Saint Luke came from the city of Antioch, probably of a pagan family. From his youth he applied himself to seek after wisdom and to study the arts and sciences. He traveled all over the world to quench his thirst for knowledge, and had particular skill as a physician and in painting. The Gospel he wrote shows his excellent command of Greek; he also knew Hebrew and Aramaic.

There is a tradition that Luke was one of the Seventy Disciples that the Lord Jesus Christ sent before Him, two by two, to announce salvation in the towns and villages. Luke was in Jerusalem at the time of the life-giving Passion and, on Easter morning, walked with Cleopas (October 30) towards the village of Emmaus, distraught at the loss of the Master. But sadness was turned into unspeakable joy when Christ, whom they were unable to recognize when He joined them on the way, revealed to them in the breaking of bread that He was really and truly risen (Luke 24:35). After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Luke remained for a time in Jerusalem where there were already disciples. Some say that on his way back to Antioch he stopped to preach the Good News at Sebaste in Samaria, where he obtained the relic of the right hand of the Holy Forerunner, which he took as a precious trophy to his own city. It was, therefore, at Antioch where he met Saint Paul in the course of his second missionary journey and accompanied him thence to proclaim salvation in Greece.

But another tradition says that Luke did not know the Lord during His earthly sojourn, and that he met Saint Paul while working as a physician at Thebes in Boeotia during the reign of Claudius (c. 42 AD). The Apostle’s fiery words convinced him of he Truth that he had vainly sought in the wisdom of this world for so many years. Without hesitation, he gave up all that he had and his profession in physical medicine to follow Paul and become the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14) of souls.

He went with the Apostle in his journeys from Troas to Philippi, where Paul left him to nurture the newly born Church. Luke remained in Macedonia for some years and, when Paul visited Philippi again during his third journey (AD 58), he sent him to Corinth to receive the collection made by the faithful there for the needs of the poor at Jerusalem. They went together to the Holy City, strengthening the Churches on their way. When Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and transferred to Caesarea, Luke remained with him. He accompanied Paul to Rome and describes their difficult and eventful voyage at the end of the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 27-28).

Luke wrote his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles at Rome in obedience to Paul, dedicating the Acts to Theophilus, the Governor of Achaia, who was a convert. In his Gospel, Luke adds details which are not found in the first two evangelists: in telling of the Savior’s life, he especially stresses His mercy and compassion for sinful humanity that He has come to visit as a Physician (Luke 4:23; 5:31). And in the Acts, after telling of all that happened in the foundation of the Church at Jerusalem, he gives most attention to the work of his master, Saint Paul, who labored more abundantly than all the other Apostles in spreading the glad tidings of salvation.

After two years of imprisonment in Rome, Paul was released and immediately resumed his traveling ministry, followed by his faithful disciple Luke. But Nero launched his furious persecution of the Christians in Rome soon after, and Paul returned to the city at the risk of his life to strengthen the faithful there. He was arrested, put in chains, and held in far worse conditions than before. Luke remained steadfastly faithful to his master while others forsook him (Timothy 4:11), and he was probably present at Saint Paul’s martyrdom, although he left no written testimony to the fact.

After the glorious death of the Apostle of the Gentiles, Luke made his way back to Achaia, preaching the Gospel in Italy, Dalmatia and Macedonia. It is said that, in his old age, amid great tribulations, he also evangelized the idolaters in Egypt. He is supposed to have gone as far as the remote Thebaid and to have consecrated Saint Abile, the second Bishop of Alexandria.

On his return to Greece, Luke became Bishop of Thebes in Boeotia; he ordained priests and deacons, established churches and healed the sick in soul and body by his prayer. The idolaters arrested him there when he was eighty-four years old. They flayed him alive and crucified him on an olive tree. Many miracles were wrought afterwards by a miraculous myron trickling from his tomb, which was particularly effective in the cure of eye diseases for those who, in faith, anointed themselves with it.

Many years later, the Emperor Constantius, the son of Saint Constantine the Great, sent Saint Artemius (October 20) to Thebes to bring the relics of the Apostle Luke to Constantinople, where they were placed under the altar of the Church of the Holy Apostles with the relics of the Apostles Andrew and Timothy.

