7 October 336 A.D. Mark, Bishop of Rome, Dies
Graves, Dan. “Mysterious Pope St. Mark.” Christianity.com.
Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/mysterious-pope-st-mark-11629657.html. Accessed 30 May 2014.
Constantine the Great was ruler of the Roman
Empire. Persecution against the church had ceased. In spite of this aura of
peace, the life of the church was often poorly recorded.
Take, for example, the life of
the bishop of Rome, Pope St. Mark. We think he was born a Roman and that his
Father's name was Priscus, but little more than that is known about his
personal life. We cannot even venture a reasonable guess as to when he was
born. But we know that he was consecrated pope on January 18, 336.
One of Mark's undertakings was
to compile stories of the lives of martyrs and bishops before his time. It is
too bad that someone didn't do the same for him, because his activities as pope
are cloudy. There is some reason to believe he founded two churches in the area
of Rome. One of them is still known to this day as the Church of San Marco,
although it is greatly changed since his time. The other church was at the
Catacomb of Balbina, a cemetery. Emperor Constantine gave gifts of land and
furnishing for both buildings.
Why was Mark named a saint? We
don't know, although his name was added to the list quite early. There is a fragment
of an old poem which some scholars think refers to Mark. It says, "filled
with the love of God, despised the world . . . the guardian of justice, a true
friend of Christ." If that is speaking of him, it is high praise, indeed;
but there is no real evidence that he was the person meant.
St. Mark left a lasting legacy
on the ceremony of the Roman Church, however. It seems that it was he who
decreed that the Bishop of Ostia (a port near Rome) should be the one to
consecrate the Bishops of Rome (later known as Popes). Mark is also said to be
the one who declared that the Bishop of Ostia should wear a pallium.
The pallium is white wool sash
that symbolizes the authority of the Pope which, according to the Roman Church,
came in a direct line from the apostles. Anyone who is awarded a pallium shares
in that power. However, it is unlikely St. Mark is responsible for this,
because it was almost two centuries later before there is a reliable record of
a pope bestowing it on someone else.
It was said that St. Mark wrote
a letter to Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria who battled for the proper
understanding of Christ's nature. However, this has been shown to be a forgery.
Mark may have been mentioned in one of Constantine's letters, before he became
pope, but again no one is sure. Constantine may have been referring to another
Mark who was associated with the church in Rome.
St. Mark died on this day, October 7, 336. That date is well established.
He had served as Bishop of Rome less than ten months. At his own request, he
was buried in the cemetery of Balbina, where one of his churches was being
built.
Bibliography:
1. Brusher, J. Popes Through the Ages. Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand,
1964.
2. Keck, Karen Rae. "Mark." The Ecole Glossary.
http://cedar.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/glossary/pmark.html
3. Kirsch, J. P. "Pope St. Mark." The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
4. Various internet and encyclopedia articles.
Last updated June,
2007
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