Mark

In the Christian tradition

Mark is the evangelist traditionally identified as the John Mark of Acts (whose mother's house was a meeting place for the Jerusalem church), as the author of the second gospel (drawing in part on Peter's memory, by ancient tradition), and as the founder of the church at Alexandria. He is the patron of the Coptic Orthodox tradition and of Venice. The Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican calendars commemorate him on April 25.

Mark is the shortest of the four evangelists and (in modern scholarly view) the first written. Ancient tradition (Papias, early second century) holds that Mark wrote down Peter's preaching about Jesus, making the Gospel of Mark the apostolic memory of Peter passed through Mark's pen. The same Mark is traditionally identified as the founder of the church at Alexandria and the first Patriarch of Alexandria; the Coptic Orthodox Church traces its lineage through Mark as their founding apostle. Venice claims his relics, brought from Alexandria in the ninth century, and his symbol (the winged lion) is the city's emblem. The Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican calendars commemorate him on April 25. The name has been in continuous Christian use; modern English-speaking Christian families use both Mark (English form) and Marcus (Latin form).