From the Prologue of Ochrid
Mark was a traveling companion and helper of the Apostle Peter, who in his first epistle calls him his son — not son according to the flesh but son according to the spirit. When Mark was with Peter in Rome, the faithful entreated him to write for them the salvific teaching of the Lord Jesus, His miracles, and His life. Thus Mark wrote the Holy Gospel, which the Apostle Peter himself also saw and attested as true. By the Apostle Peter, Mark was appointed bishop and sent to Egypt to preach. And so Saint Mark became both the first preacher of the Gospel and the first bishop in Egypt. All of Egypt was weighed down by the thick darkness of paganism, idolatry, sorcery, and wickedness. But with the help of God, Saint Mark succeeded in sowing the seed of Christ's teaching throughout Libya, Ammonicia, and Pentapolis. From Pentapolis he came to Alexandria, whither the Spirit of God led him. In Alexandria he succeeded in establishing the Church of God, in appointing for it a bishop, priests, and deacons, and in firmly establishing all things in the pious faith. Mark confirmed his preaching with great and numerous miracles. When the pagans raised complaints against Mark as the destroyer of their idolatrous faith, and the city governor began to search for Mark, he fled again to Pentapolis, where he continued to strengthen his earlier work. After two years Mark returned again to Alexandria, to the great joy of all the faithful, whose numbers had already greatly multiplied. On this occasion the pagans seized Mark, bound him tightly, and began to drag him over the cobblestones, crying: "Let us drag the ox to the stall!" All wounded and bloodied, they cast him into prison, where first an angel of heaven appeared to him, encouraging and strengthening him; and after that the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to him and said: "Peace to thee, Mark, My Evangelist!" — to which Mark replied: "Peace to Thee also, my Lord Jesus Christ!" The next day the wicked men dragged Mark out of prison and again hauled him through the streets with the same cry: "Let us drag the ox to the stall!" Utterly exhausted and spent, Mark uttered: "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!" — and so he breathed his last and departed in soul to the better world. His holy relics were honorably buried by the Christians, and through the ages they have given healings to people from every affliction and every disease.
