It is celebrated on April 25 of each year. However, if the holiday falls before Easter, then it is celebrated on Dikanesimo Tuesday.
The Apostle and Evangelist Mark was the nephew of the Apostle Barnabas and his mother’s name was Mary. His origin was probably from Cyprus, but later he settled in Jerusalem. The Jewish name of the evangelist was John. Marcus was his Roman surname, which he took according to the custom that existed at the time. And with this he became known in the Christian world.
Markos entered the service of the Church from a very early age, accompanying his uncle Barnabas and the Apostle Paul on their various tours. He also worked for a long time with the Apostle Peter. According to tradition, Mark preached the Gospel in Egypt, Libya, Barbary, and was the first bishop of Alexandria. The evangelist Mark is still believed to be that young man who, as he himself mentions in his Gospel (Mark 8, 51-52), followed Jesus after the Last Supper in the garden of Gethsemane wrapped in a shroud, After the arrest of the Master’s uncle, the servants rushed towards him as well. But the young man, in order to escape, left the shroud and left naked.
Opinions differ on the manner of his death. One states that she died peacefully in Alexandria, while the other states that she died by being stoned to death by the pagans. According to the second version, the Apostle Mark, one day while he was preaching, was seized by the enemies of the faith, the gentiles and the pagans, and after tying him with ropes, they dragged him through the streets of Alexandria, where he died of his wounds in stones. His holy relic was painstakingly packed by the Christians and buried in a neighboring village.
The important thing is that Makros wrote the second consecutive Gospel in the New Testament around AD 65. and it is also the shortest of the four and is known as the Gospel of the miracles of Jesus. In it the holy evangelist, although he was not of the circle of the twelve apostles, has included several of the events of our Lord’s life. A few of His teaching, His miracles, His Passion and Resurrection. It omits the Sermon on the Mount and most of the longer discourses of Jesus Christ. Rather, the evangelist narrates what the divine Master did and not what he said. And this, because the main purpose of his writing was with this exhibition of miracles to prove the divine origin of Jesus and His power, especially through miracles. That is why the hagiographers place next to the evangelist Mark a lion, which is a symbol of strength.
During the 9th century, Venetian merchants transported the holy relics to Venice and placed them in a very large and beautiful temple, which they built in his honor.
