By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Three are the basic points of the Service of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, which most likely constitutes a poem of the Holy Hymnographer Theophanes the Branded: his relationship with the apostles Peter and Paul, the writing of his Gospel, and his activity in the region of Alexandria together with the martyrdom that followed it. Already from the beginning it emphasizes that he became a fellow-traveler of the Apostle Paul and passed through all Macedonia with him, but in Rome he was shown to be the sweet interpreter of Peter’s preaching, while in Egypt, where he chiefly preached, he gave his life in a martyric manner (“Having become a fellow-traveler of the chosen vessel, and having passed through all Macedonia with him; and having gone to Rome, you were shown to be the sweet interpreter of Peter; and you found rest after having struggled in a God-befitting manner in Egypt, O all-wise Mark” - Sticheron at Vespers).
His relationship, of course, with the apostles Paul and Peter is not equal. The Hymnographer, while making mention of the following of the Apostle Paul by Saint Mark in the above troparion, nowhere else mentions anything of their relationship, and this because, as is known, the Apostle Paul did not wish to continue to have as his co-worker the then young John Mark, indeed his nephew, on account, evidently, of his inability to keep up with the feverish pace of Paul’s own missionary activity. On the contrary, Saint Theophanes repeatedly refers to the particular relationship which the Apostle Peter developed with Mark, considering the foremost apostle as his principal teacher, so much so that the Holy Gospel of Mark is in the end a recording of the teaching of Peter. From the roughly eleven troparia that describe Mark’s discipleship under Peter, we note quite selectively the following:
“Having been a disciple of the wise Peter and having enriched your sonship from him, O all-praised Mark, you were shown to be a mystagogue of the mysteries of Christ” (Ode 1).
“Following Peter, O wise one, you wisely set forth the Gospel, as his disciple, having reaped the light of theology from him, O apostle” (Ode 3).
“You became the son of the great Peter, and being always illumined by his teachings, you illumined the souls of those who fervently associated with you, O Mark, apostle of the Lord” (Ode 5).
The Holy Hymnographer in many of his hymns also extols what pertains to the Gospel which the Apostle Mark composed. And indeed, as we have seen, he considers that the Gospel of Mark constitutes a recording of Peter’s teaching — “Peter the foremost, O glorious one, clearly initiated you to write the revered Gospel” (Ode 6) — yet he does not cease to note that the principal source of his illumination was ultimately the grace itself of the Holy Spirit. “Having received from on high the grace of the Spirit…you proclaimed the divine Gospel” (Kontakion).
“From the house of the Lord you came forth as a spring and you water the barren hearts abundantly with the streams of the Spirit” (Ode 5).
And it is understandable that the Hymnographer, referring to the divine Gospel of Mark, means not only its written dimension but also its oral one. Saint Mark, that is, both before and after the recording of his Gospel, was a great preacher of the evangelical word. And what he preached, that also he wrote down, and for the sake of this — that is, for the sake of his beloved Lord — he also gave his life. Like all the apostles, Saint Mark also became a martyr of the faith. And what did he preach? And what did he write? Why, what else except the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, His divine sufferings, His revered Resurrection, His ascent to the Father!
“Having become a writer of the divine dogmas of Christ, you enlightened all the earth, proclaiming His incarnation and the divine sufferings, the revered Resurrection and the ascent to the Father, O all-wise one” (Sticheron of the Praises).
The activity of the Apostle Mark chiefly in the region of Egypt and Alexandria, an activity which ended in martyrdom, sufficiently explains the fact that Egypt celebrates the memory of Saint Mark, whom it regards as its patron. “Mark the revered Apostle has been given as hierarch to the Egyptians” (Theotokion of Ode 9).
Saint Theophanes even dares to make the connection: “Egypt, which formerly was in darkness, O Lord, You illumined when, as an infant, You came forth from the Virgin Mother of God; and You have made its sacred things part of Your triumph through the teachings of Mark the God-proclaimer, O Lover of mankind” (Theotokion of Ode 6).
Finally, the martyrdom of Saint Mark is understood to constitute the culmination of his own glory. Glory in Christ is understood as participation in the glory of Christ, that is, as participation in His Passion and His Martyrdom. Consequently, a saint is glorified precisely when he is in martyrdom and through it enters as a victor into Paradise. This very thing is noted also by the synaxarist, when he describes the appearance of the Lord to Mark while he was in prison; this same thing is noted also by the Hymnographer, especially in the verses of the Synaxarion:
“Dragging Mark upon the earth, the blood-stained murderers did not know that they were sending him to the heavens.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
