04/25/2026
Today, the Church celebrates St. Mark the Evangelist (died 68 AD), the author of the Gospel of Mark. The icon pictured here was written by Tzanes Emmanuel in 1657, according to the Cretan school of iconography. Icons are theologically regarded as "windows to heaven," and carry a profound catechetical weight.
You may have noticed that a winged lion is often associated with Mark's gospel. The prophet Ezekiel describes seeing four living creatures, each with four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle - the signs we associate with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, respectively. Furthermore, Mark's gospel begins with John the Baptist: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord." John's preaching is often compared to a lion's roar. The lion in this icon represents all of these and more.
The lion is also a symbol of Christ: not only because of his strength and regal authority, but because, according to ancient folklore, lion cubs were born dead, and brought back to life after three days by their father's breath. Because Christ was raised from the dead after 3 days in the tomb, the lion became a strong symbol of Christ's resurrection and Divine Sonship.
Observe also that the icon shows St. Mark holding a book and pen, but he is not looking at what he is writing. Rather, he is looking at the hand reaching through the clouds. This is a symbol for the divine inspiration of his gospel account. As the Catholic Church teaches: the authors of sacred scripture, like St. Mark, made full, free use of their human faculties, and in doing so, cooperated perfectly with God's divine grace, and wrote exactly what God willed to be written, and nothing more or less. It was truly St. Mark writing, but he was writing with his eyes set firmly on Christ.
If you look closely at the hand reaching out of the cloud, which St. Mark is gazing upon while writing, you will notice an unusual gesture: it is "spelling out" a Greek abbreviation for the name "Jesus Christ." Furthermore, the arrangement of the fingers on the hand also have significance: the way that the hand position forms a group of 2 (between the index and middle finger) and 3 (between the pinky, ring finger, and thumb) is used to represent the 2 natures of Christ (fully human and fully divine) and the Holy Trinity. Finally, the gesture itself is also one of great secular significance in Greco-Roman oratory: it was the sign that someone made when they were about to speak something of great importance.
St. Mark himself has a halo, to signify his sainthood. He is wearing a red inner tunic as a sign of his humanity and the blood of his martyrdom, and a blue outer garment as a sign of the supernatural vocation that was given to him.
Finally, the pillar on the left hand side of the icon is also a layered symbol. It represents that the Gospel which St. Mark wrote is one of the "pillars" and foundations of the Catholic faith and Divine revelation. It also represents St. Mark's own office: that his faith and work laid the foundation for the rest of the Church. The red pillar symbolizes the blood of the martyrs on which the Church was built.
While icons - like this one - might seem strange when compared with Western art, they are extraordinarily rich in symbolism, and provide fertile ground for our prayer, contemplation, and spiritual formation!
St. Mark the Evangelist, pray for us.
