Philip the Apostle of the 70, one of the 7 Deacons
October 11th.
Born in Palestinian Caesarea, the Apostle Philip (one of the Seven Deacons) lived through two amazing adventures en route to becoming a saint in God’s Holy Church. On one occasion, he was called upon to match wits with a fearsome sorcerer who was intent on doing everything he could to stop the spread of Christianity.
Philip survived that test – and then later was amazed to be transported through the air by an angel of the Lord to distant Azotus, an ancient Palestine city located halfway between Joppa and Gaza, where he would be called upon to preach the Holy Gospel to all who would listen.
Philip’s life in the decades immediately after Jesus Christ seemed fairly ordinary, at least some of the time. The father of four daughters – all four would receive the gift of being able to prophesy the future, and would also take vows of lifetime virginity – he was a sober, industrious worker and a conscientious family man. But his life changed almost overnight, after he was chosen by the twelve Holy Apostles as a deacon and assigned (with St. Stephen, later the first Christian martyr, who was stoned to death) to assist widows and orphans and other needy souls in the city of Jerusalem.
St. Philip’s vocation soon grew more difficult, however. Driven out of Jerusalem by the escalating persecution of the Christians, he took refuge in Samaria around 35 A.D. and there preached the Gospel, performed numerous miracles, healed the sick and occasionally freed suffering individuals from the demons that had possessed them. TAKEN FROM
It was in Samaria that the contest with the famed sorcerer Simon Magus took place. At first, it seemed likely that the great magician would vanquish the humble apostle from Palestine – armed as he was with the ability to perform marvelous sleights-of-hand and even transform stones and other objects into animals, while also conjuring up illusions that alternately tantalized and terrified onlookers.
Amazingly enough, however, the famous sorcerer was overwhelmed when he saw the apostle repeatedly performing the one kind of feat that he could not accomplish – by driving merciless demons out of Samarians who were then healed completely of a variety of different ailments. In the end, Simon Magus was converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and wound up following the Apostle Philip as he preached!
It was an astounding encounter, but not the only situation in which this courageous Christian would confront the exotic and the unknown for the sake of the Holy Redeemer. On another remarkable occasion, the apostle was startled by the arrival of an angel who commanded him to hurry out to the road that ran between Jerusalem and Gaza. St. Philip obeyed . . . and was surprised to find there a well-known eunuch who was traveling far from home with his master, Queen Candace of Ethiopia.
What followed was a remarkable conversion. When St. Philip approached the high-ranking official of the queen’s court, he found him reading a passage from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah in which the great prophet predicted the eventual arrival of a Holy Redeemer who would save the world. Taking advantage of this opening, Philip the Deacon quickly began to tell Queen Candace’s politically powerful eunuch the entire story of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.
Amazed, the curious eunuch asked the saint how a person could join the followers of the Holy Gospel, and Philip obliged him by describing the sacrament of Baptism in great detail. As chance would have it, the travelers at that moment came around a bend in the road and found that they were flanked by a small, rushing stream. Inspired by the ardent evangelist and his burning charisma, the eunuch ordered that the entire entourage come to a halt.
Leaping out of his carriage, the eunuch led St. Philip to the water’s edge – and then received Holy Baptism from him, on the spot! (One can only imagine the consternation that must have set in, when the queen’s officers and courtiers witnessed the eunuch’s immersion in the rushing current, while the eager apostle prayed over him.)
It was a truly Providential moment, however. As a highly respected figure in the queen’s entourage, the eunuch had a great deal of influence – and he would later help to bring many more converts to the Church.
These adventures were unforgettable. Yet they paled when compared to another extraordinary event . . . in which the shocked evangelist was suddenly transported through the air for many miles to the distant Holy Land city of Azotus (today known as Ashdod). Realizing that protest was useless, Philip went to work as instructed, and eventually succeeding in achieving many more conversions for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Later in life, the peripatetic St. Philip would also serve for several years as the bishop of Tralles, Lydia, in far-off Asia Minor, where once again he would accomplish everything that had been asked of him. Loyal and faithful to the end, this servant of God enjoyed a peaceful old age and died in the embrace of the Almighty.
Before all else, a deacon is a servant – and St. Philip’s life shows us what service to the Holy Lord Jesus Christ really means. Ready to travel on a moment’s notice, and also willing to sacrifice his life at any time in martyrdom, this obedient subject won a glorious place in the pantheon of saints with his quiet humility.
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O holy Apostle Philip, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Since thou wast enlightened by the Holy Spirit, thou enlightenest the earth and all its fulness with the beams of thy wise teachings and miracles, Apostle Philip, thou sacred initiate.
