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60-685: Luke the Evangelist is one of the Four Evangelists —the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels . The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles . Prominent figures in early Christianity such as Jerome and Eusebius later reaffirmed his authorship, although a lack of conclusive evidence as to the identity of

120-472: A "fairly early and widespread tradition". According to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos , Greek historian of the 14th century (and others), Luke's tomb was located in Thebes , whence his relics were transferred to Constantinople in the year 357. The Gospel of Luke does not name its author. The Gospel was not, nor does it claim to be, written by direct witnesses to the reported events, unlike Acts beginning in

180-522: A Greek manuscript as old as AD 170. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts . Together they account for 27.5% of the New Testament , the largest contribution by a single author. Most scholars understand Luke's works ( Luke–Acts ) in the tradition of Greek historiography . Luke 1:1–4, drawing on historical investigation, identified

240-533: A narrative that relates supernatural, fantastic things like angels, demons etc., as problematic as a historical source. Mark Powell claims that "it is doubtful whether the writing of history was ever Luke's intent. Luke wrote to proclaim, to persuade, and to interpret; he did not write to preserve records for posterity. An awareness of this, has been, for many, the final nail in Luke the historian's coffin." Robert M. Grant has noted that although Luke saw himself within

300-575: A number of painted images were venerated as his autograph works, including the Black Madonna of Częstochowa , Our Lady of Vladimir , and Madonna del Rosario . He was also said to have painted Saints Peter and Paul, and to have illustrated a gospel book with a full cycle of miniatures. The late medieval Guilds of Saint Luke gathered together and protected painters in many cities of Europe, especially Flanders. The Academy of Saint Luke , in Rome,

360-400: A position is shared by Richard Heard, who sees historical deficiencies as arising from "special objects in writing and to the limitations of his sources of information." In modern times, Luke's competence as a historian is questioned, depending upon one's a priori view of the supernatural . Since post- Enlightenment historians work with methodological naturalism , such historians would see

420-526: A trustworthy record. …It was the spadework of archaeology which first revealed the truth." New Testament scholar Colin Hemer has made a number of advancements in understanding the historical nature and accuracy of Luke's writings. On the purpose of Acts, New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson has noted that "Luke's account is selected and shaped to suit his apologetic interests, not in defiance of but in conformity to ancient standards of historiography." Such

480-522: A word meaning "people who proclaim good news", because their books aim to tell the "good news" ("gospel") of Jesus. In iconography , the evangelists often appear in Evangelist portraits derived from classical tradition, and are also frequently represented by the symbols which originate from the four " living creatures " that draw the throne-chariot of God in the vision in Ezekiel 1 reflected in

540-407: Is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy. …[He] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." Professor of Classics at Auckland University , Edward Musgrave Blaiklock , wrote: "For accuracy of detail, and for evocation of atmosphere, Luke stands, in fact, with Thucydides . The Acts of the Apostles is not shoddy product of pious imagining, but

600-409: Is believed to have been a martyr , reportedly having been hanged from an olive tree, though some believe otherwise. The Catholic Church and other major denominations venerate him as Saint Luke the Evangelist and as a patron saint of artists, physicians, bachelors , notaries, butchers, brewers, and others; his feast day is 18 October. Many scholars believe that Luke was a physician who lived in

660-466: Is commemorated: The Roman Catholic Church commemorates Luke the Evangelist on 18 October. The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates the martyrdom of Luke on Paopi 22 . The Church of England commemorates Luke the Evangelist on 18 October. Eight bodies and nine heads, located in different places, are presented as the relics of the Apostle Luke. Despot George of Serbia purportedly bought

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720-711: Is depicted with wings, following the biblical sources first in Ezekiel 1 – 2 , and in Revelation . The symbols are shown with, or in place of, the Evangelists in early medieval Gospel Books , and are the usual accompaniment to Christ in Majesty when portrayed during the same period, reflecting the vision in Revelation. They were presented as one of the most common motifs found on church portals and apses , as well as many other locations. When surrounding Christ,

780-414: Is developed in chapter 2, with a warning against being drawn away from him in whom dwelt all the fullness of the deity, and who was the head of all spiritual powers. Colossians 2:8–15 offers firstly a "general warning" against accepting a purely human philosophy, and then Colossians 2:16–23 a "more specific warning against false teachers". In these doctrinal sections, the letter proclaims that Christ

