Luke the Evangelist

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist (Ancient Greek: Λουκᾶς, Loukás) 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11)..[4][5][6][7][8] is one of the Four Evangelists - the four authors of His earliest notice is in Paul’s Epistle to Philemon-- canonical Gospels of Jesus Christ. Luke was a native of Philemon 1:24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 the Hellenistic city of Antioch in Syria. The early church and 2Timothy 4:11, two works commonly ascribed to fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel ac- Paul. The next earliest account of Luke is in the Anti- cording to Luke and the book of Acts of the Apostles, Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke, a document which originally formed a single literary work, referred once thought to date to the 2nd century, but which has to as Luke-Acts. Prominent figures in early Christianity more recently been dated to the later 4th century. Helmut such as Jerome and Eusebius later reaffirmed his author- Koester, however, claims that the following part – the ship, although within scholarly circles, both secular and only part preserved in the original Greek – may have been religious, discussions have taken place due to the lack of composed in the late 2nd century: evidence as to the identity of the author of the works. The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, Luke, was born in Antioch, by profession, and the Pauline epistle to the Colossians refers to him as was a physician.[9] He had become a disci- a doctor; thus he is thought to have been both a physician ple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul and a disciple of Paul. Christians since the faith’s early until his [Paul’s] martyrdom. Having served years have regarded him as a saint. He is believed to have the Lord continuously, unmarried and without died a martyr, although accounts of the events do vary. children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at The Roman Catholic Church and other major denomi- the age of 84 years. (p. 335) nations venerate him as Saint Luke the Evangelist and as a patron saint of artists, physicians, surgeons, students and butchers; his feast day takes place on 18 October. 1 Life Base of a pillar at Sacred Heart Church, Puducherry, India Luke is believed by many scholars to be a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, though some other scholars and theologians think James Tissot - Saint Luke (Saint Luc) - Brooklyn Museum Luke was a Hellenic Jew.[2][3] This Luke is mentioned in Paul’s Epistle to Philemon (v.24), and in two other epis- Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy (Pa- tles which are traditionally ascribed to Paul (Colossians narion 51.11), and John Chrysostom indicates at one 1 2 2 LUKE AS A HISTORIAN point that the “brother” Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 4:11 Kallistos Xanthopoulos (Ecclesiastical History 14th cen- is either Luke or Barnabas. tury AD., Migne P.G. 145, 876) and others, Luke’s tomb If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the was located in Thebes (Greece), whence his relics were Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apos- transferred to Constantinople in the year 357. tles, certain details of his personal life can be reasonably assumed. While he does exclude himself from those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry, he repeatedly uses 2 Luke as a historian the word “we” in describing the Pauline missions in Acts of the Apostles, indicating that he was personally there at See also: Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles, those times.[10] Census of Quirinius and Chronology of Jesus There is similar evidence that Luke resided in Troas, the Most scholars understand Luke’s works (Luke-Acts) in province which included the ruins of ancient Troy, in that he writes in Acts in the third person about Paul and his travels until they get to Troas, where he switches to the first person plural. The “we” section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the group returns to Philippi. There are three “we sections” in Acts, all following this rule. Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did. The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, indicate that the author was an educated man. A quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiates between Luke and other colleagues “of the circumcision.” 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. ... 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Colossians 4:10-11,14. This comment has traditionally caused commentators to conclude that Luke was a Gentile. If this were true, it A medieval Armenian illumination, by Toros Roslin. would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. How- the tradition of Greek historiography.[15] The preface of ever, that is not the only possibility. Although Luke is The Gospel of Luke[16] drawing on historical investigation considered likely to be a Gentile Christian, some scholars [11][12][13] identified the work to the readers as belonging to the genre believe him to be a Hellenized Jew. The phrase of history.[17] There is some disagreement about how best could just as easily be used to differentiate between those to treat Luke’s writings, with some historians regarding Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism [10] Luke as highly accurate, and others taking a more critical and those who did not. approach. Luke’s presence in Rome with the Apostle Paul near the Based on his accurate description of towns, cities and is- end of Paul’s life was attested by 2 Timothy 4:11: “Only lands, as well as correctly naming various official titles, Luke is with me”. In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, archaeologist Sir William Ramsay wrote that “Luke is a widely attributed to Luke, we find several accounts in the historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements first person also affirming Luke’s presence in Rome in- of fact trustworthy... [he] should be placed along with cluding Acts 28:16: “And when we came to Rome...” the very greatest of historians.”[18] Professor of Classics According to some accounts, Luke also contributed to at Auckland University, E.M. Blaiklock, wrote: “For ac- authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews. curacy of detail, and for evocation of atmosphere, Luke Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia, according to a “fairly early stands, in fact, with Thucydides. The Acts of the Apos- and widespread tradition”.[14] According to Nikephoros tles is not shoddy product of pious imagining, but a trust- 3 worthy record... it was the spadework of archaeology 3 Luke as an artist which first revealed the truth.”[19] New Testament scholar Colin Hemer has made a number of advancements in un- Christian tradition, starting from the 8th century, states derstanding the historical nature and accuracy of Luke’s that he was the first icon painter. He is said to have [20] writings. painted pictures of the Virgin Mary and Child, in partic- On the purpose of Acts, New Testament Scholar Luke ular the Hodegetria image in Constantinople (now lost). Timothy Johnson has noted that “Luke’s account is se- Starting from the 11th century a number of painted im- lected and shaped to suit his apologetic interests, not in ages were worshipped as his autograph works, including defiance of but in conformity to ancient standards of for example, the Black Madonna of Częstochowa and historiography.”[21] Such a position is shared by most Our Lady of Vladimir. He was also said to have painted commentators such as Richard Heard who sees histori- Saints Peter and Paul, and to have illustrated a gospel cal deficiencies as arising from “special objects in writing book with a full cycle of miniatures.[24] [25] [22] and to the limitations of his sources of information.” Late medieval Guilds of St Luke in the cities of Late Me- However, during modern times, Luke’s competence as a dieval Europe, especially Flanders, or the "Accademia di historian is questioned, although that depends on one’s a San Luca" (Academy of St. Luke) in Rome—imitated priori view of the supernatural. A materialist would see in many other European cities during the 16th century— a narrative that relates supernatural, fantastic things like gathered together and protected painters. The tradition angels, demons etc., as problematic as a historical source. that Luke painted icons of Mary and Jesus has been com- And it is understood that Luke did not intend to record mon, particularly in Eastern Orthodoxy. The tradition history. His intention was to proclaim and to persuade. also has support from the Saint Thomas Christians of In- Many see this understanding as the final nail in Luke the dia who claim to still have one of the Theotokos icons [23] historian’s coffin. Robert M. Grant has noted that al- that St. Luke painted and which St. Thomas brought to though Luke saw himself within the historical tradition, India.[26] his work contains a number of statistical improbabilities such as the sizable crowd addressed by Peter in Acts 4:4.

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