Every so often we find some members of the church still unaware of the importance of St Mark the Apostle and his place in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is therefore an opportune time now to reflect on his life, on the occasion of his martyrdom, which is celebrated on the 8th May (30th Baramouda). We shall also attempt, not simply recall his life story, but rather on the personal attributes which made him a great saint.
His childhood
Born of Jewish parents, ST Mark (being his Greek name and also named John in Hebrew) accepted the Christian faith probably through St Peter, who called him his son (1 Pet 5: 13). It is thought he was related to St Peter’s wife and was the nephew of Barnabas. Since his youthful days, St Mark was known for his zeal and strong faith in Christ, as the famous story of his courage against the lion demonstrated. This occurred whilst he and his parents were traveling towards the Jordan, and were confronted with a lion and lioness. As his father prompted his son to flee, taking the risk to face the lions himself, he comforted his father with his strong faith that Christ would rescue them. Thus his father was converted as he saw the lions fallen on the ground, lifeless. Thus St Mark became a preacher initially, not through a mission as such, but rather through his strong faith- An important point to remember if you’ve ever thought you are not a person of preaching. Let’s all keep in mind that if our faith is sincere and we learn to pray effectively, relying on the Lord, we also can be powerful evangelists and can attract others to Christ.
His service
St Mark was one of the seventy apostles sent by the Lord to preach in cities which Christ was going to preach in. It is thought also that he was the person who carried the water pot to whom the Lord sent his disciples to ask for the place for preparation of the Passover feast (Mk 14: 13), and that it was in his house that the disciples assembled during the sufferings of Christ and whilst the doors were locked after the resurrection. Hence in his early years of service he seems to have served as a support to the service of Christ. This should reflect highly on those who are involved in support service for the church. God blesses this service and glorifies Himself through even the smallest of services, and perhaps also leads you to a greater service.
Interestingly enough St Mark later journeyed with St Paul on St Paul’s first missionary journey. However, he decided not to continue. St Paul was not very impressed with this decision and didn’t entrust him to serve. However, later on St Paul found St Mark ‘useful for him in the service” (2 Tim 4: 11). Does this sound familiar? Have you ever felt unable to serve God? Keep trying as ST Mark did. His love for God kept him going, giving the whole land of Egypt the opportunity for salvation.
Mission in Egypt
St Mark began his mission in Egypt because it attracted a multicultural mix of people, being a major international centre for trade, science and knowledge. As he wondered around the streets of Alexandria, God opened for him a door to evangelism through a mishap- A break in his sandal. Does it sound familiar that God uses difficult situations in our lives to glorify Himself, and give us success?! As many know, this mishap lead to the conversion of Inianos, the Cobbler who, as he was fixing St Mark’s shoe, he pierced his hand with the needle and screamed out “Ios Theos” (meaning ‘One God’) relating to the Egyptian belief in a single God. St Mark then began to chat with him about the One True God and the events of His Son, converting him and thus beginning the true Christian faith in Egypt. This took place around 58-62 AD. It was around this time also that St Mark was said to meet St Peter and to write his gospel in Greek and Coptic to be used in his ministry in Egypt. So St Mark used a common event as an opportunity to begin to preach Christianity. This we too can learn from, thinking about any opportunity we can use to begin to speak to others about the true God.
By 68 AD ST Mark returned to Egypt and found that the congregation had expanded and that they had established a church in the province of ‘Bucalia’, at which time it is thought he also established the theological school. Then during this trip, during the Easter liturgy on 26th April the heathen worshippers (who worshipped the deity called ‘serapis’) took hold of St Mark, bound him and dragged him throughout the city of Alexandria, tearing his flesh on the rocky roads. During this night he was strengthened by the Lord through an angel to prepare him for the next day’s ordeal as for the previous day, which ended in his martyrdom. Thus St Mark ended his strife, but the church he established flourished until most of Egypt became Christian a few hundred years later. Truly, it is hard to ‘Kick against the goads’, and prevent the powerful work of the Holy Spirit through God’s faithful servants.
Today we all enjoy the fruit of the work of St Mark, perhaps taking for granted the harsh work of foundation attributed to St Mark and his successors. I think the least we could do to show appreciation for this great saint on the occasion of his martyrdom is to fulfill the teachings of the gospel in our lives, and to imitate the work of St Mark, albeit in a small way in a simple work of telling all about our common salvation through the blood of our Lord, God and saviour Jesus Christ. The prayers and blessings of this great saint be with us all. Amen.
