Saint Mark of Ephesus (Whirledge) Icon - S681

Saint Mark was born in Constantinople in 1392. He entered the monastic life as a young man, and he became a devoted student of the hesychastic teachings of Saint Gregory Palamas. Hesychasm is an Eastern Orthodox tradition of contemplative prayer, with the aim of encountering the divine energies of God in theoria (illumination).

Saint Mark became a deacon, and later a priest, and finally a bishop, serving as the Metropolitan of Ephesus. He attended the Council of Florence in 1439, at which he became famous as the only Eastern bishop who refused to sign the bull of reunion between the East and West while they were still separated by deep theological differences. His views prevailed among the Orthodox, and the union did not take place, as the Orthodox refused to accept the Latin views that were promulgated by the council.

In the icon, his scroll contains his reply to the members of the Orthodox delegation who desired union: "There can be no compromise in matters of the Orthodox Faith."

He reposed on June 23, 1444, and this feast is kept on January 19.