Icon with the Holy Apostle Evangelist Luke - embroidered, framed, 15x18cmThe Evangelist Luke (Luka or Louka in Hebrew and Loukás in Greek) is one of the four evangelists recognized in the Christian tradition. He is considered the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
He is also considered the patron of Christian iconography, being the one who created the first icons of the Virgin Mary with Christ in her arms and the first icon of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
At the Nămăiești Skete in Târgoviște, one of the oldest icons of Christianity is found, painted by the Holy Apostle Luke himself. It depicts the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus in her arms.
"The Holy Apostle Luke made 12 icons. (...) The icon, as it is now, is restored. The faces are completely unknown, and the frame is made of silver from 1700. In order not to touch the original, on a separate canvas, the face of the Virgin Mary was painted and attached over the original. The silver from 1700 was transformed into gold," explained Mother Ana Lucia Nedelea.
Born in Antioch of Syria, present-day Turkey, the Holy Evangelist Luke, from a young age, learned Hellenistic wisdom and became a skilled doctor. His life was profoundly changed, however, when he met the Savior in Jerusalem. Listening to His teachings, he understood that his purpose was to know the true God and to share this knowledge with others.
As a disciple of the apostle Paul of Tarsus, he accompanied him on missionary journeys through Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. Saint Paul called him "our dear friend, the doctor" in his epistles.
Luke was one of the seventy apostles, as attested in his own Gospel, saying: "The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go."
Years after the crucifixion of the Savior, Saint Luke met Saint Apostle Paul in the city of Troas, near Constantinople, and together, they spread the faith throughout Europe.
Paul often mentioned him in his epistles, emphasizing his importance and devotion: "Give my greetings to Luke, the beloved physician," (Colossians 4:14), and another time, writing from prison and mentioning the hardships he endured, he said, "Only Luke is with me." (2 Timothy 4:10).
After Paul's martyrdom in Rome, Luke continued to preach the Gospel in Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, and Greece.
The Holy Evangelist Luke passed away at the age of 80, being hanged from an olive tree in the city of Thebes in Boeotia by pagans. Legend has it that his burial place was blessed, and the water that flowed there had healing powers, especially for those with eye diseases.
His relics were transferred to Constantinople in the Church of the Holy Apostles in 357 and later, in 1177, to Padua, Italy.
Saint Luke is celebrated in the Orthodox calendar four times a year:
- on October 18, the day of his passing into eternal life;
- on January 4, together with the 70 Apostles;
- on April 22, when he is celebrated together with the Holy Apostles Nathanael and Clement;
- on June 20, when his holy relics were transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
