St. Mark of Ephesus
On February 1 according to the new calendar, the Holy Church honors the memory of St. Mark of Ephesus. The troparion to the saint reads: “Instructor of Orthodoxy and opposer of novelty, stairway of faith, beacon of the Church and Divinely inspired seal of teachers: O all-wise Mark, enlightening all through thy writings, O flute of the Spirit, beseech Christ our God that our souls may be saved.” Let us look at why the Church addresses the saint in this way.
St. Mark was born in 1392 in Constantinople into a family of pious parents. They raised their son in the Orthodox faith and obedience to God. His father died prematurely, and his mother sent Manuel (the future saint’s secular name) to study under the most renowned teachers of that time. When Manuel finished his education, he himself became a brilliant teacher, preacher, and a witness to how the once glorious and great Constantinople was falling into decline. Divine Providence did not allow Manuel to get carried away with a promising teaching career. Even friendly relations with the Emperor did not prevent the young man from renouncing the world and retiring to the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the island of Antigone (Burgazada). After two years of novitiate, he took monastic vows with the name Mark.
After the Turkish invasion of the island, St. Mark returned to Constantinople, where he took up his residence at the Mangana Monastery. There he struggled in severe ascetic labors, which, however, did not prevent him from writing numerous hymnographic and other works. Over 100 of them survive to this day. Of particular value are his texts written against the Latins—opponents of St. Gregory Palamas, whom St. Mark greatly esteemed. He was ordained to the priesthood at the monastery, although he considered himself unworthy of such a high vocation. He soon became very famous, and many clerics and laypeople began to seek his advice.
In 1437, he was consecrated bishop at the request of the Emperor and became Bishop of Ephesus. This is how his contemporaries spoke of the saint: “A wondrous man, the divine Mark, adorned with all spiritual gifts and filled with all kinds of Divine wisdom, leading an ascetic life even before his episcopate... this man was alien to any passion, and was devoted and related only to God, and he listened to Him alone, and he didn’t care at all about worldly matters and sustaining the body. He was such a man that he was not afraid of exile, did not apprehend hunger, ignored thirst, did not fear the sword, did not quail before prison, and thought of death as a benefactor.”1
Owing to his brilliant education and influence in society, St. Mark was included in the delegation that went from Constantinople to Italy to attend the Council of Ferrara-Florence. The purpose of the Council was to conclude a Union between the Western and Eastern Churches. Through the Union, the Pope wanted to subjugate the Eastern Church. At the Council, St. Mark defended the purity of the Orthodox faith, rejecting both the Filioque and the Catholic concept of purgatory. That is why the Orthodox Church later endowed him with such names: “ Instructor of Orthodoxy and opposer of novelty, stairway of faith, beacon of the Church and Divinely inspired seal of teachers…” (see the troparion to the saint). However, the outcome of the Council was that the Byzantine Emperor accepted the Union, trying to prevent the fall of the great empire. St. Mark secretly left Italy and returned to Constantinople, witnessing the fall of Byzantium.
The people of God joyfully welcomed the saint in Constantinople, as he courageously defended the true faith to the end. On his return, the saint continued to exhort those who had signed the Union to offer sincere repentance, advising others to treat those repenting with fraternal love and meekness. Thanks to St. Mark’s efforts, many of those who had erred returned to Orthodoxy. The Emperor sent envoys to the saint with a request to accept the high rank of Patriarch, but he refused.
Unknown Venetian artist. The Fall of Constantinople. The late fifteenth—early sixteenth centuries
In 1440, St. Mark had to flee to his cathedra in Ephesus because his life was in danger. But Ephesus was already occupied by the Turks at that time. Again, this time because of the Turks and Uniates, the saint had to leave Ephesus and board a ship bound for Holy Mount Athos. It was there that the saint decided to spend the rest of his life. However, when the ship made a stop on the island of Lemnos, St. Mark was recognized and arrested on imperial orders and put into a local prison. During his incarceration, he suffered greatly, but even from prison he continued to inspire his co-religionists.
