Saint Mark's Body -- Legend

The Legend of the Transportation of Saint Mark's Body

Iohannus Marcus, one of the "Seventy Apostles", was a young man at the time of the Crucifixion. Mark's gospel is thought by most scholars to have been the first one written, although Church tradition calls Matthew's the first. Mark traveled to Alexandria, Egypt and founded one of the world's first Christian churches there. He died in 68 A.D. when an angry mob dragged him through the streets. His body was entombed in the church he founded.

During the confusion of the Muslim Conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, legend has it that a sailor took Mark's head from its tomb and attempted to sail away with it. As the story goes his ship was miraculously unable to move until he returned the head to its rightful keepers.

Despite Egypt becoming part of the Islamic Caliphate, Christian lands continued to trade there. In 827 A.D. two Venetian merchants named Buono da Malamocco (sometimes called Tribunus) and Rustico da Torcello appeared in the city. Somehow they got the body--without the head--away from its guardians. Some say they bribed the priests; I prefer to think they were swindled. According to legend the merchants hid Mark's relics in a barrel of pork, which the Muslim customs agents would not search. Crying, "Kanzir! Kanzir!" (Eww! Pork! Disgusting!) the Caliph's men let the relics pass.

Supposedly the other Venetian ships in the harbor didn't believe that Mark's body was aboard--but Mark posessed the ship and it began ramming all the others until they believed. The legends tell of many miracles surrounding the voyage home, with Mark's shrouded body suspended from the yardarm. Mark's spirit kept the ship safe from storms, and woke the captain before his unhelmed ship crashed on the rocks. Finally they arrived at Umago, and later traveled to the Doge's palace at Rialto. The Doge built the first Saint Mark's Basilica as an extension to his private chapel.

Later, when a new basilica was to be built, no one could find Mark's body. Finally Mark showed himself by thrusting his arm out of the colum where he had been hidden.

In 1968 the Roman church returned some relics of Mark to the Coptic Church in Egypt. No one has seen Mark's head since the 19th century.

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