The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Mar Mari
d. c. AD 101 (traditional) · Apostle of Mesopotamia · Church of the East · Edessa → Seleucia-Ctesiphon
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Mar Mari was
Disciple of Addai (Thaddaeus) and, in the tradition of the Church of the East, the apostle who carried the gospel down the Tigris from Edessa to Seleucia-Ctesiphon, founding the see that would head Persian Christianity. His deeds survive in the Syriac Acts of Mar Mari; the anaphora that bears his and Addai's names is among the oldest eucharistic prayers still in use.
Common questions
When did Mar Mari die?
Mar Mari is dated d. c. AD 101 (traditional) in the archive, which places Mar Mari in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Mar Mari?
Mar Mari is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Acts of Mar Mari and Church of the East liturgy. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Mar Mari from?
The archive associates Mar Mari with Edessa, Seleucia-Ctesiphon. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Mar Mari’s contemporaries?
The archive links Mar Mari to 3 other figures, including King Abgar V of Edessa, Judas son of James (Thaddaeus) and Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Acts of Mar Mari (Syriac, c. 6th–7th century; original Syriac, summarized)
c. AD 101[First attested ~500 years after the traditional mission — the legendary Syriac Acts of the Church of the East relate that Mari, disciple of Addai, carried the gospel from Edessa down the Tigris, healed the king at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, founded the church of Kokhe, and died in peace at Dur-Qunni — 'the apostle of the whole East.']Acts of Mar Mari · source text
The Anaphora of Addai and Mari (East Syriac liturgy, text c. 3rd century; attribution traditional)
c. AD 500[The most ancient eucharistic prayer still in use bears his name in its traditional title — 'the Hallowing of the Apostles Mar Addai and Mar Mari, who discipled the East' — though the attribution is itself tradition, not a dated document.]Church of the East liturgy · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Mar Mari, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.