Mark the Evangelist hosted the disciples in his house after Jesus' death, that the resurrected Jesus Christ came to Mark's house (John 20), and that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost in the same house. Furthermore, Mark is also believed to have been among the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine (John 2:1–11). According to the Coptic tradition, Saint Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa (now Libya). This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Paul
Thomas of Cana followers. Written accounts of Thomas of Cana date to the India's Portuguese period. Different versions give different dates for the events; some place them in 345; others as late as the 9th century. The meaning of the "Cana" epithet is unclear; it may refer to the town of Cana or the land of Canaan in the Bible, or it may be a corruption of a Syriac term for merchant ("Knāyil" in Malayam). However, scholar Richard M. Swiderski states that none of these etymologies are entirely sound. Knanaya priest and scholar Jacob Kollaparambil argues that the "Cana" form is a corruption