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Our father among the saints '''Mark of EphesusEvgenikos''' (EvgenikosGreek: Μάρκος Ευγενικός), Pillar [[Archbishop]] of Orthodoxy[[Ephesus]], was famous for his courageous defense of Orthodoxy at the [[Council of Florence]] (1439 A.D.) in spite of the Byzantine emperor [[John VIII Palaeologus|emperor]] and the [[Eugenius IV of Rome|pope ]] of Rome]]Eugenius IV. He held Rome to be in [[schism]] and [[heresy]] for its acceptance of the [[Filioque|''Filioque'' clause]] added to the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]] and for the claims of the [[papacy]] to universal jurisdiction over the [[Church]], and was thus the only Eastern [[bishop]] to refuse to sign the decrees of the council.Sometimes he is called "the conscience of Orthodoxy."

He died peacefully in the year 1452 1444 A.D. On his death beddeathbed, Mark implored Gregory, his disciple, and later Patriarch [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius II (Scholarius) of Constantinople|Gennadius]], to be careful of the snares of the West and to defend Orthodoxy.

For his efforts at the Council of Florence and his defense against : the addition of the [[Filioque]], the primacy of the Pope, and purgatorial fire purification, the [[Orthodox Church]] considers him a [[saint]], calling him a '''Pillar of Orthodoxy'''. His [[feast day ]] is [[January 19]].

== Quotes Quotations ==

"The Symbol of the Faith must be preserved inviolate, as at its origin. Since all the holy doctors of the Church, all the Councils and all the Scriptures put us on our guard against heterodoxy, how dare I, in spite of these authorities, follow those who urge us to unity in a deceitful semblance of union - —those who have corrupted the holy and divine Symbol of Faith and brought in the Son as second cause fo of the Holy Spirit." (s.v. Jan 19th in ''The [[Synaxarion]]'', ed. Hieromonk Makarios of Simonas Petra, and trans. Christopher Hookway (; Ormylia: Holy Convent of The Annunciation of Our Lady, 2001).

"The souls of the departed can indeed benefit to their 'advancement,', and even the damned to a relative 'relief' of their lot, thanks to the prayers of the Church and through the infinite mercy of God; but the notion of a punishment prior to the Last Judgment and of a purification through a material fire is altogether foreign to the tradition of the Church" (ibid.). ==Death, Miracle and Canonization==He died peacefully at the age of 52 on [[June 23]], 1444, after an excruciating two-week battle with intestinal illness. On his death bed, Mark implored [[Gennadius Scholarius|Georgios Scholarios]], his former pupil, to be careful of the snares of the West and to defend Orthodoxy. According to his brother John, his last words were "Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, into Thy hands I commit my spirit." Mark was buried in the Mangana Monastery in [[Constantinople]]. There is an account of a posthumous [[miracle]] performed by St. Mark of [[Ephesus]]. Doctors gave up on trying to save the life of the terminally ill sister of Demetrios Zourbaios, after their efforts had worsened her condition. After losing consciousness for three days she suddenly woke up to the delight of her brother, who asked her why she woke up drenched in water. She related that a [[bishop]] escorted her to a fountain and washed her and told her, "Return now; you no longer have any illness." She asked him who he was and he informed her, "I am the [[Metropolitan]] of Ephesus, Mark Eugenikos." After being miraculously healed, she made an [[icon]] of St. Mark and lived devoutly for another 15 years. In 1734 the Holy [[Synod]] of the [[Church of Constantinople]] under [[Patriarch]] [[Serapheim I of Constantinople|Seraphim I]] [[glorification|glorified]] Mark of Ephesus as a saint, stating::"All of us of the holy Eastern Church of Christ acknowledge the holy Mark Evgenikos of Ephesus. We honor and receive this saintly, God-bearing and righteous man as a zealot of ardent piety, who was a champion of all our sacred dogmas and correct piety. He is an emulator and equal to the holy theologians, and those that adorned the Church of ancient times." (''The Lives of the Pillars of Orthodoxy''Ibid, p. 500, via [http://www.ephesus.com/Orthodox/St.Mark-of-Ephesus.txt])

{{start box}}{{succession|before=?|title=Archbishop of Ephesus|years= 1438-1444 |after=?}}{{end box}}== External links==

*[http://www.rocorstjohnthebaptist.org.au/stjohntheforerunnerchurch/articles/mark.html Address of St. Mark of Ephesus on the Day of His Death]*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/m/nbo02.htm Icon and Story of St. Mark of Ephesus]*[http://www.ephesus.com/Orthodox/St.Mark-of-Ephesus.txt St. Mark of Ephesus]*[http://goarch.org/chapel/saints/394 Mark, Bishop of Ephesus] ([[GOARCH]])*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=100228 St Mark the Archbishop of Ephesus] ([[OCA]])*[http://www.markoseugenikos.gr Ο Άγιος Μάρκος ο Ευγενικός] Center of Patristic Studies - St. Markos Eugenikos (Greek)