Life
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke was one of the Seventy Apostles of Christ, a unique figure among the Evangelists for his triple giftedness — he was simultaneously a physician, a writer, and, according to tradition, the first Christian iconographer. He was born in Syrian Antioch in a Hellenized family. He received an excellent Greek education, attested by the fact that his writings — the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles — are composed in the finest Greek in the New Testament.
By profession he was a physician, as the Apostle Paul himself calls him — “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col 4:14). As a young man he heard of Christ and His teachings and went to Jerusalem, where he received the faith. Many interpreters hold that he was one of the two disciples whom the Risen Christ overtook on the road to Emmaus and who recognized Him “at the breaking of bread” (Lk 24:13–35).
After Pentecost he joined the apostles and became a close collaborator of the Holy Apostle Paul. He accompanied him on the second missionary journey (beginning at Troas, Acts 16:10) — these are the well-known “we-passages” in Acts, where the narration suddenly shifts to the first person plural — and remained with him through the most difficult years, right up to Paul’s martyrdom in Rome. In his final letter, written from prison, Paul says with sadness: “Only Luke is with me” (2 Tim 4:11).
Under the supervision of Saint Paul and after careful examination of eyewitnesses and disciples, Luke composed the Third Gospel — the longest of the three Synoptic Gospels — and the Acts of the Apostles, the second longest book of the New Testament. Only Luke records details about Christ’s birth (the adoration of the shepherds, the song of the angels, Mary’s Magnificat), about the childhood (the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple), and preserves some of the most beloved parables of Christ: the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus. His style breathes with gentleness, care for the poor, women, and the powerless — reflecting his physician’s soul.
Tradition, attested already in the sixth century by Theodore Lector, holds that Saint Luke was also the first iconographer. He painted three icons of the Most Holy Theotokos during her lifetime, and the Theotokos blessed them with the words: “May My grace be with these icons.” Among them are, according to tradition, the celebrated icons of Vladimirskaya and Philermos. Saint Luke thus became the patron of all iconographers and Christian artists.
After Paul’s martyrdom he preached in Achaia, Boeotia, Gaul, and Egypt, continuously combining medical work with preaching. In deep old age, at eighty-four, he suffered martyrdom in Thebes in Greece — according to one tradition he was hanged from an olive tree. His relics were later translated to Constantinople; today the main portion rests in Padua (Italy), while parts are in Patmos and other sanctuaries.
Tropar (Tone 5)
O Apostle and Evangelist Luke, adornment of Christ, thou didst paint the Church with the pen of the Spirit and didst write the lives of the physicians of souls — intercede with Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion (Tone 4)
Let the universal Church celebrate in song the true disciple of Christ, the travelling companion of the godly-speaking Paul, the Evangelist Luke; for his writings cleanse the souls of those who love Christ.
About the Feast
Lukin dan is observed on October 31 by the New (Gregorian) calendar, corresponding to October 18 by the Old (Julian) calendar. In Serbian tradition it is not among the most widespread patron feasts, but it is kept by several thousand families throughout Serbia, Republika Srpska, and the diaspora.
Saint Luke is especially significant as the patron of three occupations that were close to him in life: physicians and medical personnel, iconographers and visual artists, and students of medicine and theological sciences. In many medical institutions in Serbia, especially older hospitals, there are chapels or icons of Saint Luke; in iconographic workshops it is customary to begin work with a prayer to Saint Luke.
Traditional foods for Lukin dan: since the feast falls outside the major fasting periods (between the Paschal and Nativity fasting seasons), the feast table is usually unrestricted if the day does not fall on a Wednesday or Friday. The slava bread and koljivo occupy the central place. With them are served roast lamb or chicken, stuffed cabbage, cheese pie, various late-autumn fresh vegetables, plums, apples, and walnuts. In families of physicians it is customary to invite colleagues from the profession to the feast and to pray for the patients.
In folk tradition Lukin dan is connected with autumn labors: the end of the harvest, the preparing of winter provisions, and the sealing of the cellar. There is a saying, “At Luke’s — the wine is in the cask,” indicating that by this time the wine has been sealed into barrels and begins its fermentation, and the new vintage is first tasted at the feast.