Fr. Paul C. Bebis

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We all know from our study of the scriptures that the Holy Bible is divided into two sections, one is the Old Testament, and the other is the New Testament. The Old Testament consists of 49 books which relate to the events prior to the Life of Christ, especially writing about the beginning of the world and the prophets. The New Testament focuses on the Life of Christ written by Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These four great writers were called "Evangelists," (taken from the Greek which means "one who proclaims the Good News"). St. Matthew writes as a preacher, St. Mark as a chronicler, St. Luke as a historian, and St. John as a Theologian. Today, we honor the memory of St. Luke. He was from the ancient city of Antioch in Syria, and he was one of the countless followers of Christ. St. Luke wrote the beautiful Gospel of St. Luke and the Book of Acts. He was the most talented by far, and he was well educated, for he was a physician and an artist. He spoke many different languages and he was considered one of the great scholars of his day. He was very good friends with St. Paul, and he accompanied him on many of his journeys to Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. He was also the first iconographer, (a painter of icons). According to Holy Tradition, St. Luke had painted three icons of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child. One of these three icons is now located within the Church of the Holy Greek Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. St. Luke lived to the ripe old age of 80 years old, and his last days were spent in the City of Thebes.