The Martydom of St.Mark
According to Christian church tradition, Saint Mark the Evangelist was brutally martyred in Alexandria, Egypt, around 68 AD, and his physical remains were later famously smuggled to Italy centuries later.
After founding the Christian church in Alexandria, local pagan populations began viewing Mark as a significant religious threat.
In 68 AD, a pagan festival coincided with Christian Easter services. An angry mob stormed the church, threw a rope around Mark’s neck, and dragged him violently through the streets.
After a day of torture, he was cast into a prison cell. Christian tradition states that he received comforting visions from an angel and Jesus Christ during the night.
The following morning, the crowd dragged him through the rocky streets once again until he passed away.
The mob attempted to burn his corpse in an inferno, but a sudden, violent thunderstorm scared the crowds away. Local Christian believers successfully recovered his untouched body and buried it secretly.
Relics Smuggled to Venice
Centuries later, in 828 AD Alexandria fell under Muslim rule. Two Venetian merchants, Buono da Malamocco and Rustico da Torcello, snuck into Egypt and stole the body of Saint Mark.
To sneak the holy relics past Islamic port guards, the merchants cleverly hid the body underneath layers of cabbage leaves and pork. Because the guards viewed pork as unclean, they refused to touch the cargo and let the ship pass.
The remains arrived in Italy, and the magnificent St. Mark’s Basilica was constructed in Venice specifically to house his tomb. He remains the patron saint of Venice to this day.
In the 20th century , following persistent requests by the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Paul VI successfully urged Venetians to part with a portion of the relics. Some of his bones were flown back to Egypt and laid to rest in St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo in 1968
Portrait of St Mark by El Greco, Courtesy El Greco Museum, Toledo