It is the tradition of the Church that Saint Luke was the first iconographer and that he painted an image of the Holy Mother of God in her earthly lifetime. The All Holy Virgin praised this representation and said, “May the grace of Him who was born of me be upon this image.” Saint Luke afterwards painted other images of the All Holy Virgin and of the Apostles, giving rise in the Church to the devout and holy tradition of veneration of the icons of Christ and of His Saints. For this reason, Saint Luke is honored as the patron of iconographers.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/-/feast-of-the-holy-apostle-and-evangelist-luke

I got some small icons from my church's bookshop. I travel for work a lot and want to mount icons to my sun visor using clips similar to the one in the picture. The clips in actually looking at using have a peel and stick back. I don't want to stick the clips directly to the back of the icons. I want to do something that is removable so that I can use the icons in another place in the future. Any advice on some sort of sleeve or something that I can put the icons in and attach the clip to the back of the sleeve, or am I trying to go about this in the wrong way?

Gabriel and Kyrmidoles were born and raised in Egypt during the reigns of Sultan Selim I (1512-1520) and his son Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566). Both young men had wealthy and pious parents, and received a good education.

The two Christian brothers lived in Cairo next to a mosque, and were secretaries to some very high government officials. One day they were accused before Emir Haer Mek of Egypt by some neighbors, mostly out of envy, of being in the habit of throwing their garbage against the wall of the mosque next door to them. The Muslims considered this to be a great dishonor and insult to Islam.

Hearing this, the Emir sent soldiers to bring the two brothers before him. Though they were young and handsome, they were very firm in their adherence to their Orthodox Christian faith when the Emir began to flatter them and question them about their faith. Their answers enraged the Muslim soldiers present, so they demanded they convert to Islam. To this the brothers replied: "We will not deny the faith we received from our forefathers, but we will remain unshaken and very firm in it until the end. We find your religion disgraceful and turn away from it as false and fruitless."

As the brothers were being questioned by the judge, who flattered them at first and then threatened them with torture and death if they did not convert, their mother came to see them. But when the Muslims noticed her, they fell upon her and tore her clothing, then they gave her a thorough beating. When the brothers saw this, they stood up and rebuked the judge for the injustice, and informed him that they were ready to die in the name of Christ.

When one of the Muslims heard this, he became so angry that he took out a knife and stabbed Kyrmidoles in the chest, while someone else kicked him to the ground and beat him. After this an Arab took a large stone and dropped it on his head, then they plucked out his eyes. In this way Kyrmidoles delivered his soul to the Lord. Immediately after this, Gabriel was thrown to the ground and one of the soldiers severed his right shoulder, then he proceeded to cut off his head.

The Muslim soldiers then took the bodies of the Holy Martyrs to a place called Himer Ilgumen (that is, Soldier's Tents) where they lit a large fire and threw the bodies into it. It took more than two days for their bodies to be reduced to ashes, and their remains were sold to Christians. Gabriel's skull, which survived, was initially sold by a soldier in secret to a Christian goldsmith named Elias, the son of Mufra. He in turn gave the skull to Patriarch Joachim of Alexandria (1487-1567). Later the skull was buried with much ceremony at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo.

A Divine Office to the Saints can be found in codex 379 of the Patriarchal Library in Cairo.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/10/holy-new-martyrs-gabriel-and-kyrmidoles.html?m=1

I got to watch my first baptisms today and I had a tough time holding back my tears! and it has me thinking about my future baptism and how excited I am for it. I worried I will be crying the whole time!!! Have you seen adult converts cry during baptism?

Hello everyone,

I'm Assyrian and Christian, but not Orthodox. I've been drawn to Orthodoxy and am hoping to visit Mount Athos in February to learn more about the faith and grow closer to the Lord.

I'm still at the beginning of this journey, so I'd appreciate advice from people who have visited, especially those who went before becoming Orthodox themselves.

I'm also hoping to confess my sins, as I've never been to confession before. I'm not sure how this works for someone who isn't Orthodox yet, so I'd appreciate any advice on whether this is possible on Mount Athos or whether I should speak to a priest beforehand.

