The Apostle Luke is one of the main links of a certain long chain, which originates from the time of the life of the first coming of Jesus. As a disciple of the Savior himself, he gave Him all his love and served Him with incredible devotion and selflessness. He also always believed that treating sick people is the greatest cause of mankind, which has nothing to do with enrichment and fame.
You must have heard numerous stories that through their faces the Saints still heal many hopelessly sick people. So is the Holy Apostle Luke, who to this day, according to the stories of many healed, helps desperate people to recover, appearing to them in a dream or sending them those doctors who can really help. It's hard to believe, isn't it? But, as you know, miracles on earth, one way or another, happen. And to believe in them or not, the right of everyone. And we, in turn, will try to figure out who His Holiness Luke was, why he chose the profession of a doctor, what miracles he performed, and what he did, among other things.
ApostleLuke. Biography of His Holiness
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke was born in Syrian Antioch. He was one of the 70 disciples of Jesus the Savior, was an associate of St. Paul and a true doctor with golden hands. When a rumor spread throughout the city that Christ had been sent to earth, Luke immediately went to Palestine, where he accepted the teachings of Christ the Savior with all his heart and love. The Apostle Luke was sent by God as one of the very first of all 70 disciples. He, in fact, was the first to preach about the Kingdom of the Lord.
From a young age, the future Apostle Luke, whose life was completely devoted to the Almighty, was engaged in science. He fully studied the Jewish law, got acquainted with the philosophy of Greece, and also perfectly knew the art of healing and two languages.
During the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Holy Apostle Luke stood and, grieving, watched this terrible event for the entire Christian society, unlike many other disciples who betrayed and renounced him. For this endless fidelity, Luke was one of the first who happened to watch the Resurrection of the Lord, which he learned about together with Cleopas, having met the revived Jesus on the way from Emmaus.
After the Lord went to His Kingdom, Luke and the other apostles continued to preach His Holy Name, having received God's blessing before that.
But soon Christians and apostles began to be expelled from Jerusalem, so many left the city and went to know about God in other countries and cities. Luke decided to visit his hometown of Antioch. On the way, he decided to talk about Godin the city of Sebastia, where he unexpectedly saw the imperishable relics of John the Baptist. The Apostle Luke wanted to take them with him to his hometown, but devoted Christians refused him, referring to the eternal devotion and reverence of St. John. Then Luke took away from the relics only the hand over which Jesus himself once prayed, having received baptism from it, and with this untold we alth he went home.
Joint work and friendship with the Apostle Paul
In Antioch, Luke was greeted with joy. There he joined the ranks of the Holy Preacher of God Paul and began to help him preach the name of Christ. They told about God not only to the Jews and Romans, but also to the Gentiles. Paul loved Luke with all his heart. And he, in turn, considered him his father and the greatest mentor. At the time when Paul was locked up in prison, Luke was with him until the last minute and eased his suffering. According to legend, he treated headaches, poor eyesight and other diseases that overtook Paul at that time.
After much suffering, the Holy Apostle Paul died, and Luke went to Italy, and after that he visited Greece, Dalmatia, Galia, Libya to preach the word of God. He suffered a lot for telling people about the Lord.
Death of Luke
After Luke returned from Egypt, he began to preach in Thebes, under his leadership a church was built in which he healed the sick from mental and physical illnesses. Here Luke - the Apostle and Evangelist - died. Idol worshipers hung it from an olive tree.
The Saint was buried in Thebes. Lordappreciating his student, during his funeral he sent a rain of healing kallurium (lotion from eye disease) onto his grave. The sick, who came to the grave of St. Luke for a long time, received healing at the same moment.
In the 4th century, the emperor of Greece, having learned about the healing power of the deceased Luke, sent his servants to deliver the relics of the Saint to Constantinople. After a while, a miracle happened. Anatoly (the king's bed-keeper), who had been lying in bed almost all his life due to an incurable disease, having heard that the relics of the Apostle Luke were being carried to the city, ordered to take himself to them. After praying heartily and touching the coffin, the man was instantly healed. After that, the relics of Luke were transferred to the church built in the name of the Holy Apostles of God.
