On the thirtieth of Bermuda, corresponding to the eighth of May, the Copts of Egypt celebrate the martyrdom of the first patriarch, St. Mark the Apostle, who carried the flame of the Christian faith throughout its land, establishing one of the four Apostolic Churches chairs in the city of Alexandria, namely: Chair of Jerusalem, Chair of Antioch, Chair of Alexandria, Chair of Rome.
At that time, Alexandria was an important commercial center, a cultural city and a beacon to the world, and a destination for great scholars and philosophers from all over the world, it embraced the ancient Pharaonic, Greek and Roman religions, in addition to Judaism that spread in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic rule, with a few Jews who had heard of About Christianity.
Saint Mark was born in Kairouan, in the “five western cities” that were under Egyptian rule in the Greek and Roman eras, into a Jewish family belonging to the tribe of Levi. His name at first was John, as the Bible mentioned that the apostles were praying in the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was called Mark. His mother took heed to his education, so he spoke Greek, Latin and Hebrew; he studied the Law and Scriptures of the prophets. When his family returned to the Jewish lands in Palestine, they settled in the city of Qana of Galilee.
The return of Saint Mark’s family came with the beginning of the ministry of Christ; so he lived with Him, heard His teachings, and was a witness to His miracles. He is one of the seventy apostles whom He chose, and many historians, including al-Maqrizi, testified to this. As for the house of Saint Mark, it is the most famous in the world, as it witnessed the Last Supper that Lord Christ made for His disciples, Lord Christ referred to this house saying, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” Therefore, his house is the first church in the world.
Saint Mark’s preaching began first with the apostles: with Saint Peter the Apostle in Jerusalem and Judea, then Saints Paul and Barnabas the apostles on their first missionary journey, then he left them and returned to Jerusalem, after that he went with Barnabas the messenger to Antioch and Cyprus. As for the main preaching of St. Mark, it was in Africa: the five western cities, Alexandria, and the Egyptian provinces where he established the Alexandria See, which, after his martyrdom, extended to Nubia, Sudan and Ethiopia.
When Saint Mark arrived in Alexandria, coming from the five western cities, mostly in 60/61 AD, he began his preaching with the miracle of healing the finger of Anianus the cobbler, then he began to talk to him and his family about Christ, they believed in Christianity. Saint Mark toured all over Egypt preaching Christianity, it spread quickly and a large number of Egyptians believed. The saint used to travel among countries evangelizing, he remained in Rome until the martyrdom of Apostles Peter and Paul, then he returned to Alexandria to find faith spread in Egypt and the numbers of believers increased after they had built a church in the Bukalia neighborhood (Currently the Great Church of Saint Mark in Alexandria). As Christianity succeeded and spread in the land of Egypt, the pagans’ hatred of the saint increased, as they saw in him a severe danger to their religions, so they decided to get rid of him. In 68 AD, during the celebration of the glorious Feast of Resurrection, that coincided then with the celebration of the pagans’ feast of god Serapis, they attacked the church, arrested Saint Mark, tied him with a rope, and dragged him through the streets, roads and alleys of the city until his flesh was torn and his blood was shed on the land of Egypt! Then they put him in prison. Next morning, they tied him with ropes and dragged him through the city again, while he prayed for them asking for them to be forgiven until he was martyred! The pagans tried to burn his body, but God did not allow them to; winds blew, heavy rain fell, and the fire was extinguished. Christians came and carried the body of their father, Saint Mark, to be buried in the church that was built on his name.
Saint Mark was concerned with confronting the pagan ideas at the time, so he founded the Alexandria Theological School, entrusting it to the scholar Yustus, who later became the sixth patriarch of Alexandria. The School of Alexandria taught religious sciences, philosophy, logic, medicine, engineering, music, etc., and its reputation spread widely that scholars and philosophers from all countries of the world came to it. A number of fathers who later became patriarchs of the See of St. Mark, and many famous bishops, graduated from it.
Thus, Egypt has received special blessings by the coming of Saint Mark, who is revered by the world and acknowledged for his role, service and toil in many countries. He is the preacher of the Egyptian lands and the writer of the Gospel that bears his name. And… stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
