Marcosians or Colobarsians, an ancient sect in the Church, making a branch of the Valentinians. IrentEus speaks at large of the leader of this sect, Mar- cus, who, it seems, was reputed a great magician. The Marcosians had a great number of apocryphal books^ which they held as canonical, and of the same author- ity with ours. Out of these they picked several idle fa- bles touching the infancy of Jesus Christ, which they circulated as authentic histories. Many of these fables are still in use and credit among the Greek monks. — Henderson, Buck, Theol. Diet. s. v. .See Valentinians,
Mar'cus (Col. iv, 10 ; Philem. 24 ; 1 Pet, v, 13), See Mark,
Marcus, Pope, one of the early bishops of Rome, succeeded Sylvester Jan. 18, 336 ; but little is known cither of his life or administration. Anastasius states that by him the bishop of Ostia was first appointed to ordain the bishop of Rome. He died October 7 of the same year in which he had been chosen, and was buried in the cemetery of Balbina, which was thenceforth call- ed after liis name. " His body," says Bower, " has since been worshipped in the church of St, Lawrence at Flor- ence, though no mention has been made by any writer of its having been translated thither," Novaes relates that Marcus bore the title of cardinal before his elec- tion, and that with him originated this dignitary of the Church of Rome. He is also by some writers believed to have been the first pontiff to order the reading of the Nicene confession of faith, after the Gospels, in the cele- bration of mass. See Bower, History of the Popes, i, 114 ;
MARCUS
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MARCUS
Shepherd, Hist, of the Church of Rome to Damasiis (A.D. 384), p. 77.
Marcus of Alexandiua, a patriarch of Alexan- dria, Hourislied early in the 13th century, and was par- ticularly well versed in ecclesiastical law. He proposed certain questions for solution on various points of eccle- sir.stical law or practice. Sixty-four of these questions, with the answers of Theodorus Balsamon, are given in the Jus Orieniale of Bonetidius, p. 237, etc. (Paris, 1573, 8vo), and in the Jus Graco-Romamim of Leunclavius, i, 302-394 (Frankfort, 1596, fol.). Some MSS. contain two questions and solutions more than the printed copies. Fabricius suggests that Mark of Alexandria is the INIar- cus cited in a MS., Catena in Matthai Evancielium, of Macarius Chrysocephahis, extant in the Bodleian Libra- ry at Oxford.— Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 1203, ii, 279 (ed. Oxford, 1740-42) ; Smith, Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Biog. and Mythol. s. v.
Marcus or Arethusa, a bishop in the Eastern Church, was one of three prelates sent to Eome, A.D. 342, by the emperor Constantius II, to satisfy the West- ern emperor Constans of the justice and propriety of the deposition of Athanasius of Alexandria and Paulus of Constantinople. Marcus and his fellow -prelates are charged with having deceived Constans by presenting to him as their confession of faith, not the Arian or Eu- sebian confession, lately agreed on at the Synod of An- tioch, but another confession of orthodox complexion, yet not fully orthodox, which is given by Socrates. Marcus appears to have acted with the Eusebian or Semi- Arian party, and took part on their side, probably in the Comicil of Fhilippopolis, held by the prelates of the East after their secession from Sardica (A.D. 347), and certainly in that of Sirmium (A.D. 359), where a heter- odox confession of faith was drawn up by him. The confession which is given as Jlarcus's by Socrates is be- lieved by modern critics not to be his. They ascribe to him the confession agreed upon by the Council of Arimi- num, A.D. 359, and also given by Socrates. Duruig the short reign of Julian, Marcus, then on old man, was cruelly tortured in various ways b}' the heathen popu- lace of Arethusa, who were irritated by the success of his efforts to convert their fellow-townsmen to Christi- anity. He appears to have bareh' survived their cru- elty. His sufferings for the Christian religion seem to have obliterated the discredit of his Arianism, for Greg- ory Nazianzen has eulogized him in the highest terms, and the Greek Church honors him as a martyr. See Athanasius, De Synodis, c. 24, s. v. ; Socrates, Hist. Ec- cles. ii, 18, 30, 37, with the notes of Yalesius ; Sozomen, Hist. Eccles. iii, 10; iv, 17 ; v, 10; Theodoret, Hist. Ec- cles. iii, 7 ; Gregorius Naz. Oratio ir ; Bolland, A eta Sa72cto7: ^fart. iii, 774, etc. ; Tilleraont, Memoires, vol. vi and vii ; Smith, Diet, (f Gr. and Rom. Biog. and My- thol. s. V. ; Neander, Hist, of Chr. Ch. ii, 51, 61.
Marcus Avrelius. See Aurelius.
Marcus DiAT>6cnus, who flourished probably in the 4th century, was the author of a short treatise enti- tled Ti'v f.iaKapiov XiapKov tov Aiavoxov Kura Apti- civiLv Xuyoc, Beali Marei I)iadochi Sermo contra A ri- anos, published with a Latin version by Jos. Rudolph. Wetstenius, subjoined to his edition of Origcn, De Ora- tione (Basle, 1694, 4to; reprinted with a new Latin ver- sion in the Bihliotheca Patriim of (ialland, v, 242). See Fabricius, Bihl. Grceca, ix, 2W> sq. ; Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 356, i, 217 ; Galland, Bihlioth. I'utrum, Frolcg. ad vol. V, c. 14; Smith, Diet, of Greek and Rom. Bioy. and Mythol. s. V.