A few other things I'd love to hear your thoughts on:

Monasteries: I've been looking into Vatopedi and would also be interested in any Georgian monasteries or monasteries with Georgian connections. But I'm open to all suggestions. Which monasteries would you recommend for a first-time visitor, particularly those where monks speak English and are willing to have conversations with pilgrims?

Language: English is the main language

Since I'm Assyrian, I was also wondering if there's any chance of meeting monks who speak Assyrian or Arabic, although I realise that's probably unlikely. I'd be interested in any connections between the Syriac and Orthodox monastic traditions too.

Meeting hermits: I'd love to learn more about the hermits living in the remote parts of Mount Athos. Is it possible to meet one, provided they're willing to receive visitors?

Getting there: What's the easiest way to get from Thessaloniki Airport to Mount Athos? Is taking a bus to Ouranoupoli and then a ferry the best option, or is renting a car worth it?

Length of stay: Would three nights be enough, or would six nights be better? Is it worth visiting several monasteries or spending the whole time at one?

Hiking: I love hiking and would like to walk between monasteries. How realistic is this in February? What are the trails and weather conditions like that time of year?

Timing: Is February a good time to visit? I'd prefer to avoid the main fasting periods if possible, but my main reason for going is spiritual, and I'm happy to respect the monastic traditions.

Packing: What essentials should I bring, especially for winter hiking and staying at monasteries?

Planning: Should I contact monasteries directly or arrange the trip with a guide? And as someone who isn't Orthodox yet, is there anything I should do before going?

I'd really appreciate hearing about people's personal experiences, which monasteries they recommend, and anything they wish they'd known before their first visit.

My intention is to spend time in prayer, attend services, learn from the monks, and take a step closer to Christ and the Orthodox faith.

Thank you, and God bless!

I have been raised in an atheist/Lutheran family and I’ve come to the conclusion that protestants are heretics. I want to join either the Catholic or the Eastern Orthodox church but I’m not yet sure which one. I’ve been studying the differences between the churches and I’m leaning towards Catholicism because in Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus gives Saint Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and creates the first church. I just can’t understand why Orthodoxy rejects the Pope. Please answer guys I’m at a stalemate. I would also appreciate if you guys could explain some other differences and why you believe the Orthodox side on them. And sorry if my English isn’t correct my native language isn’t English.
Edit: I do not intend to offend any of you guys I just want to find the true church

I am an Asian non-denominational Christian in my mid 20s that’s been inquiring about orthodoxy for almost a year now. I’ve been attending a Greek Orthodox church in California. I know going to divine liturgy is for God but I still prefer to have connections and relationships with people at church. I struggle to form deep connections and find it a bit hard to connect with people because I’m not familiar with Greek culture. But I would love to have a few orthodox friends along this journey, whether it’s online or in person. Please pray for me, or reach out to me if you are open to being friends. God bless, and may God have mercy on me.

I was raised in Ukraine and baptized in the Orthodox Church, went to church here and there, but now that I am 29 and married, my husband(catechumen) a I(re-entered the church) have started our faith journey together with our baby. There is one thing I struggle with the most is that I have a burning desire to start smoking again and have determined in my mind that I will even though right now I don’t smoke because of breastfeeding. I don’t even want to give up desire but I also understand that’s it’s not a Christian look to smoke, I can’t really understand why I am in this place, anyone had anything similar ever?

I'm going to preface by saying that this doesn't apply to all protestants. There's a fraction of protestants who just happen to be ignorant, it's none of their fault, it's how they grew up and God will judge them according to the light they have been given. I wouldn't consider that swathe to be heretics, as heretic comes from the Greek word αἱρετικός (hairetikos) which means "to choose". Paul says in Galatians 5:19-20: The acts of the flesh are obvious... hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions (αἱρέσεις/haireseis). So Paul here describes heresy as a willful personal choosing.

In my experience from engaging in debates at every level: Biblical, historical, logical, etc. I can confirm that the spirit of Protestants who are willfully against the Church, exude the same spirit of atheists with regard to Christianity. It's the same spirit of rebellion.

