Mark the Evangelist (10 CE-25 April 68 CE) was the founder of the Church of Alexandria and Coptic Pope from 43 to 68, preceding Coptic Pope Anianus.
Biography[]
Mark the Evangelist was born in 10 CE in Cyrene, Roman Africa, Roman Empire (present-day Shahhat, Libya). He was in Judaea when Jesus began preaching that he was the son of God, and Mark became one of his seventy disciples. Mark presumably left Jesus when he claimed that his body and blood were food and drink, but Saint Peter later restored him to Christianity. Mark became Peter's interpreter, wrote the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament, founded the Catholic church in Africa, and became the first Bishop of Alexandria. Saint Mark's role in starting the spread of Christianity to Africa effectively made him the first Coptic Pope, as the Bishopric of Alexandria became synonymous with the title. As a leading Christian, he was among the many of Jesus' followers that were arrested under Emperor Nero. The Romans sent lions to devour him, but the lions slept at his feet when he petted them; the lion has since become the symbol of Saint Mark. When he returned to Alexandria, the local pagans placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead, martyring him.
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