840-466: Is enough to know that someone, at any rate, wrote Ephesians (why not Paul?), 30 to 60 years after Christ’s death (hardly any later than that, since it is attested by Ignatius, Polycarp, and Justin), someone who understood Paul well and developed the apostle’s ideas with conspicuous loyalty as well as originality.” If the text was written by Paul, it could have been written at Rome during his first imprisonment. Paul would likely have composed it at roughly

900-428: Is hotly disputed. Brent Landau writes: So how do we account for a Gospel that is believable about minor events but implausible about a major one? One possible explanation is that Luke believed that Jesus’ birth was of such importance for the entire world that he dramatically juxtaposed this event against an (imagined) act of worldwide domination by a Roman emperor who was himself called “savior” and “son of God”—but who

960-625: Is stress on the scriptural roots of the gentile mission (see the use of Isaiah 49:6 in Luke–Acts). DNA testing on what Christian tradition holds to be his body has revealed it to be of Syrian ancestry. Whether Luke was a Jew or gentile, or something in between, it is clear from the quality of the Greek language used in Luke-Acts that the author , held in Christian tradition to be Luke, was one of

1020-473: Is supreme over all that has been created. All things were created through him and for him, and the universe is sustained by him. God had chosen for his complete being to dwell in Christ. The "cosmic powers" revered by the false teachers had been "discarded" and "led captive" at Christ's death. Christ is the master of all angelic forces and the head of the church. Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity,

1080-532: Is that the epistle's language doesn't seem to match Paul's, with 48 words appearing in Colossians that are found nowhere else in his writings and 33 of which occur nowhere else in the New Testament . A second ground is that the epistle features a strong use of liturgical-hymnic style which appears nowhere else in Paul's work to the same extent. A third is that the epistle's themes related to Christ, eschatology and

1140-518: Is usually pointed out by the same authors who note the differences in language and style, the number of words foreign to the New Testament and Paul is no greater in Colossians than in the undisputed Pauline letters (Galatians, of similar length, has 35 hapax legomena ). In regard to the style, as Norman Perrin, who argues for pseudonymity, notes, "The letter does employ a great deal of traditional material and it can be argued that this accounts for

1200-517: The Book of Revelation ( 4:6–9ff ), referred to as the four ' Seraphim ', though neither source links the creatures to the Evangelists (of course the depiction of the Seraphim predates in chronology the writing of the New Testament which portrays the writers John, Luke, Mark, Matthew as symbolically embodied by the four Seraphim). Images normally, but not invariably, appear with wings like angels . When

1260-473: The Four Evangelists are Matthew , Mark , Luke , and John , the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts. In the New Testament , they bear the following titles: the Gospel of Matthew ; the Gospel of Mark ; the Gospel of Luke ; and the Gospel of John . The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels , because they include many of

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1320-550: The Hellenistic city of Antioch in Ancient Syria , born of a Greek family, although some scholars and theologians think Luke was a Hellenic Jew . While it has been widely accepted that the theology of Luke–Acts points to a gentile Christian writing for a gentile audience, some have concluded that it is more plausible that Luke–Acts is directed to a community made up of both Jewish and gentile Christians since there

1380-584: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians 8:18 is either Luke or Barnabas ( Homily 18 on Second Corinthians on 2 Corinthians 8:18). If one accepts that Luke was indeed the author of the Gospel bearing his name and the Acts of the Apostles, certain details of his personal life can be reasonably assumed. While he does exclude himself from those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry, he repeatedly uses

1440-733: The Apostle Paul near the end of Paul's life was attested by 2 Timothy 4:11: "Only Luke is with me". In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, widely attributed to Luke, there are several accounts in the first person also affirming Luke's presence in Rome, including Acts 28:16: "And when we came to Rome..." According to some accounts, Luke also contributed to the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews . Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia , according to

1500-543: The Epistle, enforces various duties naturally flowing from the doctrines expounded. They are exhorted to mind things that are above Colossians 3:1–4, to mortify every evil principle of their nature, and to put on the new man. Many special duties of the Christian life are also insisted upon as the fitting evidence of the Christian character. The letter ends with customary prayer, instruction, and greetings. Colossians 3:22-24 instructs slaves to obey their masters and serve them sincerely, in return for an "inheritance" from God in

