Apostle and Evangelist Luke

Life and ministry

Saint Luke was a native of Syrian Antioch and, according to the source, a physician trained in Greek medical arts. Having heard of Christ, he came to Palestine, received the Savior’s preaching, and was among the Seventy Apostles sent to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. After the Resurrection, Christ appeared to Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus; this event is recorded in the Gospel. Luke became a close coworker of the Apostle Paul and accompanied him on his second missionary journey. Paul’s letter testifies that when other coworkers had left him, Luke remained with him.

Evangelist and writer of Acts

Church tradition places the writing of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in Rome around 62–63. In the opening of his Gospel, Luke explains his purpose: to set down an orderly account of what Christians had received concerning Jesus Christ and His teaching, after careful investigation. His Gospel gives special attention to the salvation accomplished by Christ and to the preaching of the Gospel. Acts continues the Gospel narrative by recounting the work of the apostles after Christ’s Ascension. It includes the Council at Jerusalem described in Acts 15 and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in guiding the Church.

Why he is venerated

After the martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the Church’s life relates that Luke preached in Achaia, Libya, Egypt, and the Thebaid, and that he ended his earthly life in martyrdom at Thebes. Church tradition also credits him with the first icons of the Mother of God and with images of Peter and Paul. This is received as sacred tradition rather than as an independently established historical fact. Saint Luke is honored as a faithful preacher, a companion of the apostles, and a careful witness to Christ in Scripture. The source also notes a further commemoration on 22 April. His principal feast is 18 October on the Julian calendar, which is 31 October on the civil calendar in 1901–2099.

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