Marcus Eremita, Mark the Ascetic or Marcus the Ascetic was a Christian theologian,
saint, and
ascetic writer of the fifth century
AD.
Mark is rather an ascetic than a dogmatic writer. He is content to accept dogmas from the Church; his interest is in the spiritual life as it should be led by monks. He is practical rather than mystic, belongs to the
Antiochene School
The Catechetical School of Antioch was one of the two major centers of the study of biblical exegesis and theology during Late Antiquity; the other was the Catechetical School of Alexandria. This group was known by this name because the advocat ...
and shows himself to be a disciple of
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...
.
[Fortescue, Adrian. "Marcus Eremita." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 November 2021
Identification
Various theories about his period and works have been advanced. According to J. Kunze, Mark the Hermit was superior of a ''
laura'' at
Ancyra
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...
; he then as an old man left his monastery and became a
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
, probably in the desert east of Palestine, near
Mar Saba. He was a contemporary of
Nestorius
Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...
and died after 430 but probably before the
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...
(451).
Nicephorus Callistus (fourteenth century) says he was a disciple of John Chrysostom ("Hist. Eccl." in ''
Patrologia Graeca
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...
'', CXLVI, XlV, 30).
Cardinal Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine, SJ ( it, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only ...
(De Script. eccl. (1631), p. 273) thought that this Mark was the monk who prophesied ten more years of life to the
Emperor Leo VI
Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well r ...
in 900. He is refuted by
Tillemont.
[
Another view supported by the Byzantine ''Menaia'' identifies him with the Egyptian monk mentioned in Palladius, who lived in the fourth century. The discovery and identification of a work by him against Nestorius by P. Kerameus makes his period certain, as defended by Kunze.][
According to a brief entry in the ''"Great Synaxaristes"'' of the ]Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
, his feast day is observed on 20 May
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
* 491 – Empress Ariadne (empress), Ariadne marries Anastasius I Dicorus, Anastasius I. The widow ...
.
Works
Mark's works are traditionally the following:
# Of the spiritual law,
# Concerning those who think to be justified through works (both ascetic treatises for monks);
# Of penitence;
# Of baptism;
# To Nicholas on refraining from anger and lust;
# Disputation against a scholar (against appearing to civil courts and on celibacy);
# Consultation of the mind with its own soul (reproaches that he makes Adam, Satan, and other men responsible for his sins instead of himself);
# On fasting and humility;
# On Melchisedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
(against people who think that Melchisedek was an apparition of the Word of God).
All the above works are named and described in the "Myrobiblion" and are published in Gallandi's collection. To them must be added:
10. Against the Nestorians
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
(a treatise against that heresy arranged without order).
Of these 8. is now considered spurious.
Excerpts of his writings are also included in the ''Philokalia
The ''Philokalia'' ( grc, φιλοκαλία, lit=love of the beautiful, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tr ...
''.
Notes
References
Sources
*Andrea Gallandi
Andrea Gallandi (born at Venice, 7 December 1709; died there 12 January 1779, or 1780) was an Italian Oratorian and patristic scholar.
Life
He pursued his theological and historical studies under two Dominicans, Daniello Concina, a moralist, a ...
, ''Bibliotheca veterum Patrum'', VIII (Venice, 1788), 1–104, reprinted with Gallandi's prolegomena in ''Patrologia Graeca
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...
'', LXV, 893–1140;
* J. A. Fabricius- G. C. Harles, ''Bibliotheca graeca'', IX (Hamburg, 1804), 267–69;
* Bernard Jungmann-Josef Fessler
Josef Fessler (1813–1872) was Roman Catholic Bishop of Sankt Pölten in Austria, a secretary of the First Vatican Council and an authority on patristics.
Biography and works
Josef Fessler was born on 2 December 1813, at Lochau near Bregenz ...
, ''Institutiones Patrologiae'', II, (Innsbruck, 1892), 143–46;
*Kunze, Marcus Eremita, ein neuer Zeuge fur das altkirchliche Taufbekenntnis (Leipzig, 1896).
*Georges-Matthieu de Durand (1999), ''Marc le Moine, Traités'' (two volumes)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus Eremita
5th-century Christian theologians
5th-century Christian saints
5th-century Byzantine writers
Philokalia