1560-474: The New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility. Although Luke is considered likely to have been a gentile Christian, some scholars believe him to have been a Hellenized Jew . The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not. Luke's presence in Rome with

1620-552: The afterlife. Colossians 4:1 instructs masters to "provide your slaves with what is right and fair" because God is in turn their master. Colossians is often categorized as one of the "prison epistles", along with Ephesians , Philippians , and Philemon . Colossians has some close parallels with the letter to Philemon: names of some of the same people (e.g., Timothy , Aristarchus , Archippus , Mark , Epaphras , Luke , Onesimus , and Demas ) appear in both epistles, and both are claimed to be written by Paul. Online translations of

1680-466: The author of the works has led to discussion in scholarly circles, both secular and religious. The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, and the Epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a physician (from Greek for 'one who heals'); thus he is thought to have been both a physician and a disciple of Paul . Since the early years of the faith, Christians have regarded him as a saint . He

1740-442: The authorship of Ephesians and Colossians." He provides as an example the reflection of theologian Karl Barth on the question. While acknowledging the validity of many questions regarding Pauline authorship, Barth was inclined to defend it. Nevertheless, he concluded that it didn't much matter one way or the other to him. It was more important to focus on "Quid scriptum est" (What is written) than "Quis scripseris" (Who wrote it). "It

1800-484: The church seem to have no parallel in Paul's undisputed works. Advocates of Pauline authorship defend the differences that there are between elements in this letter and those commonly considered the genuine work of Paul (e.g. 1 Thessalonians ). It is argued that these differences can come by human variability, such as by growth in theological knowledge over time, different occasion for writing, as well as use of different secretaries (or amanuenses ) in composition. As it

1860-399: The cousin of Barnabas. Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.   [...] Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. This comment has traditionally caused commentators to conclude that Luke was a gentile. If this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of

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1920-554: The eastern Mediterranean. Luke's earliest mention is in the Epistle to Philemon , chapter 1, verse 24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11, both traditionally held to be Pauline epistles (see Authorship of the Pauline epistles ). Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy Apostles ( Panarion 51.11), and John Chrysostom indicates at one point that the "brother" that Paul mentions in

1980-428: The figure of the man usually appears at top left—above Christ's right hand, with the lion above Christ's left arm. Underneath the man is the ox and underneath the lion is the eagle. This both reflects the medieval idea of the order of "nobility" of nature of the beasts (man, lion, ox, eagle) and the text of Ezekiel 1:10 . From the 13th century, their use began to decline, as a new conception of Christ in Majesty , showing

2040-531: The four. It is customary to refer to the gospels phrased as "the Gospel of Matthew" or as "Matthew's Gospel", and so on. Epistle to the Colossians Scholars have increasingly questioned Paul's authorship and attributed the letter to an early follower instead, but others still defend it as authentic. If Paul was the author, he probably used an amanuensis , or secretary, in writing the letter (Col 4:18), possibly Timothy. The original text

2100-404: The historical tradition, his work contains a number of statistical improbabilities, such as the sizable crowd addressed by Peter in Acts 4:4. He has also noted chronological difficulties whereby Luke "has Gamaliel refer to Theudas and Judas in the wrong order, and Theudas actually rebelled about a decade after Gamaliel spoke (5:36–7)", though this report's status as a chronological difficulty

2160-464: The icons attributed to the brush of the Evangelist Luke have a completely Byzantine character that was fully established only in the 5th-6th centuries. In traditional depictions, such as paintings, evangelist portraits , and church mosaics , Saint Luke is often accompanied by an ox or bull , usually having wings. The ox is mentioned in both Ezechiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:7. Sometimes only

2220-465: The late 1st century, possibly as late as AD 90. The original manuscript is lost, as are many early copies. The text of surviving copies varies . The oldest manuscripts transcribing some or all of this letter include: Colossae is in the same region as the seven churches of the Book of Revelation . In Colossians there is mention of local brethren in Colossae, Laodicea , and Hierapolis . Colossae

