He was sent to Egypt to found the Church of Alexandria, known today as the Coptic Orthodox Church. There he set up the first Christian school, the mother of many doctors and bishops. His disciples were known for their piety and asceticism, so that Saint Jerome speaks of Saint Mark as the father of the anchorites, who later filled the Egyptian deserts. After governing his see for many years, he was seized by the pagans and tortured to death.

Saint of: insect bites, impenitence.