Feast of St. Luke the Apostle

The Feast of the Holy Apostle Luke the Evangelist

On October 18 in the Holy Orthodox Church we commemorate the holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. Luke was born in Antioch and was numbered with the Seventy Apostles. He excelled in his studies of Greek philosophy, medicine and art. Luke once came to Jerusalem where he saw the Savior face to face. With Cleopas, he saw the resurrected Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). After the descent of the Holy Spirit, Luke returned to Antioch and preached with the Apostle Paul and then traveled to Rome with him, converting Jews and pagans to the Christian Faith. Following the martyrdom Paul, Luke preached the Gospel throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Libya, Macedonia, Egypt and Greece. He painted three icons of the Most-holy Theotokos, one of which is protected by the nuns of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Convent of Our Lady of Saydnaya in Syria. He also painted icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Hence, Luke is considered to be the founder of Christian iconography. In addition to his Gospel which he wrote in about the year 60, Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles and dedicated both 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 Boethia. The miracle-working relics of this wonderful saint were transported to Constantinople in the fourth century.

Saturday, October 17th - Great Vespers, 5 p.m. Service text: https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/servicetexts/Oct 17 2026 Bilingual VESP.pdf

Sunday, October 18th - Orthros, 8:30 a.m. Service text: https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/servicetexts/Oct 18 2026 Bilingual ORTHROS.pdf

Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. Service text: https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/servicetexts/Oct 18 2026 Bilingual READ.pdf