Saint Luke the Evangelist was one of the 4 gospel writers, documenting the life of Christ and His ministry. He is also the author of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. These two books were written to one by the name Theophilus, which means lover of God, who is thought to be a wealthy Alexandrian man.

Between these two writings, Saint Luke is credited to have written more than a quarter of the New Testament, more than any other New Testament author. Based on his gospel and the book of Acts, some scholars believe that he was a gentile who later converted to Christianity early on. His gospel is based on what he heard from first hand witnesses to the events, such as from St. Mary. He also was a firsthand witness of parts of the early Christian church history documented in the book of Acts. It is clear that he accompanied Saint Paul during his 2nd missionary journey, stayed at the church founded in Phillippi, and met again with St. Paul on his last trip to Jerusalem. 

There are multiple stories in the Gospel of St. Luke that are unique to his gospel, and are an essential part of Christianity as we know it today, such as The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, The Road to Emmaus, and The Magnificat, among others. With his account in the book of Acts, he is also credited as being the first historian of the Christian church. 

He was noted to be a physician, as St. Paul describes him in Colossians 4:14 saying, “Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.” As such, in his gospel, he presented Christ as the true physicians of our souls. He is also claimed to be the first church iconographer, with many icons of St. Luke depicting him painting an icon of St. Mary with the child Jesus. 

He accompanied St. Paul during his final imprisonment in Rome, and stayed with him till his martyrdom. He was later martyred as an elderly man in Greece.

  1. Acts 1:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus 
  2. http://suscopts.org/wiki/St._Luke_the_Apostle 
  3. Boring, M. Eugene (2012). An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology. 
  4. Michael Walsh, ed. “Butler's Lives of the Saints.