Philip the Evangelist | |
|---|---|
 Icon of Philip, Italy | |
| Evangelist or Deacon | |
| Born | Unknown (1st century) Caesarea Maritima,Roman Empire (modern-dayIsrael) |
| Died | 11 October (1st century) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church (Latin andEastern Rites) Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches Protestantism |
| Feast | 11 October |
Philip the Evangelist (Greek:Φίλιππος,Philippos) appears several times in theActs of the Apostles. According to the work, he was one of theSeven chosen to care for the poor of theChristian community inJerusalem (Acts 6). He preached and performedmiracles inSamaria, and met andbaptised anEthiopian man, aeunuch, on the road from Jerusalem toGaza, traditionally marking the start of theEthiopian Church (Acts 8:26–39). Later, Philip lived inCaesarea Maritima with his four daughters whoprophesied, where he was visited byPaul the Apostle (Acts 21:8–9).[1]
Philip bore aGreek name. He is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (6:5) as one of "Seven Deacons" who were chosen to attend to certain temporal affairs of thechurch in Jerusalem in consequence of the murmurings of theHellenists against theHebrews.
After themartyrdom ofStephen he went to "the city ofSamaria", where he preached with much success,Simon Magus being one of his converts. He afterwards was told by anangel of the Lord to go to the road between Jerusalem andGaza. There he instructed and baptized theEthiopian eunuch; next he was "caught away" by the Spirit and "found at Azotus" (Ashdod); and then "passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea" (Acts 8). Philip made Ceasarea Maritima his home.[2]
Here some years afterwards, according toActs 21:8–9, where he is described as "the evangelist" (a term found again in theNew Testament only inEphesians4:11;2 Timothy4:5), he entertainedPaul the Apostle and his companions on their way to Jerusalem; at that time "he had four daughters, virgins, which didprophesy".[3]
At a very early period he came to be confused with thePhilip the Apostle; the confusion was all the more easy because, as an esteemed member of the apostolic company, he may readily have been described as anapostle in the wider sense of that word, beyond the original 12 Apostles.[4] A late tradition describes him as settling atTralles inAnatolia, where he became thebishop of that church.[3]
"St Philip the Deacon" is commemorated on October 11 in theEastern Orthodox Church, in theRoman Rite,[5] theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod,[6] and in theAnglican communion including, for example, theU.S. Episcopal Church, and theAnglican Church of Southern Africa.[7] Additionally, in theEastern Orthodox Church, Philip is counted among theSeventy Apostles, and is referred to as aProtodeacon; this feast day is celebrated on January 4.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Philip "the Evangelist"".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 376.