St. Mark the Evangelist
St. Mark, one of the Seventy Apostles, was a close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul; St. Peter calls him "my son" in his first epistle, and it was from Peter's preaching that Mark composed his Gospel.
He carried the faith to Egypt, founded the Church of Alexandria as its first bishop, and established the catechetical school that would later produce great Fathers of the Church. Around 63 AD, pagans seized him during divine services and dragged him through the streets of Alexandria, where he surrendered his soul to God with the words, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Troparion
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.
Kontakion
When you received the grace of the Spirit from on high, O Apostle, you broke the snares of the philosophers and gathered all nations into your net, bringing them to your Lord, O glorious Mark, by the preaching of the divine Gospel.
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