Saint Mark the Evangelist ( Μάρκος )
Nameday: April 25

This is a high quality Byzantine icon paper reproduction with glossy finish, mounted on a wood frame. The back of the icon has a hole for wall mounting.

This is a replica of a hand-made icon by iconographer and painter Zafiris. The original may be available for purchase and a quote will be provided upon request.

Size in inches: 5 x 7 x 1
Size in centimeters: 12.5 x 17.8 x 2.5

Saint Mark the Evangelist ( Μάρκος ), also known as John Mark, is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Saint Peter. He accompanied Paul of Tarsus and Barnabas on Paul's first missionary journey. After a sharp dispute, Barnabas separated from Paul, taking Mark to Cyprus. Later Paul called upon the services of Mark, the kinsman of Barnabas, and Mark was named as Paul's fellow worker.

His feast day is celebrated on 25 April, the anniversary of his martyrdom. St Mark is also believed by various traditions to be the first bishop of Alexandria and the first Pope of Alexandria. He is considered the founder of the church in Alexandria, according to the Coptic church understanding, and thus the founder of Christianity in Africa. His evangelistic symbol is the lion.

According to the Coptic church, Saint Mark was born in the Pentapolis of North Africa. This tradition adds that he returned to Pentapolis later in life after being sent by Saint Paul to Colosse and serving with him in Rome; from Pentapolis he made his way to Alexandria.

Mark of the Pauline Epistles is specified as a cousin of Barnabas; this would explain Barnabas' special attachment to the Mark of Acts over whom he disputed with Paul. Mark's mother was a prominent member of the earliest group of Christians in Jerusalem. It was to her house that Peter turned on his release from prison; the house was a meeting-place for the brethren, "many" of whom were praying there on the night Peter arrived from prison. Evidence for Mark's authorship of the Gospel that bears his name originates with Papias.

The martyrdom of Saint Mark. Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (Musée Condé, Chantilly). A number of traditions have built up around Mark, though none can be verified from the New Testament. It is suggested that Mark was one of the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine. Mark is also said to have been one of the Seventy Apostles sent out by Christ, the servant who carried water to the house where the Last Supper took place, the young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested, the one who hosted the disciples in his house after the death of Jesus and into whose house the resurrected Jesus Christ came. When Mark returned to Alexandria, the people there are said to have resented his efforts to turn them away from the worship of their traditional Egyptian gods. In AD 68 they tied him to several horses and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.