06 — The Founding of Alexandria
The apostolic foundation from which Mark’s enduring ecclesial significance flows: the Church of Alexandria, which Eusebius reports Mark to have first preached and organized (HE 2.16), and whose line of bishops both the Greek Orthodox and the Coptic Orthodox patriarchates trace back to him as their first occupant. These files set out the See of St. Mark and the great catechetical school of Alexandria that grew in its shadow — the school of Pantaenus, Clement, and Origen.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle and Evangelist)
If the Gospel is Mark’s gift to the universal Church, the See of Alexandria is his gift to the institutional Church of the East. Eusebius records that Mark was “the first that was sent to Egypt,” that he “preached the gospel which he had written, and first established churches in Alexandria,” and he gives the succession of Alexandrian bishops beginning from Mark (HE 2.16, 2.24). From this foundation grew the most learned see of the early Church: the Alexandrian catechetical school, the patriarchate that produced Athanasius and Cyril, and — after the division of Chalcedon — the two patriarchates, Greek and Coptic, that both still hail Mark as their founder and number their patriarchs from him. This section establishes the foundation and the school; the mission and martyrdom that fill out the story belong to Section 07.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The See of St. Mark | Mark’s founding of the Alexandrian church (Eusebius, HE 2.16; Jerome, On Illustrious Men 8); the succession of bishops from Mark (Anianus, HE 2.24); and the shared claim of the Greek Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox patriarchates of Alexandria to descend from him as first bishop. |
| The Catechetical School | The catechetical school of Alexandria (Eusebius, HE 5.10, 6.6): Pantaenus, Clement, and Origen; the allegorical method; and how the see Mark founded became the intellectual center of the early Church. |
See Also
- The Alexandrian Mission — how Mark planted the church he is said to have founded
- The Martyrdom — the death that sealed the foundation
- Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem — the apostolic patriarchate today
- St. Cyril of Alexandria — the later occupant of the See of St. Mark
References
- Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History 2.16, 2.24, 5.10, 6.6. Trans. McGiffert, NPNF II/1.
- Jerome. On Illustrious Men 8. Trans. NPNF II/3.
- Pearson, Birger A. Gnosticism and Christianity in Roman and Coptic Egypt. New York: T&T Clark, 2004.
- Davis, Stephen J. The Early Coptic Papacy: The Egyptian Church and Its Leadership in Late Antiquity. Cairo: AUC Press, 2004.