His Holiness Pope Shenouda III discusses in this lecture the Catholic view that tends to diminish the position of Saint Mark the Apostle, stating that some Catholics believe his Gospel was merely a summary or recording of Saint Peter’s sermons in Rome, and that Mark was only Peter’s secretary or interpreter. The Pope refutes this idea, proving through biblical and historical evidence that Saint Mark has his own apostolic authority and that his Gospel is purely divinely inspired.

Saint Mark’s relationship with the Lord Jesus
The Pope explains that Saint Mark personally knew Christ during His earthly life, and that the house of his mother Mary was the first church in the world, the place where Christ ate the Passover and washed His disciples’ feet. Tradition also suggests that Mark was the young man who followed Christ at His arrest. Hence he is called the Beholder of God because he saw and lived with the Lord.

His relationship with Peter the Apostle
The Pope clarifies that when Peter said “Mark my son,” he did not mean spiritual sonship of faith, but rather sonship in age and family closeness. Even the French Encyclopedia describes the claim that “Mark was a disciple of Peter” as a myth based on mistaken sources.

His relationship with Paul the Apostle
Citing several verses (Philemon 24, Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11), the Pope proves that Mark worked with Paul more than with Peter, and remained loyal to him until the end of Paul’s life when he called Mark “useful for ministry.”

Who founded the Church of Rome?
The Pope tackles the crucial question: who founded the Church of Rome? He shows from Scripture that Paul the Apostle is its real founder, not Peter, since Paul is “the Apostle of the Gentiles,” and Christ sent him explicitly to the Gentiles and to testify in Rome (Acts 22:21; 23:11). The Acts of the Apostles reveals that when Paul arrived in Rome, its people knew nothing about Christ; he preached and stayed there for two full years teaching without hindrance.

Response to the Catholic claim about Peter
The Pope highlights that there is no explicit biblical verse stating that Peter ever went to Rome, and that his letters were addressed to Jews in the East. Therefore, he could not be the founder of the Roman Church.

Divine inspiration in writing the Gospel
The Pope stresses that the Gospel of Mark is not Peter’s memoirs but the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, for “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). It was not Peter who dictated the Gospel, but the Spirit who inspired it.

Answer to the claim that Mark reflected Peter’s humility
The Pope refutes the idea that Mark wrote Peter’s weaknesses out of humility, explaining that prophets and apostles wrote the divine truth objectively, without flattery or personal influence. The inspiration of Scripture transcends personal emotions.

Spiritual and doctrinal conclusion
The lecture concludes that Saint Mark is a true apostle inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that his Gospel carries full divine authority. Any attempt to portray him as subordinate to Peter aims to justify the Catholic notion of Peter’s primacy and Rome’s supremacy — a view not supported by Scripture or authentic Church tradition.

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