Mar Mari, regarded as the first missionary to the Parthian Empire, was one of the Seventy Disciples of the Lord and a close disciple of his master, Mar Addai. The sixth-century Syriac work The Acts of Mar Mari, composed in Babylonia, provides a comprehensive account of his missionary labours. Having received the blessings of Mar Addai at Edessa, Mar Mari set out towards the East to proclaim the Gospel. His first destination was Nisibis, where he preached Christ with zeal. Destroying the pagan idols worshipped there, he established a church and monastic houses in their place. He also founded a renowned School of Theology at Nisibis and appointed competent teachers for its instruction (Acts of Mar Mari, 7).
From Nisibis, Mar Mari continued his missionary journey through Arzanene, Beth Zabdai, and Beth Arabaye before reaching Erbil. There he miraculously cured the king of leprosy and delivered the son of the commander of the army from demonic possession. Through these extraordinary signs, the royal household embraced the Christian faith, followed in due course by the people of the entire region.
His missionary travels next brought him to Beth Garmai, a land described in The Acts of Mar Mari (12) as a place shrouded in darkness and evil. There he healed the king’s daughter who had been afflicted with paralysis. At the village of Gel, he restored a dead child to life. Witnessing these manifestations of divine power, the inhabitants of the surrounding regions came to believe in Christ. After proclaiming the Gospel in Beth Armai, he proceeded to Seleucia (Acts of Mar Mari, 19–24).
The evangelization of Seleucia proved especially demanding. Its inhabitants, deeply attached to pagan beliefs, devoted themselves to feasting, drinking, and worldly pleasures. At one stage, Mar Mari even contemplated returning to Edessa to rejoin his fellow disciples. Nevertheless, persevering through numerous trials and fierce opposition from pagan priests, he eventually led many to the Christian faith. He dedicated an entire year to the evangelization of Seleucia and established a Christian church on the very site of a pagan temple that had been granted to him by the king. From there he carried the light of the Gospel to Kokhe, Shafl, Kashkar, Maishan, and the region of Ctesiphon.
Mar Mari carried out his apostolic ministry during the closing years of the first century and the beginning of the second century. Following his death, his mortal remains were interred in the church that he himself had founded at Deir Kuni (Acts of Mar Mari, 33).
Revered as the founder and first bishop of the Church of Seleucia–Ctesiphon, Mar Mari later came to be honoured as the Apostle of Babylonia. In the East Syriac liturgical tradition, his feast is celebrated on the Second Friday of Kaitha.
Rev. Dr. Alex Sebastian Kollamkalam