From Lemnos, the saint sent his famous Encyclical Letter against the Greek-Latins and the Decrees of the Council of Florence. In it, the saint harshly denounced the Orthodox who had accepted the Union, and proved with uncompromising facts that the Latins were heretics. After his release from prison, the saint was unable to travel to Mt. Athos due to his illness. He returned to the Mangana Monastery in Constantinople, where he was received with honor by the faithful as a saint and confessor. From the monastery, he led the struggle against the Uniates and wrote letters to monks and clerics, urging them to cling to the true faith and not cooperate with the Uniates.
Under the pressure of persecution, St. Mark’s health failed. In 1444, having called his spiritual children and handed over the affairs to his friend George, the future St. Gennadius Scholarius, he departed to the Lord at the age of fifty-two. The orphaned people of God grieved greatly for the loss of their spiritual father. St. Gennadius Scholarius delivered a funeral oration in which he remembered the righteous man in words edifying to us: “The virtues he was adorned with cannot be counted; he combined all virtues to the highest degree. He didn’t have a model in our time; such men appear only by the special Providence of God... when he was still a youth and before he mortified his flesh in Christ, he was already more righteous than hermits of the desert; having cast aside all worldly things for Christ and accepted the yoke of obedience to God, he never deviated from it, never was carried away by the vanity of this world, was not seduced by its passing glory, and kept his ardent love for Christ until his death.
“Living in the capital, he was a stranger to its life, because there was nothing to link him with it. Deeply venerated by all, not only did he not seek honors, but he did not want them either. He assumed a high spiritual rank solely to defend the Church by his word. By his meekness and his love for people, he surpassed all those who were distinguished by these virtues. Who was more approachable to everyone who turned to him? Who was more willing than him to give himself up to everything useful? Who was more convincing than him in saying everything he had to say? And who was more willing to listen to everything? Who was more ready to help his neighbor? Who was more well inclined than him towards those who insulted him? Who was more alien to envy? Our great father listened meekly to malicious speeches, for he did not seek to exalt himself and considered his struggle for the Truth a sufficient defense against slander.”2
An icon, “St. Mark of Ephesus Tramples on the Pope” The following characteristics were described in the epitaph for St. Mark of Ephesus: “Here is buried the body of Blessed Mark, when his soul departed to the abodes of God. Good nature, eloquence, a deep mind, a great gift of speech, pure thoughts, a heart burning with love for God, total alienation from the world, a life of contemplation, the will of a martyr, the rightness of dogmas, and an irreducible and courageous firmness on the path of virtue—these are the main qualities of the blessed father. A faithful shepherd, a truly great priest, Bishop of the Ephesians, a beacon of the whole region, a fire that scorches heresies, the guiding light of pious souls, benevolently turning them away from vain dogmas.”3 Immediately after his repose, Bishop Mark of Ephesus began to be venerated as a saint and confessor.
The saint left behind such spiritual instructions:
Remember, O man, that today or tomorrow the heavens may open to you, and you will see angels and stand before the dread judgment seat of Christ.
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Direct your thoughts to the gates of Heaven and call out to God until you die that He may receive you mercifully and open them to you soon.
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Isn’t our earthly life a dream? Isn’t it a flower of the field? A fast-flowing stream? A story? A fable?
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If someone has offended you or harmed you, put your trust in God and do not be discouraged; patience is rewarded generously.
You must permanently keep the fear of God in your heart, dread hellfire, and long for the Heavenly Kingdom.
The island of Lemnos, where St. Mark of Ephesus languished in prison for two years
As the fog obscures sunbeams, so satiety clouds the mind.
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What are you proud of, O man? Why do you keep your brow so high? Are you not going to decay soon? When you exalt yourself above the clouds, remember that you are nothing but dust and ashes, and that you will soon be scattered like clay and ashes.
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When you join the Church with a pure heart, you embark on the path of salvation, but if with a guilty conscience—to judgment and punishment.
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You must die and give an account of all your actions. Keep in your heart the memory of death and judgment, through which you can attain eternal life.4
Holy Father Mark, pray to God for us!
