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Saint Mark and the Church of
Alexandria
By His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
(This was posted on: Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - An
Excerpt from the book, “Saint Mark the Evangelist” by His Holiness
Pope Shenouda III, Chapter 6.)
1-THE GREATNESS OF ALEXANDRIA
Alexandria was the cultural capital of the world when Saint Mark
arrived there. Its famous School was the centre of science and
philosophy with a library filled with hundreds of thousands of
books. The population of Alexandria was estimated to be from half to
three quarters of a million,(1) who were Egyptians, Greeks, Jews,
Romans, Ethiopians, Nubians and other races.
2-ITS RELIGIOUS STATUS
The people Saint Mark faced were a complex of different religions.
There was the old Pharaohnic religion, that had many gods like Isis,
Oziris, Hirus, Amun, Abis, Hathur etc., under the great god Ra. The
Greeks had many gods under their supreme god Zius. At this period
there was a movement calling to combine both the Egyptian and the
Greek gods, as ‘syncretism’ to be under the god ‘Sirabis’, the great
idol. The Romans too had many gods under Jupiter.
There were also the Jews, with their prophets, laws and the
scriptures and the heresies that the Pharisees introduced. Their
number in the city was huge, that they occupied one out of the five
districts of the city. At the same time some of the Jews who arrived
recently from Jerusalem were already converted to Christianity
before coming to Egypt.
The name of Christ had already arrived to many individuals, through
Apollo of Alexandria. Apollo was mentioned in the Book of Acts, “An
eloquent man and mighty in scriptures… He was fervent in the spirit
... For he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly, showing by
the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” [Acts 18:24 -28]. It might be
possible that some of the Jews of Alexandria had received the Word
of God through Saint Simon of Cana or through “dear Theophilus” who
was close to Saint Luke. But all of these cases were limited to some
individuals only. Beside all these religions, there were many wise
men from India, Persia and Egyptian priests who were leaders in a
pagan environment.
Accordingly, the city was a mixture of idol religions with an
atmosphere of philosophical arguments and discussions, particularly
at the school of Alexandria and its museum. Saint Mark stood alone
to face all these religions and philosophies, but he was capable in
defeating them with the power of God. He entered Alexandria with a
torn sandal from walking the long way.
3- WHEN DID ST. MARK ARRIVE IN ALEXANDRIA?
It is difficult to determine the exact dates for the journeys of the
apostles. Usually calculated in relation to the events, and the time
of the arrival of Saint Mark was no exception.
Josephus, the famous historian, mentioned that Saint Mark came to
Alexandria in 43 AD, while Mrs. Butler estimated it to be in 45 AD.
Patriarch Maximos Mazloom suggested that it was in 49 AD. Selim
Soliman, Francis Al Etre, Deacon Menassa Youhanna gave the date as
55 AD. For Ibn Akbar it was 58 AD and for Father Chineau it was 60
AD, when Saint Mark was 50 years old. Abu Shaker Ibn Al Raheb, Anba
Isedoros, Habib Guirgis, Kamel Saleh Nakhla and Iris Al Masri, said
that his arrival was in 61 AD. With such variations in dates, most
of the ancient historians preferred not to guess and rather to
stress on the events themselves. That was what the Book of Acts
almost did. We don’t accept the earlier dates, as Saint Mark was
still a youth, in the company of other apostles. Certainly he didn’t
come before the Council of Jerusalem which was about 50 AD, as
agreed by all the historians.
After the Council of Jerusalem, he accompanied Saint Barnabas to
Cyprus where both preached together. Later, Saint Paul, appreciating
the importance of Saint Mark in preaching, he called him to work
with him.
