St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

At St. Paul’s Parish This Week:

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On the Calendar –
St. Luke the Evangelist:

Today (by translation from Sunday, October 18) is the commemoration of the Evangelist responsible for the third Gospel and the Book of Acts, St. Luke the Physician. Orthodox Wiki offers this information about St. Luke:

Saint Luke, was of Greek origin born in the Hellenistic city of Antioch, and was extremally educated. His studies included Greek philosophy, medicine, and art in his youth. He was also a professional physician. St. Luke came to Jerusalem where he came to believe in the Lord. He and Cleopas met the resurrected Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).

After Pentecost, Luke returned to Antioch and worked with the Apostle Paul, traveling with him to Rome, and converting Jews and pagans to the Christian Faith. “Luke, the beloved physician, … greets you,” writes the Apostle Paul to the Colossians (Colossians 4:14). At the request of Christians, St. Luke wrote his Gospel in the first century. According to some accounts this took place around 60 A.D., and according to others around 80 A.D. After St. Paul’s martyrdom, St. Luke preached the Gospel throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, and other regions. He painted icons of the Most-holy Theotokos — not just one, but three — as well as icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. For this reason, St. Luke is considered the founder of Christian iconography. In his old age, he visited Libya and Upper Egypt; from Egypt he returned to Greece, where he continued to preach and convert many with great zeal despite his age.

In addition to his Gospel, St. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles and dedicated each of these works to Theophilus, the governor of Achaia. Luke was 84 years old when the wicked idolaters tortured him for the sake of Christ and hanged him from an olive tree in the town of Thebes, in Beothia of Greece. (Read the entire Orthodox Wiki article, including hymns used in Eastern Rite worship here.)

A prayer for today:

The following is the collect for commemoration of St. Luke from The Book of Common Prayer – 1979:

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.