St. Mark the Evangelist

The feast of St. Mark the Evangelist is a Double of the Second Class, transferred this year from yesterday

St. Mark was particularly close to St. Peter. He is one of the Four Evangelists and is traditionally represented by a lion (as can be seen in the icon above) as it is one of the four beasts in the Prophecy of Ezechiel. St. Mark preached in Egypt and was martyred in Alexandria. The Greater Litanies, now associated with St. Mark's feast, have no real connection and this year the Procession of the Greater Litanies took place yesterday on the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

At Mattins the invitatory, hymn, antiphon on the psalms of each nocturn are from the Common of Apostles. In the first nocturn the lesson are the Incipit of the Book of the Prophet Ezechiel, Et factum est trigesimo anno etc., from the Common of Evangelists in Paschaltide. The responsories are also from this Common. In the second nocturn lessons four and five are from St. Jerome on ecclesiastic writers, the sixth lesson is from St. Gregory's writing on Ezechiel. In the third nocturn the homily is from the Common of Evangelists along with the responsories. The eighth and ninth lessons may be read as one and the ninth lesson is of the commemorated feast of SS Cletus and Marcellinus. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Sancti tui etc from the Common of Apostles are sung with the Dominical psalms (Pss. 92, 99, 62, Benedicite & 148). After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of SS Cletus and Marcellinus but not of the Octave.

At the Hours the hymns have the Doxology of Paschaltide. At Prime the festal psalms are sung (Pss. 53, 118i & 118ii).

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the SS Cletus and Marcellinus. Monica. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Apostles.

Vespers are second Vespers of the feast of St. Mark with commemorations of the following feast of St. Peter Canisius and SS Cletus and Marcellinus.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' St. Mark's feast was celebrated yesterday as the Solemnity of St. Joseph has been abolished by the modernists. Today is a III class celebration of SS Cletus and Marcellinus, with a single nocturn Mattins, without the Pashcal Doxology etc.

Art: A Coptic icon of St. Mark from Wikipedia.