2280-471: The letter as primarily encouragement and edification for a developing church. I. Introduction (1:1–14) II. The Supremacy of Christ (1:15–23) III. Paul's Labor for the Church (1:24–2:7) IV. Freedom from Human Regulations through Life with Christ (2:8–23) V. Rules for Holy Living (3:1–4:6) VI. Final Greetings (4:7–18) The doctrinal part of the letter is found in the first two chapters. The main theme

2340-517: The literature, we could reject the hypothesis that the body belonged to a Greek, rather than a Syrian, individual. However, the probability of an origin in the area of modern Turkey was only insignificantly lower than the probability of a Syrian origin. The genetic evidence is therefore compatible with the possibility that the body comes from Syria, but also with its replacement in Constantinople. Four Evangelists In Christian tradition,

2400-570: The most highly educated of the authors of the New Testament. The author's conscious and intentional allusions and references to, and quotations of, ancient Classical and Hellenistic Greek authors, such as Homer, Aesop, Epimenides, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus indicate that he was familiar with actual Greek literary texts. This familiarity most likely derived from his experiences as a youth of the very homogeneous Hellenistic educational curriculum ( ἐνκύκλιος παιδεία , enkyklios paideia ) that had been, and would continue to be, used for centuries throughout

2460-409: The nature of Christ, and third the virtues required of a Christian for salvation . These animals may have originally been seen as representing the highest forms of the various types of animals: man, as king of creation, as the image of the creator; the lion, as king of beasts of prey (meat-eating); the ox, as king of domesticated animals (grass-eating); the eagle, as king of birds. Each of the symbols

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2520-537: The non-Pauline language and style. If this is the case, the non-Pauline language and style are not indications of pseudonymity." Not only that, but it has been noted that Colossians has indisputably Pauline stylistic characteristics, found nowhere else in the New Testament. Advocates of Pauline authorship also argue that the differences between Colossians and the rest of the New Testament are not as great as they are purported to be. As theologian Stephen D. Morrison points out in context, "Biblical scholars are divided over

2580-652: The purported skull of the Evangelist located in Prague ) confirmed that these were the remains of an individual of Syrian descent who died between AD 72 and AD 416. The Bishop of Padua then delivered to Metropolitan Ieronymos the rib of Saint Luke that was closest to his heart to be kept at his tomb in Thebes. Thus, the relics of Saint Luke are divided as follows: We also collected and typed modern samples from Syria and Greece. By comparison with these population samples, and with samples from Anatolia that were already available in

2640-656: The relics from the Ottoman sultan Murad II for 30,000 gold coins. After the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia , the kingdom's last queen, George's granddaughter Mary , who had brought the relics with her from Serbia as her dowry, sold them to the Venetian Republic . In 1992, the then Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Livadeia (who subsequently became Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece) requested from Bishop Antonio Mattiazzo of Padua

2700-579: The return of "a significant fragment of the relics of St. Luke to be placed on the site where the holy tomb of the Evangelist is located and venerated today". This prompted a scientific investigation of the relics in Padua , and by numerous lines of empirical evidence (archeological analyses of the Tomb in Thebes and the Reliquary of Padua , anatomical analyses of the remains, carbon-14 dating , comparison with

2760-472: The same stories, often in the same sequence or even verbatim. While the periods to which the gospels are usually dated suggest otherwise, convention traditionally holds that the authors were two of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus , John and Matthew, as well as two "apostolic men", Mark and Luke, whom Orthodox Tradition records as members of the 70 Apostles ( Luke 10 ): They are called evangelists ,

2820-432: The same time that he wrote Philemon and Ephesians , as all three letters were sent with Tychicus and Onesimus . A date of 62 AD assumes that the imprisonment Paul speaks of is his Roman imprisonment that followed his voyage to Rome. Other scholars have suggested that it was written from Caesarea or Ephesus. If the letter is not considered to be an authentic part of the Pauline corpus, then it might be dated during

2880-518: The sixteenth chapter. However, in most translations the author suggests that they have investigated the book's events and notes the name (Theophilus) of that to whom they are writing. The earliest manuscript of the Gospel (Papyrus 75 = Papyrus Bodmer XIV-XV), dated c. AD 200, ascribes the work to Luke; as did Irenaeus writing c. AD 180, and the Muratorian fragment , a 7th-century Latin manuscript thought to be copied and translated from

