Apostle and Evangelist Mark; †) Venerable Basil of Poiana Mărului

Apostle and Evangelist Mark

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of Saint Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped only in a linen cloth.

He was seized by soldiers, and fled away naked, leaving the cloth behind (Mark 14:51-52). After the Ascension of the Lord, the house of his mother Mary became a place where Christians gathered, and a place of lodging for some of the Apostles (Acts 12:12).

Saint Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and Barnabas. Saint Mark was at Seleucia with Paul and Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he traversed the whole of it from east to west. In the city of Paphos, Saint Mark witnessed the blinding of the sorcerer Elymas by Saint Paul (Acts 13:6-12).

After working with the Apostle Paul, Saint Mark returned to Jerusalem, and then went to Rome with the Apostle Peter. From there, he set out for Egypt, where he established a local Church.

Saint Mark met Saint Paul in Antioch. From there he went with Saint Barnabas to Cyprus, and then he went to Egypt again, where he and Saint Peter founded many churches. Then he went to Babylon. From this city the Apostle Peter sent an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he calls Saint Mark his son (1 Pet 5:13).

When the Apostle Paul came to Rome in chains, Saint Mark was at Ephesus, where Saint Timothy (January 4) was bishop. Saint Mark went with him to Rome. There he also wrote his holy Gospel (ca. 62-63).

From Rome Saint Mark traveled to Egypt. In Alexandria he started a Christian school, which later produced such famous Fathers and teachers of the Church as Clement of Alexandria, Saint Dionysius of Alexandria (October 5), Saint Gregory Thaumatourgos (November 5), and others. Zealous for Church services, Saint Mark composed a Liturgy for the Christians of Alexandria.

Saint Mark preached the Gospel in the inner regions of Africa, and he was in Libya at Nektopolis.

During these journeys, Saint Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to go again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited the home of Ananias, and healed his crippled hand. The dignitary happily took him in, listened to his words, and received Baptism.

Following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part of the city where he lived were also baptized. This roused the enmity of the pagans, and they wanted to kill Saint Mark. Having learned of this, Saint Mark made Ananias a bishop, and the three Christians Malchos, Sabinos, and Kerdinos were ordained presbyters to provide the church with leadership after his death.

The pagans seized Saint Mark when he was serving the Liturgy. They beat him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There Saint Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened him before his sufferings. On the following day, the angry crowd again dragged the saint through the streets to the courtroom, but along the way Saint Mark died saying, “Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

The pagans wanted to burn the saint’s body, but when they lit the fire, everything grew dark, thunder crashed, and there was an earthquake. The pagans fled in terror, and Christians took up the body of Saint Mark and buried it in a stone crypt. This was on April 4, 63. The Church celebrates his memory on April 25.

In the year 310, a church was built over the relics of Saint Mark. In 820, when the Moslem Arabs had established their rule in Egypt and oppressed the Christian Church, the relics of Saint Mark were transferred to Venice and placed in the church named for him.

In the ancient iconographic tradition, which adopted symbols for the holy Evangelists borrowed from the vision of Saint John the Theologian (Rev 4:7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ez. 1:10), the holy Evangelist Mark is represented by a lion, symbolizing the might and royal dignity of Christ (Rev 5:5).

Saint Mark wrote his Gospel for Gentile Christians, emphasizing the words and deeds of the Savior which reveal His divine Power. Many aspects of his account can be explained by his closeness to Saint Peter. The ancient writers say that the Gospel of Mark is a concise record of Saint Peter’s preaching.

One of the central theological themes in the Gospel of Saint Mark is the power of God achieving what is humanly impossible. The Apostles performed remarkable miracles with Christ (Mark 16:20) and the Holy Spirit (Mark 13:11) working through them. His disciples were told to go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mark 13:10, 16:15), and that is what they did.

Troparion, tone 4:
From your childhood the light of truth enlightened you, O Mark, / and you loved the labor of Christ the Savior. / Therefore, you followed Peter with zeal / and served Paul well as a fellow laborer, / and you enlighten the world with your holy Gospel.

Venerable Basil of Poiana Mărului

Venerable Basil was born to righteous parents, in 1692, in Russia. Having loved Christ ever since he was a young man, he left the world and lived in asceticism for a long time, in the hermitages of Russia, then in Mosenschi Mountains, close to Kiev, living in spiritual endeavour and often contacting the prayerful monks and other hermits experienced in the spiritual inner effort.

Because the Orthodox faith was persecuted in that part of the world and especially the monks, he fled his homeland, together with his disciple hieroschimonk Mihail, coming to Wallachia and settling at Dălhăuţi Monastery. There he was elected abbot, advising with wisdom and gentleness that community for almost 20 years.

As he wished to retire to a more secluded place, he left together with some of his disciples, 12 in all, for Poiana Mărului Skete, in Buzău Mountains, where he gave advice to the monastic community in this part of the country, since monks from Trăisteni, Cârnu, Răteşti, Ciolanu, Bonţeşti, Pometul, Rogozu, Coteşti, Găvanu and Valea Neagră Sketes, all of them in Buzău and Vrancea Mountains, came to receive his spiritual guidance.

One of his contemporaries wrote: “This man pleasant to God impressed all the fathers who were living there at the time and who were trying to understand the divine Scriptures. He taught them the teaching of the God-bearers Fathers, the spiritual wisdom and the good knowledge of the dogmas of the Holy Church of the East, of the Holy Canons and their right interpretation”. This venerable Father was the father confessor and adviser of Saint Paisios from Neamţ, whom he tonsured into monasticism in 1750, while they were at the Holy Mount Athos.

Venerable abbot Basil drafted some very useful writings for those willing to read and understand correctly the writings of the Holy Fathers on the prayer of the heart and on vigilance. He gathered facts from the lives and teachings of the monks, from the monastic regulations and church typikon, showing that the monks should not give blessing for eating meat. He has also written a nice essay about repentance.

After the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, who were in Bucharest at the time, examined him, they blessed him and his teaching was considered completely Orthodox and useful for the soul. Towards the end of his life, he fell ill, but he endured thankfully and persisted in the prayer of the heart. He received the Holy Communion and passed away on 25 April 1767, venerated by all as an experienced teacher in the holy efforts and as an outstanding spiritual adviser.

On 5 March 2003, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church included Venerable Basil of Poiana Mărului in the calendar, being celebrated on 25 April.

Through his holy prayers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Troparion, tone 8:
Instructor of the right adoration of God, advisor of the monastics, preacher of the grace, teacher of the mental prayer laboured in vigil, oh, Venerable Father Basil, pray always to Christ our God to save our souls.

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