Mark was one of the Four Evangelists. He is known to have joined the group of the Seventy Disciples of Christ as a young man, because his mother Mary was one of the followers of Jesus and their family house was always a gathering place for believers.
The Evangelist was born in Jerusalem and later became a disciple of Peter the Apostle. According to the New Testament, he was one of the few apostles who followed Jesus Christ on the night of His suffering on the cross. He founded the Church in Egypt. The Apostle preached the Gospel in Libya, Nektopolis, and visited Paul the Apostle in Rome. It was there, according to tradition, that Mark the Apostle wrote the Gospel for the pagans who had put their faith in Christ. The Gospel of Mark is most likely a brief record of the sermons and accounts of his teacher, Peter the Apostle.
On his return to Alexandria, the Apostle faced strong resistance from the pagan population of the city and its environs. In one of the attacks, which took place during the service, Mark was badly beaten and soon died from his injuries. In many icons the winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, as is also the case in the image displayed in the exhibition.
The symbolic association of the Apostles with living creatures is borrowed from the vision of Prophet Ezekiel (6th century BC), describing a winged creature with four faces — a man, a lion, an ox (calf) and an eagle. In the Revelation of John the Evangelist this tetramorph is represented as four separate apocalyptic beings — the guardians of the four corners of the Lord’s Throne and the four corners of paradise.
Although the Saint’s image varies from icon to icon, all of them show Mark holding the Gospel, which he himself composed. The features of the Saint’s image are all characterized by humility before the will of God, and the frequent figure of a lion symbolizes strength of spirit and will, the desire to follow the commandments of the Lord. The lion also signifies the efficacy, dominance and royal authority of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. Mark is depicted in the traditional robes of his era. The icon is generally painted in a canonical style and is not replete with many details. From the 1940s to the early 21st century the icon was housed in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Michurinsk.
The Evangelist was born in Jerusalem and later became a disciple of Peter the Apostle. According to the New Testament, he was one of the few apostles who followed Jesus Christ on the night of His suffering on the cross. He founded the Church in Egypt. The Apostle preached the Gospel in Libya, Nektopolis, and visited Paul the Apostle in Rome. It was there, according to tradition, that Mark the Apostle wrote the Gospel for the pagans who had put their faith in Christ. The Gospel of Mark is most likely a brief record of the sermons and accounts of his teacher, Peter the Apostle.
On his return to Alexandria, the Apostle faced strong resistance from the pagan population of the city and its environs. In one of the attacks, which took place during the service, Mark was badly beaten and soon died from his injuries. In many icons the winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, as is also the case in the image displayed in the exhibition.
The symbolic association of the Apostles with living creatures is borrowed from the vision of Prophet Ezekiel (6th century BC), describing a winged creature with four faces — a man, a lion, an ox (calf) and an eagle. In the Revelation of John the Evangelist this tetramorph is represented as four separate apocalyptic beings — the guardians of the four corners of the Lord’s Throne and the four corners of paradise.
Although the Saint’s image varies from icon to icon, all of them show Mark holding the Gospel, which he himself composed. The features of the Saint’s image are all characterized by humility before the will of God, and the frequent figure of a lion symbolizes strength of spirit and will, the desire to follow the commandments of the Lord. The lion also signifies the efficacy, dominance and royal authority of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. Mark is depicted in the traditional robes of his era. The icon is generally painted in a canonical style and is not replete with many details. From the 1940s to the early 21st century the icon was housed in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Michurinsk.
