Evangelists Shrine

Evangelists Shrine. . [South-facing, western tablet:] , Matthew, a Galilean tax-collector and one of the twelve apostles, was the author of the first Gospel, which he wrote in his native Aramaic for the Jews of his time, probably around 42 A.D. After preaching in Palestine and to the Barbarians of the East, he suffered martyrdom in Parthia. , , [South-facing, eastern tablet:] , Mark, a missionary associate of Paul, Peter and Barnabas, was requested by the Romans to set down the teachings of St. Peter. Mark wrote the second gospel in Greek before the year 60 for the gentile converts to Christianity to emphasized that Jesus is the divine saviour. He founded the church in Alexandria where he was martyred. , , [North-facing, eastern tablet:] , Luke, a physician at Antioch and a very early convert, was the missionary companion of Paul. He wrote the third Gospel in Greek before the year 63, to assert the universality of salvation. He also authored the Acts of the Apostles, dealing with the early days of the church. The details of his martyrdom are unknown. , , [North-facing, western tablet:] , John, a fisherman by trade and the brother of James the Greater, wrote the fourth Gospel in Greek, primarily in proof of the divinity of Christ. Author also of three epistles and the Apocalypse, he was the only one of the twelve apostles not to be martyred. Following persecution, torture and exile, he died a natural death in Ephesus about the year 100.