Life
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark was one of the Seventy Apostles of Christ and a nephew of the Holy Apostle Barnabas, first Bishop of Cyprus. He was born in Jerusalem in a Jewish family of Levitical descent; his mother’s name was Mary, and their house was, according to tradition, the one in which Christ and the apostles gathered at the Last Supper and in which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at Pentecost.
Mark from his youth followed the events surrounding the Savior. Tradition recognizes him in the young man in the Gospel of Mark (14:51–52) who was “clothed in a linen cloth over his naked body” and followed Christ into Gethsemane on the night of His arrest, then fled leaving the cloth in the hands of the soldiers. After the Lord’s Ascension he joined the apostles and became a zealous preacher.
With the Holy Apostles Paul and Barnabas he set out on the first missionary journey (around 46), but in Pamphylia he parted from them and returned to Jerusalem. This parting later caused a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36–40), and Mark continued preaching with his uncle Barnabas throughout Cyprus. In time he was completely reconciled with the Apostle Paul — Paul mentions him warmly in his letters from prison (Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11) as a faithful co-worker.
The closest spiritual bond connected him with the Holy Apostle Peter, who in his First Epistle (5:13) calls him “Mark, my son.” Under the direct supervision of Peter, Mark recorded in Rome the Second Gospel — the shortest, most concise, and most dynamic of the four canonical Gospels — faithfully transmitting Peter’s testimony about Christ’s deeds and miracles. His symbol is the winged lion, one of the four Evangelist symbols.
With Peter’s blessing, Mark set out for Egypt and founded the Alexandrian Church, becoming its first bishop. There he preached for more than twenty years, built many churches, established the clergy and catecheses, and introduced a strict monastic way of life which would later flourish in Egyptian monasticism. Many conversions took place, which enraged the pagan priests. Around 68, on the very feast day of the pagan god Serapis, a pagan crowd seized him, tied a rope around his neck, and dragged him through the streets of Alexandria for two days, until he yielded his soul to the Lord.
Christians secretly buried his body in Alexandria. In 828 Venetian merchants transferred the relics to Venice, where they rest to this day in the magnificent Basilica of Saint Mark — one of the most famous churches in the Christian world. Saint Mark became the patron of Venice, and the winged lion became her coat of arms and emblem.
Tropar (Tone 3)
O holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, intercede with the merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of sins.
Kontakion (Tone 2)
Having received the grace of the Spirit from on high, thou didst spread the nets of rhetoric, O wise Apostle, and didst draw from the deep the rational fish up to Christ — preaching the word of truth to all. O holy Mark the Evangelist.
About the Feast
Markovdan is observed on May 8 by the New (Gregorian) calendar, corresponding to April 25 by the Old (Julian) calendar. In Serbian tradition it is not among the most popular patron feasts, but it is regularly observed by families who keep it — primarily in central Serbia, Šumadija, and Vojvodina.
The feast most often falls in the season after Pascha, in Bright Week or in the weeks after Pascha (depending on the date of Pascha). This means the feast table is usually unrestricted (when Markovdan falls outside a fasting period), and roast lamb or pork, savory pies, and various traditional dishes are served; the slava bread, koljivo, red wine, and candles are obligatory.
In the agricultural calendar of the Serbian village Markovdan is an important date: it opens the full spring work in the fields, the later spring crops are planted, and in some regions on this day the fields and livestock are blessed. There is a saying “Saint Mark — a full barn,” expressing hope for a good year and harvest.
In churches dedicated to Saint Mark a solemn Liturgy is served; a passage from his Gospel is read, and after the Liturgy the hosts break the slava bread in the circle of family and friends. Markovdan is often considered a feast “easier” to organize since it falls in the warm season, which allows the meal to be held in the courtyard or under an arbor.