels had been penned by two of Jesus' disciples—Matthew, the tax collector, and John, the beloved disciple—and by two friends of the apostles—Mark, the secretary of Peter, and Luke, the travelling companion of Paul. Scholars today, however, find it difficult to accept this tradition for several reasons.
- ISBN 978-1-5326-0580-2. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
10. Just as historical critical scholars deny the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, so they also deny the authorship of the four Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. [...] But today, these persons are not thought to have been the actual authors.
- ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1.
Most scholars today have abandoned these identifications,11 and recognize that the books were written by otherwise unknown but relatively well-educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the second half of the first century.
- ISBN 978-0-664-22349-6.
We must candidly acknowledge that all three of the Synoptic Gospels are anonymous documents. None of the three gains any importance by association with those traditional figures out of the life of the early church. Neither do they lose anything in importance by being recognized to be anonymous. Throughout this book the traditional names are used to refer to the authors of the first three Gospels, but we shall do so simply as a device of convenience.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-674-26141-9.
5. The geography of Gospel Palestine, like the geography of Old Testament Palestine, is symbolic rather than actual. It is not clear whether any of the evangelists had ever been there.
- ISBN 978-0-8126-9867-1. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
Mark's knowledge even of Palestine's geography is likewise defective. [...] Kümmel (1975, p. 97) writes of Mark's "numerous geographical errors"
- ^ ISBN 978-1-317-72224-3. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
Like the other synoptics, Mark's Gospel is anonymous. Whether it was originally so is, however, difficult to know. Nevertheless, we can be fairly certain that it was written by someone named Mark. [...] The difficulty is ascertaining the identity of Mark. Scholars debate [...] or another person simply named Mark who was not native to Palestine. Many scholars have opted for the latter option due to the Gospel's lack of understanding of Jewish laws (1:40–45; 2:23–28; 7:1–23), incorrect Palestinian geography (5:1–2, 12–13; 7:31), and concern for Gentiles (7:24–28:10) (e.g. Marcus 1999: 17–21)
- ^ a b c Reddish 2011, p. 36: "Evidence in the Gospel itself has led many readers of the Gospel to question the traditional view of authorship. The author of the Gospel does not seem to be too familiar with Palestinian geography. [...] Is it likely that a native of Palestine, as John Mark was, would have made such errors?" [...] Also, certain passages in the Gospel contain erroneous statements about Palestinian or Jewish practices."
- ISBN 978-0-19-027605-8. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
suggest that the evangelist was a Hellenized Jew who lived outside of Palestine.
- ISBN 978-0-567-66785-4. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
Francis Moloney suggests the author was someone named Mark, though maybe not any of the Marks mentioned in the New Testament (Moloney, 11-12).
- ISBN 978-0-19-925425-5.
The historical narratives, the Gospels and Acts, are anonymous, the attributions to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John being first reported in the mid-second century by Irenaeus
- ^ Reddish 2011, pp. 13, 42.
- ^ Cousland 2010, p. 1744.
- ^ Cousland 2018, p. 1380.
- ^ Lindars, Edwards & Court 2000, p. 41.
- ^ "From Stories to Canon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ Papias (1885). . Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Volume I. Translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh.
- ISBN 0-13-614934-0
- ^ D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Apollos, 1992), 93.
- ISBN 978-0-19-958025-5.
Finally it is important to realize that none of the four gospels originally included an attribution to an author. All were anonymous, and it is only from the fragmentary and enigmatic and—according to Eusebius, from whom we derive the quotation—unreliable evidence of Papias in 120/130 CE that we can begin to piece together any external evidence about the names of their authors and their compilers. This evidence is so difficult to interpret that most modern scholars form their opinions from the content of the gospels themselves, and only then appeal selectively to the external evidence for confirmation of their findings.
- ^ a b c Pope Shenouda III, The Beholder of God Mark the Evangelist Saint and Martyr, Chapter One. Tasbeha.org
- ^ John 2:1–11
- ^ Philemon 24
- ^ "About the Diocese". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States.
- ^ "Saint Mark". Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ a b Pope Shenouda III. The Beholder of God Mark the Evangelist Saint and Martyr, Chapter Seven. Tasbeha.org
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ Didron, Adolphe Napoléon (February 20, 1886). Christian Iconography: The Trinity. Angels. Devils. Death. The soul. The Christian scheme. Appendices. G. Bell. p. 356 – via Internet Archive.
St. Mark iconography.
- ^ "St. Mark in Art". www.christianiconography.info.
Bibliography
- Fant, Clyde E.; Reddish, Mitchell E. (2008). Lost Treasures of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2881-1.
- Reddish, Mitchell (2011). An Introduction to The Gospels. Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-5008-3.
- Cousland, J.R.C. (2010). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press. p. 1744. ISBN 978-0-19-528955-8.
- Cousland, J.R.C. (1 March 2018). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press. p. 1380. ISBN 978-0-19-027605-8.
- Lindars, Barnabas; Edwards, Ruth; Court, John M. (2000). The Johannine Literature. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-84127-081-4.