St. Luke the Evangelist "O holy apostle Luke, intercede to our merciful God, so that He may grant to our souls forgiveness of transgressions." - Apolytikion of St. Luke the Evangelist (Third Tone)
Pagan parents, possibly born a slave, and one of the earliest converts. Physician. Legend has that he was also a painter who may have done portraits of Jesus and Mary, but none have ever been correctly attributed to him; this story, and the inspiration his Gospel has always given artists, led to his patronage of them. Travelled with Saint Paul and evangelized Greece and Rome with him, being there for the shipwreck and other perils of the voyage to Rome. Wrote the Gospel According to Luke, much of which was based on the teachings and writings of Paul, and his own experiences. Wrote a history of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles.
