Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke

Life

By birth from Antioch. In his youth he had studied well Greek philosophy, medicine and painting. During the time of the ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth, Saint Luke came to Jerusalem, where he saw the Savior face to face, heard His saving teaching, and was a witness of His wondrous works. Having believed in the Lord, Saint Luke was numbered among the Seventy Apostles and sent out to preach. Together with Cleopas he saw the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, Luke returned to Antioch, and there became a co-laborer of the Apostle Paul, with whom he also traveled to Rome, converting Jews and pagans to the Faith of Christ. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, writes the Apostle Paul to the Colossians (Colossians 4:14). At the request of Christians he wrote his Gospel, around the year 60. After the martyric death of the great Apostle Paul, Saint Luke preached the Gospel in Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia and other lands. He painted an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos — and not just one, but three, and likewise icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Hence Saint Luke is considered the founder of Christian iconography. Under old age he visited Libya and Upper Egypt. From Egypt he returned to Greece, where he continued with great zeal to preach and convert people to Christ, regardless of his advanced age. Saint Luke wrote the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and dedicated both to Theophilus, the governor of Achaia. He was eighty-four years old when the malicious idolaters subjected him to torment for Christ's sake and hanged him on an olive tree in the city of Thebes in Boeotia. The wonderworking relics of this wondrous saint were translated to Constantinople in the time of Emperor Constantius, the son of Constantine.

From the Hymn of Praise

The divine Luke, both wise and learned,Was willingly martyred for the Lord.He could have escaped reproach and torment,But then the world would not have had the great Luke.