Saint Luke the Evangelist commemorated today

The post marks the commemoration of Saint Luke the Evangelist. It states he originated from Antioch of Syria and was Greek by nationality. By profession he was a physician and also skilled in the art of painting.

Tradition attributes to him the first icons of the Theotokos holding the infant Christ, one of which remains at the Mega Spileo Monastery, as well as icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul. He was catechized in the Christian faith by the Apostle Paul, whom he met in Thebes, and thereafter devoted himself to preaching the Gospel. His travels took him to Dalmatia, Italy, Gaul, Achaia, Boeotia, and other regions.

He authored the third Gospel of the New Testament and the Acts of the Apostles. Accounts of his death differ: some say he suffered a martyr's death, others that he died peacefully at age eighty. In the year 357 his relic was translated to Constantinople and placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles.