Mark of Ephesus

c. 1392 – 1457

Also known as Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus

Archbishop of Ephesus and the lone bishop who refused to sign the false union at the Council of Florence, becoming the great defender of Orthodoxy against compromise.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus

Life

Mark of Ephesus, known by the family name Eugenikos, was a fifteenth-century Byzantine hierarch and theologian remembered chiefly as the only member of the Orthodox delegation at the Council of Florence (1438–1439) who refused to sign the decree of union with the Church of Rome. For this stand he is honored in the Orthodox tradition with the title "Pillar of Orthodoxy," and his commemoration is kept on January 19.

By the accounts of his life, he was born in Constantinople, where his father served as a deacon and his family was of considerable means. Given the name Manuel at baptism, he received a thorough education, studying under teachers including George Gemistos Plethon, before being tonsured a monk with the name Mark. He lived the ascetic life on the Princes' Islands and at the Monastery of Saint George of Mangana in Constantinople, and was advanced to the metropolitan see of Ephesus shortly before the council.

Sent by the Emperor John VIII Palaiologos as part of the delegation seeking reunion with Rome—and, with it, Western military aid against the advancing Ottomans—Mark argued against the Latin doctrines of the Filioque, papal primacy, and a purgatorial fire. When the rest of the delegation signed the Tomos of Union, he alone withheld his signature. He spent his remaining years opposing the union, urging the faithful of Constantinople to reject it, and according to his life was for a time arrested and held on the island of Lemnos. Sources differ on the year of his repose, which is given variously as 1444 and 1457.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 3

Clothed with invincible armor, O blessed one,
you cast down rebellious pride,
you served as the instrument of the Comforter,
and shone forth as the champion of Orthodoxy.
Therefore we cry to you: “Rejoice, Mark, the boast of the Orthodox!”

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 4

By your profession of faith, O all-praised Mark
the Church has found you to be a zealot for truth.
You fought for the teaching of the Fathers;
you cast down the darkness of boastful pride.
Intercede with Christ God to grant forgiveness to those who honor you!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline5 momentsReadHide

c. 1392Born in ConstantinopleBorn to a deacon's family and given the name Manuel at baptism.
c. 1418Tonsured a monkReceived the monastic name Mark and entered the ascetic life near Constantinople.
1437Metropolitan of EphesusAppointed to the see of Ephesus shortly before the council.
1438–1439Council of FlorenceArgued against the Latin positions and alone refused to sign the union decree.
1734Glorified as a saintFormally glorified by the Holy Synod of Constantinople under Patriarch Seraphim I.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Early Life and Education

According to his life, Mark was born in Constantinople around 1391–1392 and given the name Manuel (Emmanuel) at baptism. His father was a deacon attached to the Church of Holy Wisdom, and his mother is described as the daughter of a physician. He was first instructed by his father and afterward studied with noted teachers of the capital, among them George Gemistos Plethon. By tradition he was tonsured into monasticism in 1418 under the spiritual direction of the abbot Simeon, receiving the name Mark, and pursued the monastic life first on the islands off Constantinople and then at the Monastery of Saint George of Mangana.

The Council of Florence

The council convened at Ferrara and Florence in 1438–1439 in pursuit of reunion between the Eastern and Western Churches, a project pressed by Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, who hoped that ecclesiastical union would secure military assistance from the West against the Ottoman threat to Constantinople. Mark, by then Metropolitan of Ephesus, was among the principal spokesmen for the Orthodox side and contested the Latin positions on the procession of the Holy Spirit (the Filioque), the primacy and jurisdiction of the Pope, and the doctrine of a purifying fire.

When the union decree was finalized, the members of the Orthodox delegation subscribed to it—Mark alone refusing to sign. His refusal became the defining act of his life in the memory of the Orthodox Church, and the union itself was never received by the wider Orthodox body.

Later Life and Veneration

After the council Mark returned to the East and continued to oppose the union in his writings and encyclicals, urging the inhabitants of Constantinople not to accept the document. His life relates that he was arrested and confined for a period of two years on the island of Lemnos. On his deathbed, by tradition, he charged his disciple Georgios Scholarios—later Patriarch Gennadius II of Constantinople—to guard against the errors of the West and to defend Orthodoxy.

Sources record his repose differently, giving either 1444 or 1457, with his age at death stated as fifty-two. He was formally glorified as a saint in 1734 by the Holy Synod of Constantinople under Patriarch Seraphim I. He is commemorated on January 19 and is widely styled a "Pillar of Orthodoxy."

Companions1 figureShowHide

His disciple, whom he charged on his deathbed to defend Orthodoxy.

Georgios Scholarios (Patriarch Gennadius II of Constantinople)

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 19