Icon of Christ appearing to Sts. Luke and Cleopas on the way to Emmaus after His Resurrection (taken from here)
The following is from the Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovich for the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (October 18th):
"Luke was born in Antioch. In his youth, he excelled in his studies of Greek philosophy, medicine and art. During the ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth, Luke came to Jerusalem, where he saw the Savior face to face, heard His saving teaching and was witness to His miraculous works. Coming to belief in the Lord, St. Luke was numbered among the Seventy Apostles, and was sent out to preach. With Cleopas, he saw the resurrected Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).
"Luke was born in Antioch. In his youth, he excelled in his studies of Greek philosophy, medicine and art. During the ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth, Luke came to Jerusalem, where he saw the Savior face to face, heard His saving teaching and was witness to His miraculous works. Coming to belief in the Lord, St. Luke was numbered among the Seventy Apostles, and was sent out to preach. 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 there became a fellow
worker of the Apostle Paul and traveled to Rome with him, 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, he wrote his Gospel in about the
year 60. Following the martyrdom of the great Apostle Paul, 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-and icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Hence, St. Luke is
considered to be the founder of Christian iconography.
Icon of St. Luke painting the first icons of the Theotokos
and Christ under divine inspiration. When the Theotokos saw the icons
St. Luke had painted of her, she said, "May the grace of Him who was
born of me and my mercy be with these icons!" (Icons courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)
In 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 old age. In addition to his Gospel, St. Luke wrote the Acts and dedicated both works to Theophilus, the governor of Achaia. Luke was eighty-four 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 reign of Emperor Constantius, the son of Constantine." (taken from the Prologue of St. Nikolai Velimirovich: here; another account is available here: here)
Exterior of the Church of St. Luke the Evangelist in Thebes, Greece, in which is his sacred Tomb (here)
The tomb of St. Luke exists to this day in the city of Thebes in Northern Greece, where they continue to celebrate his memory. In fact, every year his tomb gives off a miraculous liquid that performs many miracles, and especially heals people with eye trouble.
The interior of St. Luke's Church in Thebes, Greece, with the Tomb of the Evangelist visible (taken from here)
HYMN OF PRAISE
Saint Luke the Apostle and Evangelist
The divine Luke, both wise and learned,
Was tortured willingly for the Lord.
He could have avoided mockery and torture,
But the world would not have had the great Luke.
The young Luke beheld God's truth
And surrendered his heart to the Son of God.
He hearkened to the Teacher, beheld the Wonderworker,
And in Him he recognized the Immortal Creator.
He beheld the Resurrected One, and spoke with Him,
And worked miracles in His name.
Christ became his only joy,
And Luke sacrificed his mind, wealth and youth to Him.
When Luke became old, he was young in Christ,
And gave to the world what he received from the Lord.
And when he had given the world all he could give,
Then the world, fulfilling the Scripture, repaid him with contempt.
From an old olive tree the aged Luke hung,
With a smile on his face and his arms folded crosswise.
And the hand of Christ came down from heaven
And received the soul of His Evangelist.
Now, in radiant Paradise with the other apostles,
St. Luke prays for the Holy Church.
(taken from the Prologue of St. Nikolai: here)
Mosaic from Kykkos Monastery depicting the Theotokos asking
St. Luke to paint the first icons of her and Christ, along with the
Archangel Gabriel (who according to another tradition gave him three boards on which to paint icons) (taken from: here)
Many icons have been attributed to St. Luke throughout the Orthodox world. Some of these include Panagia "Megalospileotissa", or "of the Great Cave" near Achaia (here), Panagia Soumela in Beroia (here), Panagia Kykkotissa in Cyprus (website of the Monastery in Greek: http://www.imkykkou.com.cy/proskynima_monis.shtml), Panagia of Agiassou (here), the Tikhvin icon of the Theotokos (here), Panagia Malevi (here)
and as many as seventy others, according to some sources. And
regardless of whether or not it can be proven that St. Luke actually
painted all such icons, endless miracles of the Theotokos continue to
occur throughout the world through her holy icons, and the great and
holy work of iconography enacted by St. Luke and sanctified through
Christ continues to enrich the Church.
Another mosaic from Kykkos Monastery of St. Luke showing the icon to the Theotokos, and the Theotokos blessing it (taken from here)
Fresco from Decani Monastery depicting the translation of the Relics of St. Luke the Evangelist (taken from here)
On a side note, in 1992, then Metropolitan Ieronymos (now the Archbishop
of Greece) made a formal request to the Catholic Archbishop of Padua to
return a significant portion of the relics of St. Luke to his tomb in
Thebes. This ended up prompting a large scientific endevour to determine
if the relics in St. Justina's Church in Padua are really those
belonging to the Evangelist.
After many investigations, including DNA
analyses (which linked the remains to someone of Syriac origin; St. Luke
was born in Antioch), C-14 dating, and measurements of the lead
sarcophagus, which actually matched the dimensions to the milimeter of
St. Luke's tomb in Thebes, it was determined that there was significant
scientific evidence that these remains belonged to St. Luke.
To honor
the Metropolitan's request, the Archbishop of Padua gave the Church in
Thebes a rib from St. Luke, and the one closest to his heart. Thus, the
Tomb of St. Luke in Thebes also bears a portion of his holy and
grace-filled relics.
Icon of St. Luke the Evangelist (Icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)
Stichera Tone 8. What may we call you.
What may I name you, Apostle? Heaven, for you declared the glory of God. Lightning, for you irradiate the world by your illumination. Cloud, that rains down divine streams. Mixing-bowl overflowing with the inspired wine of wisdom, wine that makes hearts glad. Intercede that our souls may be saved.
How may I now address you, O inspired by God? River, coming forth
from Paradise for us. Ark of the covenant which Christ laid down.
Beacon, blazing with spiritual light. Lamp, that irradiates the Church.
Bread of life, divine table, cup of divine drink. Intercede that our
souls may be saved.
What titles may I address you by, Inspired of God? Disciple, for you
to us you proclaimed the good tidings: Christ. Physician, for you heal
the passions of our souls. Lamp, blazing with spiritual light. Base and
foundation of the faith, for it was you who traced out for us the
all-revered Gospel. Intercede that our souls may be saved.
Apolytikion. Tone 3.
Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede with the merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of sins. (translated by Fr. Ephraim Lash: here)
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!
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