When Saint Mark was alone on his own, he went to the Five Western
Cities and stayed there for few years. He may have arrived there
between 55-58 AD. It is most probable that he arrived in Alexandria
about the year 60 or 61 AD and this was accepted by most of the
Coptic historians who estimated his stay in Alexandria to be seven
years or seven years and eight months.(2)
4- ON THE WAY TO ALEXANDRIA
On his way to Alexandria, the words of Isaiah might have been on his
thought,
+ “The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rode upon a swift cloud,
and shall come into Egypt and the idols of Egypt shall be removed at
his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.”
+ “And that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of
the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to the
Lord...And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of
hosts in the land of Egypt...And the Lord shall be known to Egypt,
and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do
sacrifice and oblation, yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and
perform it...”
+ “Blessed be Egypt my people.” [Isiah 19 : 1 , 19 -21 , 25]
Also he might have been thinking about the journey of Christ with
the Virgin Saint Mary and the blessing they left to Egypt. It was
said that he entered Alexandria, coming from the Five Western
Cities, passing through the oasis to Upper Egypt and from there to
Alexandria where he entered it east to the port where there was an
oblisk.(3)
5- PREACHING TO ANIANUS THE COBBLER
He was praying before entering Alexandria to God, to provide him
with the spiritual needs for the success of his mission. By the time
he arrived, his sandal was already torn, so he went to Anianus, a
cobbler, to repair it. While Anianus was holding the needle, it went
through his finger and he screamed from pain and said, “O’ the One
God”. Saint Mark was delighted when he heard this phrase, which was
an appropriate chance to begin talking to him about that One God. It
was also appropriate to ease him from his pain first, so he took
some mud and spat on it and put it on his wound, saying, “In the
name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, heal this hand.” (4) It was healed
on the spot as if nothing happened to it. Anianus was surprised at
the miracle which was done in the name of Jesus Christ and opened
his heart to the Word of God.
Saint Mark asked him about the One God he called, but Anianus
replied that he heard about Him, but didn’t know Him. Then Saint
Mark began to talk to him spiritually. When his sandal was repaired
he was invited to go to Anianus’ home to talk more about that God.
As Saint Mark entered the house he made the sign of the cross and
asked God’s Blessing to fill it. (5) He stayed with this family
talking about Lord Christ. When Anianus asked to see The True God,
Saint Mark assured him that he will. He talked with him about the
scriptures, the prophets, the incarnation, the miracles, the
crucifixion and the great sacrifice He provided to the world.
Anianus and his family became believers and Saint Mark baptized
them. This home was the first fruit in Saint Mark’s preaching in
Egypt.
6- SPREAD OF THE FAITH IN EGYPT
Saint Mark who is considered the, First Bishop of Alexandria, found
that his first responsibility was to continue preaching from one
place to another, challenging all the difficulties that he met. With
great enthusiasm he was able to convert many to the faith in God, in
spite of the different numerous religions of the Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, Persians and the arguments of the Jews.
The Catholic Jesuit, Father Frermaj reported in his book “Moraweg Al
Akhyar” referring to Saint Mark, that “ God blessed him for his
unique enthusiasm. The land which was full of darkness of the filth
among the unbelievers, was changed by Saint Mark the Evangelist to a
heavenly paradise, with justice shinning over it.” (6) Maximos
Mazloom, the Patriarch of the Greek Catholic Melchites, wrote about
Saint Mark, “ He pulled the inhabitants to the faith in Christ, in
grooves, with God’s blessing and the marvelous miracles he did,.that
Alexandria became a second Jerusalem, similar to what happened when
the Holy Spirit descended in the Chamber of Zion . (7)
The Word of God flourished forcefully and very fast despite the
encountered difficulties, which were overcome. We understand what
Saint Paul meant when he said about Saint Mark, “For he is
profitable to me in the ministry.” [2 Titus 4:11]
7-ALEXANDRIA AFTER ST. MARK
Saint Mark had great impact on Alexandria. His success to convert
large numbers to believe was due to his deep spirituality, and his
strong relation with God. Eusebius the famous historian, referred to
this as such, “There were multitudes of believers, men and women,
who gathered from the beginning and lived the extraordinary simple
life, that Philo noted to be worthy to describe. Their efforts,
gatherings, and their comfort in all the ways of their lives were
tremendous. (8) Eusebius in a complete chapter in his book about the
philosopher Phillo admired the monastic life in Egypt.
