The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
John Mark
Also known as John Mark
c. 12 – c. 68 · Evangelist · Founder of the church of Alexandria · Jerusalem → Alexandria
The Apostolic Age
Who John Mark was
The young man whose mother’s Jerusalem house sheltered the praying church (Acts 12), Mark began badly — abandoning Paul and Barnabas mid-journey — and ended as the New Testament’s picture of restoration: Paul, imprisoned, calls him “profitable to me for the ministry.” Papias, writing within a generation, records that Mark served as Peter’s interpreter and set down the apostle’s preaching “accurately, though not in order” — our earliest account of how a Gospel was written, and Mark’s is now generally reckoned the first. Coptic tradition honors him as founder and first martyr of the church of Alexandria, dragged through the streets around 68.
Common questions
When did John Mark live?
John Mark is dated c. 12 – c. 68 in the archive, which places John Mark in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did John Mark write?
John Mark has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: The Gospel according to Mark (Peter’s memoirs, per Papias).
Which early sources mention John Mark?
John Mark is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Peter, Papias of Hierapolis, Irenaeus of Lyon and Clement of Alexandria. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was John Mark from?
The archive associates John Mark with Jerusalem, Alexandria. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
The Gospel according to Mark (Peter’s memoirs, per Papias)
c. 55–70 (trad. dating)For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.Read the full text ↗
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
1 Peter 5:13
c. AD 64The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.Peter · read ↗
Papias, via Eusebius III.39
c. AD 130Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered… for he made it his one care not to omit anything that he heard, or to set down any false statement therein.Papias of Hierapolis · III.39 · source text
Against Heresies III.1.1
c. AD 180Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter.Irenaeus of Lyon · Against Heresies III.1.1 · source text
Clement of Alexandria, via Ecclesiastical History VI.14 (how the Gospel of Mark was made at Rome)
c. AD 200As Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome, those present besought Mark, as one who had followed him for a long time and remembered what had been spoken, to make a record of what was said.Clement of Alexandria · Ecclesiastical History VI.14 · source text
Connected in the archive
Interpreter of Peter; cousin of Barnabas; reconciled companion of Paul
People
- Simon Peter
- Barnabas of Cyprus
- Paul of Tarsus
- Philo of Alexandria
- Mary, Mother of John Mark
- Simon of Cyrene
- Jesus called Justus
- Rufus of Rome
- Annianus of Alexandria
- Papias of Hierapolis
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The 8 places the sources put John Mark, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1JerusalemHis mother’s house, where the church prayed for PeterActs 12:12
- 2AntiochBrought down from Jerusalem by Barnabas and SaulActs 12:25
- 3SalamisTheir minister in the synagogues of SalamisActs 13:5
- 4PaphosWith them before Sergius PaulusActs 13:6–12
- 5PergaDeparted from them and returned to JerusalemActs 13:13
- 6CyprusTaken by Barnabas after the quarrel with PaulActs 15:39
- 7RomeWith Peter, who calls him his son1 Peter 5:13; Colossians 4:10
- 8AlexandriaFirst bishop there, by the tradition Eusebius reportsEusebius, History II.16