The Martyrdom of St. Mark

By the year 68 AD, St. Mark had planted the Gospel across Egypt and the surrounding lands. He had appointed bishops and priests, established liturgical worship, and built a community of believers who worshipped the risen Christ in the city of Alexandria. The Church was growing — and the pagan rulers of Alexandria hated it.

During the Easter feast of the god Serapis, the pagan crowds captured St. Mark, tied a rope around his neck, and dragged him through the rocky streets of Alexandria. They dragged him until nightfall, then threw him in prison. Through the night, angels appeared to comfort him, and Jesus Himself is said to have appeared, saying, "Peace be unto you, O Mark, My evangelist." In the morning, the crowds dragged him again through the streets until he died.

But the Church did not die. It grew and flourished and became one of the most significant centers of Christian theology in the world — the School of Alexandria produced giants like St. Clement, Origen, and St. Athanasius. The blood of the martyr became the seed of the Church. Today, the relics of St. Mark rest in Cairo's great Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbassia, where millions of Coptic Christians venerate his memory. He is the father of the Coptic Church.