2940-409: The supreme power over the entire universe, and urged Christians to lead godly lives. The letter consists of two parts: first a doctrinal section, then a second regarding conduct. Those who believe that the motivation of the letter was a growing heresy in the church see both sections of the letter as opposing false teachers who have been spreading error in the congregation. Others see both sections of

3000-628: The symbol is shown, especially when in a combination of those of all Four Evangelists . "St Luke is suggested by the ox, a sacrificial animal, because his Gospel stresses the sacrificial nature of Christ's ministry and opens with Zechariah performing his priestly duties." The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorated Saint Luke, Apostle of the Seventy , Evangelist , companion (coworker) of the holy Apostle Paul , hieromartyr, physician, first icon painter with several feast days. The following are fixed feast days: There are also moveable feasts in which Luke

3060-527: The symbols of the Four Evangelists appear together, it is called a Tetramorph , common in the Romanesque art of Europe such as church frescoes or murals . The meanings accruing to the symbols grew over centuries, with an early formulation by Jerome , and were fully expressed by Rabanus Maurus , who set out three layers of meaning for the beasts: representing first the Evangelists, second

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3120-463: The unique agent of cosmic reconciliation. It is the Father in Colossians who is said to have delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. The Son is the agent of reconciliation and salvation not merely of the church, but in some sense redeems the rest of creation as well ("all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven"). The practical part of

3180-440: The word we in describing the Pauline missions in Acts of the Apostles, indicating that he was personally there at those times. The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, indicate that the author was an educated man. A quote in the Epistle to the Colossians differentiates between Luke and other colleagues "of the circumcision ." My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark,

3240-400: The work to the readers as belonging to the genre of history. There is disagreement about how best to treat Luke's writings, with some historians regarding Luke as highly accurate, and others taking a more critical approach. Based on his accurate description of towns, cities and islands, as well as correctly naming various official titles, archaeologist William Mitchell Ramsay wrote that "Luke

3300-520: The work's similarities to the letter to Philemon , which is broadly accepted as authentic. The letter's authors claim to be Paul and Timothy, but authorship began to be authoritatively questioned during the 19th century. Pauline authorship was held to by many of the early church's prominent theologians, such as Irenaeus , Clement of Alexandria , Tertullian , Origen of Alexandria and Eusebius . However, as with several epistles attributed to Paul, critical scholarship disputes this claim. One ground

3360-494: The wounds of the Passion , came into use. In Evangelist portraits, they sometimes appear to dictate to the writing evangelist. Matthew is often cited as the "first Gospel account", not only owing to its place in the canon , but also in view of the patristic witness to this effect. However, most biblical scholars see the gospel account of Mark as having been written first and John's gospel account as having been written last of

3420-414: Was approximately 12 miles (19 km) from Laodicea and 14 miles (23 km) from Hierapolis. References to "the elements" and the only mention of the word "philosophy" in the New Testament have led scholar Norman DeWitt to conclude that early Christians at Colossae must have been under the influence of Epicurean philosophy, which taught atomism . The Epistle to the Colossians proclaimed Christ to be

3480-616: Was imitated in many other European cities during the 16th century. The tradition that Luke painted icons of Mary and Jesus has been common, particularly in Eastern Orthodoxy . The tradition also has support from the Saint Thomas Christians of India who claim to still have one of the Theotokos icons that Saint Luke painted and which Saint Thomas brought to India. The art critic A. I. Uspensky writes that

3540-595: Was nothing of the sort. For an ancient historian following in the footsteps of Thucydides, such a procedure would have been perfectly acceptable. Christian tradition, starting from the 8th century, states that Luke was the first icon painter. He is said to have painted pictures of the Virgin Mary and Child, in particular the Hodegetria image in Constantinople (now lost). Starting from the 11th century,

3600-662: Was written in Koine Greek . During the first generation after Jesus, Paul's epistles to various churches helped establish early Christian theology. According to Bruce Metzger , it was written in the 60s while Paul was in prison. Colossians is similar to Ephesians, also written at this time. Some critical scholars have ascribed the epistle to an early follower of Paul, writing as Paul. The epistle's description of Christ as pre-eminent over creation marks it, for some scholars, as representing an advanced christology not present during Paul's lifetime. Defenders of Pauline authorship cite

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