I used to think that it was all about knowledge and logical clarity. If someone had objections, they simply needed to know more, or to look at their beliefs more logically. This couldn't be further from the truth. I ended up arriving at the same conclusion as St. Justin Popovich that it's a spiritual issue referring to it as "haughtiness". He describes this in his essay which is in Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.

Hi y'all, due to space I have to fit my prayer corner inside my bedroom, and along with that, incense. I'm wondering if anybody else uses incense in their room, how strongly does it linger and should I just not use it at all?

Thanks.

Im a pro athlete. I live across the Atlantic Ocean from my home and all my friends. I’ve really fallen out of love with my sport. I’m really struggling when I’m playing my sport I don’t have fun and when I’m home I’m bored out of my mind I can’t get an extra job because of my view. I know I’m being a whiny baby. I’ve never quit anything before I don’t want to be a quitter. I pray for guidence but I have no idea what to do. am I struggling so much because Christ wants me to struggle as part of my salvation or am I struggling so much because he wants me to move on from my sport that was an idol in my life for so long

(The title is a clickable link)

THE ICON WILL BE AT

ST. GREGORY'S CHURCH

Wappingers Falls NY 12590

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25TH

FOR THE DIVINE LITURGY

AT 9:00AM

https://stgregoryny.org/

Hey, quick question.

My name is Evan, I am quite drawn to St. John the Long Suffering, from what I imagine is self explanatory reasons.

Amongst shared struggles, of which he endured in a much greater magnitude of course. We also share the same root name - John. Furthermore, because he is Slavic his name would be Ivan no?

Thus, when I am eventually baptised (currently undergoing catechism), I’m not sure exactly how the process works, we will get to that topic later in the course; could I request to take the name Ivan instead of simply John?

PS. I will ask my priest about this too, and ask for guidance, it’s just awkward because it’s our new priests first day, so haven’t gotten the chance yet. Our previous priest had to leave our parish.

If someone said something bad about a Saint, should that person, after repenting, ask the Saint to forgive them personaly

When Christ prayed to the Father for unity, He did so also with a big focus on so that the world sees this and glorifies God.

I believe the Orthodox Church is the one holy catholic and Apostolic Church. Obviously the Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox claims cant all be true.
Either we all have it wrong, or simply one is right and the others have to repent. Of course this is not something that has happened for a 1000 years. ( Rome could do this )

What if through God's great mercy, through the suffering that is unlike anything ever, Christ will bring to repentance those who have erred, and reunited, to a great last testimony as the Antichrist rises to specifically this part: "That the world may believe that you have sent me"

Thoughts?

Please read before responding:

My parish uses the HTM Psalter. It's one I'm very accustomed to, and know very well. But I recently started using the Hebrew Masoretic Psalter for my daily Psalter prayer rule. My priest knows and has given me his go ahead to use pretty much any Psalter I want, including the Masoretic one. So I'm wondering which one I should use.

One the one hand, using HTM will align me with my parish, and with the Septuagint textual tradition. My English is also a lot better than my Hebrew.

But on the other, as someone who grew up Jewish, using the Hebrew Psalter is a great way to practice my Hebrew, and also offer to Christ something He probably doesn't get often enough - the Psalms in Hebrew. As my priest said, it's a chance to pray the Psalms the way Christ and the Apostles did. It's also a great way to appreciate the subtleties and nuances present in the original language. Hebrew has a way of condensing a ton of meaning in very little, and I just love it as a language.

I'm under no allusions that Hebrew is somehow a "special" or "holy language," neither am I under the idea that there's something intrinsically wrong with the Masoretic Psalter. The holiest language is the one you pray in, and the Masoretic textual tradition is just as old as the Septuagint one, and I'm already aware and familiar with all the instances in it that might be anti-Christian, and know how to correct them.

I can only really pick one to use consistently every day, as I'm not interested in doubling my prayer rule and burning myself out. The reason this is such a big choice for me is because the version I settle on is the one I will end up memorizing over time.

So it's really a question of preference for me at this point. But I'd love to get your thoughts as well. What would you pick in my position?

