The Scribe and the Tax Collector

An African born in Cyrene, in present-day Libya, Mark carried the teachings of Jesus to Africa and founded the Coptic and the Greek Orthodox churches of Alexandria, Egypt, more than 300 years before the conversion of the main continent of Europe. These churches proclaim that he wrote the first Gospel, became the first bishop of Alexandria and for a time retired to Cyrene, before returning to Alexandria where he was martyred. The apostle Matthew brought Christianity to the southern reaches of the Nile to Sudan and Ethiopia, where it continues to exist to this day, 2000 years later, as does the Church of St Thomas in India, founded by that apostle. The missionary work of Mark and Matthew, their courage and martyrdom is traced in this volume, Number Four of the Cyrenian Chronicles.