Father Chineau in his book “ The Saints of Egypt,” wrote, “Life
became marvelous in Egypt after accepting the faith and Philo, the
famous Jew, confirmed that Alexandria brought back the memory of the
early days of the Church in Jerusalem. (9) Let us find what the
philosopher Philo said about the believers in Egypt as stated by
Eusebius, “They left their properties, under the influence of their
faith and followed the path of the prophets;” “There was a holy
place in every house, to practice their religion in, in complete
isolation. They didn’t permit into it any food, drink or anything
for the need of the body;” “All day long from the morning to the
night they were praying, reading the Holy Books”.; “They created
songs and praises for God with different tunes and rhythms” ; “They
ate only after sunset” ; “They enjoyed the wisdom, without limit,
tremendously.” He also referred to their purity and described their
prayers, silence and services.
8- OTHER WORKS OF ST. MARK
Saint Mark established a Theological School to stand against the
school for the pagans and to combat their ideas. He designated Saint
Justus to manage the school who later became the sixth bishop of
Alexandria. He wrote the Holy Liturgy for Saint Anianus and the
priests to use in praying.
9- ANIANUS WAS ORDAINED A BISHOP FOR ALEXANDRIA AND ST. MARK’S
TRAVEL:
With the tremendous success and achievement for the faith in Egypt,
the unbelievers were very angry and they decided to kill Saint Mark.
The believers advised Saint Mark to leave Egypt for a while for the
safety of the church. Saint Mark, who preached other cities in
Egypt, agreed to leave, to return back to the Five Western Cities.
He then ordained Saint Anianus to be the Bishop of Alexandria in 62
AD. He also ordained three priests, Milius, Sabinus, Sardenus, and
seven deacons.(10) It is noticed that Anianus was ordained a bishop
while Saint Mark was still living, which indicates Saint Mark’s
apostolic universal authority to ordain bishops wherever he went, as
he did in the Five Western Cities.
Saint Jerome, mistakenly in his book, wrote that Saint Mark was
killed in 62 AD the year Anianus was ordained, assuming that his
predecessor must have died before such an event could be
possible.(11)
10-THE RETURN OF ST. MARK TO ALEXANDRIA
Saint Mark stayed for a few years among the church in the Five
Western Cities and with Saint Paul preaching in Rome. Then the two
great apostles Saint Paul and Saint Peter were killed and Saint Mark
returned to Alexandria. On his return, he found that the church he
planted, grew and became prosperous and the number of the believers
increased tremendously. and a church was built in the eastern part
of Alexandria, known as Pokalia. (12)
Saint Mark kept watching his people grow and visited and preached
other cities in Egypt. This annoyed the pagans to the extent that
they named him as, “ The exterminator of the idols”.
References:
1-The history of the Church of Alexandria in Africa.
2- Refer to the numerous publications of Kamel Saleh Nakhla, pp.
106-107.
3- Kamel Saleh Nakhla : The history of Saint Mark p. 57,58.
4- Les Saints d’Egypte I p. 501.
5- This house became Saint George Church, The History of the
Patriarchs by Ibn Al Mokafaa.
6- Morawag Al Akhyar fi Taragem Al Abrar p. 233 [25 Nisan]
7- Kenz Al Ebad Al Thameen fi Akhbar Al Kediseen, Part 2 p. 552 [25
Nissan]
8- Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History, II 16, 2.
9- Chineau : Les Saints d’Egypte, I p. 502.
10- Chineau & Rene Basset: Le Synaxaire.
11- Saint Jerome: Illustrious Men: 8.
12 - Pokalia meant place for the cows or place with plants for the
cows to eat. It is the present site for Saint Mark Cathedral in
Alexandria.
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