Mark the Evangelist

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark.

St. Mark the Evangelist, one of the Seventy, was a companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and wrote the second Gospel, which ancient tradition holds preserves the preaching of Peter. He labored in the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome, and is honored as the founder of the Church of Alexandria in Egypt.

There, according to tradition, he was seized by the pagans and dragged through the streets, completing his apostolic course as a martyr. The father of one of the great ancient Churches, he is commemorated on April 25.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Mark the Evangelist is commemorated on April 25. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on May 8 of the civil calendar.

Who celebrates a name day

People with these names keep their name day on this feast:

Markos, Markis, Marc, Marco, Mark

Also commemorated on April 25

• Nike the Martyr

  Holy Woman, Νίκη

  Holy Martyr Nike, commemorated on this day in the Greek synaxaria.

  Name days: Niki, Nike, Nicky

• Macedonius II of Constantinople

  Hierarch, Μακεδόνιος Β' Πατριάρχης

  Saint Macedonius II, Patriarch of Constantinople, exiled for defending the Council of Chalcedon.

• Anianus of Alexandria

  Hierarch, Αννιανός Αλεξανδρείας

  Saint Anianus, second Bishop of Alexandria, converted by the Apostle Mark.

• Sylvester of Obnora

  Venerable, Σιλβέστρος της Όμπνορα

  Venerable Sylvester of Obnora, disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh.

• Basil of Poiana Marului

  Venerable, Βασίλειος ο Ησυχαστής

  Venerable Basil of Poiana Marului, Romanian elder and teacher of the prayer of the heart.

Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.