Why did Saint Luke become a doctor?
All the disciples of God did good not at all for gaining glory and fame, as many sorcerers do, but in the name of the Lord and the salvation of people. Moreover, the Saints continue to work miracles to this day through the Church and their faces, thereby continuing the good work of Jesus Christ.
In his sermons, the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke always explained why he decided to become a doctor. He did not need either fame or money, he just wanted to help a person with his gift and alleviate his suffering. He told people: “Have you ever thought why God sent the apostles to earth not only to preach the gospel, but also to heal sick people? The Lord has always considered healing and preaching to be the most important things a person can do. He treated himselfcast out demons and resurrect. And now it is the task of the apostles. The Lord has always believed that illness is the most serious problem of mankind, which leads to despair, the most terrible pain, thereby destroying life. In return, the Savior asked only love and mercy, as well as compassion for a sick person. And the doctor who will practice medicine from the heart and with love will be blessed by the Lord himself, because he will continue the work of all the Holy Apostles.”
The Acts of St. Luke in our time. The Power of Prayer
Luke the Apostle and Evangelist was truly a Saint. He came into our world to do good and heal people. This gift was given to him by the Lord himself.
Despite the fact that the Apostle Luke, whose life was spent in love and compassion for the sick, has long since passed away, many sources report his exploits in our time.
The first miracle of healing happened in May 2002. A woman, a Russian emigrant living in Greece, told that St. Luke healed her. Doctors diagnosed her with diabetes mellitus and a serious disease of the spine, in which one of her arms atrophied. Despite all the doctor's prescriptions and a long, painful treatment, nothing helped the woman. She decided not to visit doctors anymore, due to their helplessness, and preferred to turn to God. Her salvation was a prayer to the Apostle Luke and an akathist, which she faithfully read every evening. After some time, a Saint appeared to her in a dream and said that he would heal her. The next morning the woman went to the mirror and calmly raised her hand. Doctors could not believe their eyes, because the diseasethis one was actually considered incurable.
The next case was recorded in the city of Livadia. A certain lady said that while she and her husband were on a business trip, their son had a terrible accident, after which the doctors were in favor of amputating both of the boy's legs. But after the appearance of one doctor who took full responsibility for the operation, the boy lost only the heel on one of his legs. The fate of the child, as the doctors said, was a foregone conclusion. Everyone unanimously claimed that he would soon be unable to walk and prepared his parents for the fact that they still need to give consent to the amputation of the legs. But the boy's mom and dad stood their ground, believing that the Lord would help them.
After a while, the child told his parents about a certain Luke, who appeared every day to him in a dream and repeated the same words: “Get up and go to mom and dad!”. Parents, not knowing anything about the Saint, began to ask doctors about this man, but, as it turned out, no one worked under that name in the hospital. Then one of the doctors took out an icon with the face of St. Luke from his pocket and said: “That's who helped you all this time.”
Since then, every day my parents read the akathist to the Apostle Luke and prayed to him without interruption. And the boy, who already had more than 30 operations on his account, finally began to walk.
The next healing happened in 2006. One woman complained of pain in her ear, but she decided not to go to the doctors. Instead, she went to church for help. There she was advised to pray and read the akathist to the Apostle Luke. The woman prayed constantly, andfinally, the Saint himself appeared to her in a dream and said: “Now I will operate on you.” After that, the woman felt a slight painless puncture, and the next morning she found that her ear did not bother her at all.
All the above stories are only a small part of what St. Luke did, the icon and prayers to which are truly miraculous. But the most important thing is not fiction, these are real stories of cured patients. These stories once again demonstrate Luke's divine power and love for people.
Icons painted by the Apostle Luke
Icons of the Mother of God are the most important work of the Saint. There are more than 30 of them on Luke's account. One of these is the icon of the Virgin Mary with the Child in her arms, to which she once sent mercy.
The next icon, which was painted by the Apostle Luke, became the "Black Madonna" of Czestochowa, which is the main Polish shrine. She is worshiped annually by about 4.5 million believers. The icon was painted, according to legend, in Jerusalem on the top board of a dining table made of cypress. She is revered by both Catholics and Orthodox.
