A disciple of Abbot Silvanus in the desert of Scetis in the 4th century, Mark distinguished himself by absolute obedience and total detachment from the world. He is famous for having interrupted the writing of a letter at the first summons of his master and for having received communion from the hand of an angel. He died peacefully on February 2, just before his community fled the barbarian invasions to Syria.
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SAINT MARK, SOLITARY OF SCETIS
The excellence of obedience
In the 4th century, Mark distinguished himself among the disciples of Abbot Silvanus in the desert of Scetis by his absolute obedience, proven before the other monks by his promptness in leaving his writing work.
4th century.
Among the disciples of Silvanus, abbot of a monastery in the desert of Scetis, ecclesiastical historians make honorable mention of Saint Mark. The saint Marc A hermit of the Scetis desert in the 4th century, renowned for his obedience. virtue in which he excelled, and which characterized his holiness, was obedience; this is why his master loved him more than all the others who were under his guidance. This preference extremely displeased the Fathers of the desert, and, judging that there was disorder in this particular affection, they resolved to make their complaints to him. Indeed, they went to find him in his hermitage, spoke to him strongly, and pointed out the bad example that this great friendship he bore for Mark gave to the solitaries. The holy old man, who was enlightened by a purer light, showed them with great gentleness that they might have been mistaken themselves and had made a rash judgment of their neighbor; and, to disabuse them entirely and show them that virtue deserves to be loved, he led them through all the cells of his disciples, and, knocking at the door, he called them all one after the other, as if he had need of them. But they were so attentive to their work, and had such ardor to finish what they had begun, that not one came out at this first voice of the holy abbot. He finally came to that of the disciple Mark, who no sooner heard the voice of his master than he came to present himself to him to receive his orders. Then Saint Silvanus, sending him to some ministry of the house, had the solitaries enter the cell of the virtuous disciple. They were very surprised to see that, when the holy abbot had called him, he was beginning to write a notebook (it was his ordinary occupation in which he excelled admirably) and had left a letter unfinished to obey the voice of his superior. The solitaries, completely edified by the promptness with which Mark obeyed him, said to the holy old man: "Truly, my father, you have reason to love this good religious more than all the others;"
virtue makes him lovable to us as well, and we acknowledge presently that he is loved by God and that he deserves to be loved by men."
The renunciation of natural ties
Mark manifests a total detachment from the world by refusing to look at his mother during her visit to the monastery, prioritizing his religious duties and his spiritual enclosure.
Beyond the perfect obedience of this holy solitary, it was also noted that he was so dead to all things of the world that he no longer had the slightest attachment to his parents; and it can be said that this bond is the last one that remains in the religious man. One day his mother, followed by a large retinue, came to the monastery to have the consolation of seeing this virtuous son; the holy abbot commanded Mark to go and greet her. The blessed disciple obeyed immediately; and, as he was then performing the office of cook, he went, in the attire one can imagine, to the gate of the monastery, and there, closing his eyes so as to see no one, he said to the whole company only these three words: *God looks upon you*; then he withdrew, without his mother or any of her retinue recognizing him. That is why the mother persisted in asking the holy abbot to let her see her son. Sylvanus, who did not know what his disciple had done, commanded him a second time to go and meet his mother at the monastery gate. But this model of obedience, letting him know how he had already fulfilled the task, begged him not to require any more of him, for fear of reawakening natural feelings that he had had so much trouble overcoming. Sylvanus, edified by his disciple's detachment, let the good mother know that the one who had greeted her was her son, and that she should be content with that: so that she was obliged to return, very sad not to have had the consolation of speaking with him, but also greatly edified by his great holiness.
A life of purity and heavenly favors
Recognized for his asceticism and gentleness, Mark regularly received communion from the hand of an angel, a sign of his exceptional holiness in the eyes of his peers.
These heroic virtues of our holy Solitary were not without reward in this life, for often, at Mass, he received communion from the hand of an angel, of whom only the arm was seen by the entire congregation. This distinguished favor from heaven caused him to be regarded by the other Fathers of the desert as some celestial spirit. Indeed, it can be said that his life was entirely angelic, through an inviolable purity, through an almost continual abstinence, through his relentless austerities, through his tireless constancy in work, and through a gentleness that charmed all who enjoyed his conversation.
Passing in the Desert of Scetis
During a barbarian invasion, Mark predicted his own death and passed away peacefully on February 2nd, shortly before his community was forced to exile itself to Syria.
It was in the practice of these virtues that the blessed Mark lived until the time when the Barbarians, making an incursion into the desert of Scetis, compelled these holy hermits to seek some other place of retreat. For this reason, Abbot Silvanus, to yield to this storm, resolved to withdraw to Syri a. Bu Syrie Region of origin of the saints. t his disciple Mark, having learned of his design, begged him to defer his departure for three days, in order to assist him at his death; and, indeed, at the end of this time, he fell asleep peacefully in Our Lord, on the second day of February, as it is marked in the catalogue of Saints. The Roman Martyrology, compiled by Fer rarius, a Ferrarius Hagiographer who mentions the saint's feast day on February 13. nd that of Can isius, h Canisius Author of the Thesaurus monumentorum ecclesiasticorum. ave omitted the memory of our Saint.
Confusion with Mark the Wonderworker
The text distinguishes Mark of Scetis from another anchorite Mark commemorated on March 5, famous for healing a hyena cub and for his biblical erudition.
It remains for us to warn the pious reader here not to confuse our Saint with another Saint M ark, also an anchorite, whom saint Marc, aussi anachorète Another Saint Mark, commemorated on March 5, often confused with Mark of Scetis. the Greeks call the Wonderworker in their Great Menaia, where they commemorate him on March 5. This is the one of whom it is told that he restored sight to the cub of a hyena that had brought it to him blind in his hermitage; that he knew the Old and New Testaments by heart, and that he received communion from the hand of an angel, just as the one whose life we have just given.
As we will not make mention on March 5 of this second solitary by the name of Mark, we will provide here some iconographic information concerning him:
1° The Greeks depict him either with an angel, or with a celestial hand presenting him the Eucharist, according to what we have just said. The arm that emerges from the cloud and administers the Eucharist holds a type of spoon used in the East to distribute the Eucharist to the faithful under both species.
2° The mother of the cub he healed returned the next day to bring him a sheepskin as a fee for his cure. Mark presented it to Saint Athanasius, who hims elf gave it to saint Athanase Patriarch of Alexandria, defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. Saint Melania.
The Work of the Scriptor Antiquarius
Mark is credited with several works and nicknamed the antiquarian writer for his work in preserving and copying ancient texts.
There are, in the library of the Fathers, some works under the name of Mark, anchorite, which are believed to have been composed, or at least copied by our Saint, to be preserved for posterity. Hence he is nicknamed, in the Ecclesiastical History, Scriptor Anti quarius, antiquarian Scriptur Antiquarius A hermit of the Scetis desert in the 4th century, renowned for his obedience. writer, that is to say, of ancient things already done by others.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.