Cloud of Witnesses
Righteous1st century

Righteous Mary of Jerusalem

1st century (Apostolic Age)

Also known as Mary, mother of John Mark · Mary, mother of the Evangelist Mark

A woman of Jerusalem, mother of the Evangelist Mark, whose house was a gathering place for the apostolic Church and where Peter went after his deliverance from prison.

June 30New Calendar
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July 13Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

The Righteous Mary of Jerusalem, Mother of Mark the Evangelist

Life

Mary of Jerusalem was a first-century woman of the earliest Christian community whose home in Jerusalem served as a gathering place for the apostolic Church. She is identified in the New Testament as the mother of John, also called Mark, traditionally associated with Mark the Evangelist.

She is named only once in Scripture, at Acts 12:12, where the Apostle Peter, after his miraculous deliverance from Herod's prison, went to her house and found many believers gathered there in prayer. This single reference establishes her home as a recognized meeting place for the apostolic community.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church she is commemorated on June 30 together with the Synaxis of the Holy Twelve Apostles. Her standalone veneration is less prominent, and her profile rests on a small body of scriptural, traditional, and topographical evidence.

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  1. 1st centuryHouse in JerusalemMary maintains a house in Jerusalem that serves as a gathering place for the apostles and the earliest Christian community.
  2. 1st centuryPeter's visit after deliveranceFollowing his escape from Herod's prison, Peter goes to Mary's house, where many believers are gathered in prayer (Acts 12:12).
  3. 5th–6th centuryMonastery of Saint Mark foundedA monastery traditionally identified with Mary's house is established in Jerusalem, later associated with her by a Syriac inscription.

Contributions & Legacy

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Scriptural Witness

Mary is mentioned by name only once in the New Testament, at Acts 12:12: after his release from prison, Peter 'went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.' This is the sole biblical reference to her.

The passage identifies her by her relationship to her son and marks her house as a known assembly point for the apostles and Christians of Jerusalem in the earliest period of the Church. That Peter went there directly upon his deliverance indicates the house was an established location where believers met.

Traditional Accounts

According to Orthodox tradition, Mary was of Cypriot origin and the sister of the Apostles Barnabas and Aristobulus, placing her within a prominent apostolic family. Tradition further holds that she served as a deaconess in the early Jerusalem church.

Some traditional accounts associate her house on Zion with the Mystical Supper of the Lord with His disciples and with the events of Pentecost. These accounts are traditional rather than documented and should be received as such.

A Syriac inscription discovered in 1940 at the Monastery of Saint Mark in Jerusalem states, 'This is the house of Mary, mother of John Mark,' and records a tradition that the house hosted the Last Supper, sheltered the apostles after the Crucifixion, witnessed a Resurrection appearance, and was visited by Peter after his release. The inscription further relates that the house was converted by the apostles into a church honoring the Mother of God and rebuilt in 73 AD.

Relics & Shrines

The Monastery of Saint Mark, a Syriac Orthodox monastery in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, is traditionally identified with the house of Mary, mother of Mark the Evangelist. It serves as the residence of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem.

Scholars such as Aphrem Barsoum date the monastery's foundation to the fifth or sixth century, while the present structure dates to the Crusader period. The Syriac Orthodox patriarchate acquired the site from the Coptic Orthodox Church in 1471 or 1472.

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Her son, the evangelist whose Gospel records the preaching of Peter.
Apostle and Evangelist Mark
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Sources: Acts 12:12; Eastern Orthodox commemoration (June 30)