In 828, the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist were stolen from Alexandria. In 829, the Greek soldier-saint Theodore is replaced as the patron saint of Venice by the evangelist Saint Mark.  At the water entrance to Venice (Saint Mark's Square), there are two pillars. At the top, are both patron saints. Image: The Lion of St Mark on top of a column in the Piazzetta in Venice, seen from the Doges Palace. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.