The Fedorov icon was also painted by the Saint, it consecrated the image of Alexander Nevsky. She once blessed Mikhail Romanov himself to reign. She became a symbol of the royal family. In front of this icon, all women pray for a safe birth.
The following icons, painted by the Apostle Luke, are the faces of Saints Peter and Paul. Having portrayed these paramount Apostles, Luke laid the foundation for painting pictures for the Glory of God, the faces of all the Apostles, the Blessed VirginMary, to decorate churches and to save sick believers who will venerate icons and pray with faith in front of them.
What do they pray to St. Luke?
Prayer to the Apostle Luke is read for various ailments, especially for any eye diseases. In addition, the Saint is considered the patron saint of all doctors, because it was not for nothing that the Apostle Paul called him “the beloved doctor” in his time.
In matters of spiritual education, before reading the Bible or any other literature related to the enlightenment of the mind and spirit, the Apostle Luke will help, whose icon, as they say in a prayer to him, “will awaken wisdom and fear in a person.”
The gospel written by Luke
The third book of the New Testament was written by the Holy Apostle Luke, approximately, in 62-63 years during his stay in Caesarea. The book, as you know, was created under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. It was written in beautiful Greek, because it is not in vain that it is considered the best book of all times and peoples. Unlike the two previous Gospels, Luke narrated in his book about the birth of John the Baptist, about some unknown details of the birth of the Savior, and even touched on the Roman census. The apostle described in detail the adolescence of Jesus, the visions that were presented to the shepherds, the feelings of the robber crucified next to the Savior, and also told about the Emmaus travelers. The Gospel of Luke includes many different instructive parables, among which are “About the prodigal son”, “About the good Samaritan”, “About the unjust judge”, “About Lazarus and the rich man”, etc. Luke also describes the exploitsand the deeds that Christ did, thus proving that he is a True Man.
In his book, the Apostle Luke describes in detail the entire chronology, examines the facts, and also makes good use of the oral tradition of the Church. The Gospel of Luke is distinguished by its teaching about the salvation that Jesus Christ accomplished, as well as the universal significance of the sermon.
Also, in the 60s, Saint Luke wrote the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, in which he describes in detail all the labors and deeds performed by the disciples of God after the Ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven.
Icons of the Apostle Luke
Among the icons depicting the Apostle Luke, many have survived to this day. They were written from the XV-XVIII century, and are kept in museums and temples. In each of the images, endless devotion to the Lord is noted, and the icons themselves carry positive energy and love. That is why most people believe in the power of the face of St. Luke, and, as a rule, whoever believes is healed.
The Pskov Museum keeps two icons that were painted in the 16th century, one of them depicts Luke painting the same icon of the Virgin with the Child in her arms.
The Kirillo-Belozersky Museum has an image of Luke of the 16th century, which is called “Luke the Apostle and Evangelist.”
In the Church of the Holy Great Martyr of Thessalonica, on the iconostasis, there is a miraculous icon of the Holy Apostle Luke.
The Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah also houses the Holy Image of the Apostle, and the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Royal Gates houses the oldesticon of St. Luke in salary.
The relics of St. Luke. Where are they stored?
One of the particles of the Saint's relics is stored in the Church of St. Nicholas. Thousands of believers come there every day to pray.
The Chapel of the Apostle Luke is stored in the Temple of the Holy Truth in the city of Padua, which is decorated with frescoes by a famous artist. J. Storlato.
The head of His Holiness rests in the Cathedral of the Holy Martyr Vitus in Prague. Particles of the relics are stored in three Athos monasteries: St. Panteleimon, Iberian, Diosinate.
If you want to get closer to the Saint and feel the full power of his appearance, visit the Church of the Apostle Luke. Addresses and routes can be easily found.
The Apostle Luke, whose icon carries healing power, was one of the most beloved disciples of the Lord God himself, who was one of the few who did not betray Him and after His ascension to heaven continued to preach His good name, for which he gained a painful death. But his exploits do not end there to this day, this is proved by the real stories of those who have been healed, which sometimes defy any logic. But everywhere they talk about strong faith and love. From this we can conclude that you should always believe, especially in hopeless situations.