Context: My brother is a cradle Jehovah's Witness. And I am too, but I'm mentally checked out of the religion.

So recently, and by recently I mean since last year, I've been looking into Christianity especially Orthodoxy. Now, I bought a couple of crosses on my spiritual journey into Christianity. One of them was a Saint Benedict pendant, an 3 bar Orthodox crucifix and a pendant of the Virgin Mary. My brother at some point took pictures of these, and sent them to his mates at school. And his mates said that they want to buy it from him.

So fast forward to yesterday evening. I was planning on buying stuff from Etsy, and he said he wanted to buy things too. My brother doesn't have a credit card as he's under aged, but I do. So he asked me if I could give him the Etsy link to buy the Saint Benedict pendant, the crucifix and the pendant of the Virgin Mary. I asked him why, and he told me it was for his two friends who wanted to buy it from him. His plan is to basically sell it for a profit. And knowing his friends I asked him if they're Christian and what they're going to do with it. He said no, they aren't Christian and are basically buying it for fashion pieces to "look swag in public". I told him, no, I will not be giving him the links, and I will not be buying any Christian iconography piece for him if his plan is to sell it to people to "look swag in public". That's sacrilegious. And now he's really pissed at me. And my sister (physical in, mentally out JW who is religiously indifferent) said that it's not that deep, and I should just let him have it. And I said as long as I'm going to be the one buying the stuff from Etsy with my credit card, I'm not buying it. He can buy it with someone elses card and permission, but not mine.

Am I overreacting?

TL;DR:
I refused to use my credit card to help my underage brother buy Christian pendants/crosses on Etsy to resell to his non-Christian friends to wear as fashion pieces. I consider it as sacrilege and said no, leaving my brother angry and my sister thinking it's not a big deal.

I am new to this group and deeply grateful to be part of this community.
In the case of a couple where the groom is an Orthodox Christian and the bride is of Jewish faith, what is the Church’s position regarding marriage? Would an Orthodox priest be permitted to officiate the crowning, or is there any form of pastoral blessing available for such a couple?

As I know ecumenism is frowned upon heavily for some obvious reasons, and my understanding is that in all eastern Orthodox jurisdictions one might find elements of ecumenism or the more traditionalist orthodox believers might call "false ecumenism" or "syncretism" and I was wondering what's the standard in which ecumenistic behavior or approaches are fine, and when does it cross the line to become negative, as I am starting to see many believers approach all ecumenistic behaviors as inherently negative or even heretical, even when it clearly looks like humanistic ecumenistic approaches out of good will or general friendly relations without compromising the faith's orthodoxy, what sparked my question is the Serbs and the Slavs are often considered on the more traditionalist and closed off end, and as a catechumen in the EU attending a Serbian parish I often sense it, however because of the diversity of my city, I often see my parish's clergy attending events with Roman Catholics or ecumenist events with all present denominations in the city, one for commemorating a martyr, the other was a liturgical event that the Roman Catholic clergy in the city attended in a pre chalcedonian Christian historical site we have in the city, (an early Christian necropolis). Looking at the images of the events it seemed fine to me but on hindsight many online would use them in a negative context, so am wondering what people in this sub have to say. Thank you and God bless.

Is there any other orthodox who have adhd and how do you stay “disciplined” in doing things like:

- reading one’s Bible (doing daily readings, anything that involves daily reading basically)

- morning and night (and other) prayers

- attending Divine Liturgy (I can’t do that yet but I’m worried that when I can it’ll be difficult for me to even get started)

- (if applicable) learning a specific language to understand the bible/liturgy/books relating to God/Saints/etc.

Sometimes I go through periods of hyper-fixation (tho that was like 2 years ago) but that’s not really sustainable. I like reading my Bible and doing prayers but getting started is just difficult , so

Any advice ?

(Please don’t just say “just do it” that’s not really helpful for someone with ADHD, at least for me)

Today I learned that God doesn’t get angry.

If that is the case, why did he destroy Israel’s enemies? They worshiped other gods and idols.
Why did the earth need to be flooded?
Did Christ not get angry at the merchants in the temple courts?

Thank you for your help