Philip the Apostle

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Philip the Evangelist.

relics in Basilica Santi Apostoli, Rome
FeastAs Philip and James, Apostles, in the Roman Rite and in Protestant commemorations:


3 May: Roman Rite, Protestant Church in Germany
1 May:

LCMS


14 November and 30 June:
Hatters; Pastry chefs; San Felipe Pueblo; Uruguay

Philip the Apostle (

Asia-Minor
.

In the

feast day of Philip, along with that of James the Less, was traditionally observed on 1 May, the anniversary of the dedication of the church dedicated to them in Rome (now called the Church of the Twelve Apostles). In the short-lived calendar reform of 1960, it was transferred to 11 May, but since 1969 it has been assigned to 3 May. The Eastern Orthodox Church
celebrates Philip's feast day on 14 November.

Philip the Apostle, detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century

New Testament

The

Andrew and Peter, who were from the same town. He also was among those surrounding John the Baptist when the latter first pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God. It was Philip who first introduced Nathanael (sometimes identified with Bartholomew) to Jesus.[2] According to Butler, Philip was among those attending the wedding at Cana.[3]

Of the four Gospels, Philip figures most prominently in the Gospel of John.[a] Jesus tests Philip (John 6:6) when he asks him how to feed the 5,000 people.[2] Later he appears as a link to the Greek community. Philip bore a Greek name, could likely speak Greek,[4] and may have been known to the Greek pilgrims in Jerusalem. He advises Andrew that certain Greeks wish to meet Jesus, and together they inform Jesus of this (John 12:21).[2] During the Last Supper, when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, he provides Jesus the opportunity to teach his disciples about the unity of the Father and the Son.[3]

Distinct from Philip the Evangelist

Philip the Apostle should not be confused with Philip the Evangelist, who was appointed with Stephen and five others to oversee charitable distributions (Acts 6:5).[5]

Apocryphal accounts

Nag Hammadi texts

One of the

codices discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 bears Philip's name in its title, on the bottom line.[6]
An early extra-biblical story about St. Philip is preserved in the apocryphal
Nag Hammadi Library, and dated to the end of the 2nd century or early 3rd.[7] This text begins with a letter from St. Peter to St. Philip, asking him to rejoin the other apostles who had gathered at the Mount of Olives. Fred Lapham believes that this letter indicates an early tradition that "at some point between the Resurrection of Jesus and the final parting of his risen presence from the disciples, Philip had undertaken a sole missionary enterprise, and was, for some reason, reluctant to return to the rest of the Apostles." This mission is in harmony with the later tradition that each disciple was given a specific missionary charge.[8] Lapham explains the central section, a Gnostic dialogue between the risen Christ and his disciples, as a later insertion.[9]

Acts: miracles and martyrdom

Later stories about Philip's life can be found in the anonymous

crucified upside-down, and Philip preached from his cross. As a result of Philip's preaching the crowd released Bartholomew from his cross, but Philip insisted that they not release him, and Philip died on the cross. Philip is also said to have been martyred by beheading, rather than crucifixion, in the city of Hierapolis.[citation needed
]

Martyrdom of Philip the Apostle. Scene from the Menologion of Basil II.

Relics

The relics of Philip the Apostle are currently found in the

Cheektowaga, New York.[13]

Possible tomb location

Tomb of Philip the Apostle, Hierapolis

In 2011, Italian archaeologist Francesco D'Andria claimed to have discovered the original tomb of Philip during excavations in ancient

martyrion church to his right, removing all doubts about the basilica being the one to contain the original tomb of the apostle. The church built on his tomb and the martyrion church some 40 yards away were places of intense veneration for centuries: In Philip's Church of the Sepulchre the marble floors were worn down by thousands of people.[14][15]

In 2012,

Bartholomew
, the patriarch of Constantinople and primate of the Orthodox church, celebrated the liturgy of St. Philip in the Church of the Sepulchre and in the martyrion church of the apostle.

Iconography

Cross of Philip

Philip is commonly associated with the symbol of the

carpenter's square.[citation needed
]

Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Giuseppe Mazzuoli

Veneration

Philip is remembered (with James) in the Church of England with a Festival on 1 May.[16]

The Holy and All-praised Apostle Philip is

the Holy, Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles) in the Eastern Orthodox Church.[17][18]

His feast day begins

Western Advent.[20]

Patronage

Saint Philip is the patron saint of hatters.[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Philip is mentioned 11 times in the New King James Version of John's Gospel, and three times in each of the other Gospels

References

  1. ^ Jn 1:43
  2. ^ a b c "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Philip the Apostle".
  3. ^ a b Butler, Alban. "St. Philip, Apostle", The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, Vol. V, D. & J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864
  4. ^ Nicoll, W. R., Expositor's Greek Testament on John 12, accessed 10 June 2016
  5. ISBN 9780745955049
    .
  6. ISBN 90-04-10443-7
  7. ^ Translated in James M. Robinson, editor, The Nag Hammadi Library (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), pp. 431–437
  8. ^ Fred Lapham, An Introduction to the New Testament Apocrypha (London: T & T Clark International, 2003), p. 78
  9. ^ Lapham, An Introduction, p. 80
  10. ^ Craig A. Blaising, "Philip, Apostle" in The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, ed. Everett Ferguson (New York: Garland Publishing, 1997).
  11. ^ "Acts of Philip – especially Book 8". meta-religion.com. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  12. ^ Schaff, Philip (1885). "Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8". Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  13. ^ "Relic of St. Philip the Apostle". St. Philip the Apostle Parish. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "Tomb of Apostle Philip Found". biblicalarchaeology.org. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  15. ^ John. "How I Discovered the Tomb of the Apostle Philip: Interview With Archaeologist Francesco D'Andria". Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  16. ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Святой апостол Филипп". Православный Церковный календарь (in Russian). Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  18. ^ "ФИЛИПП, АПОСТОЛ ОТ 12 - Древо". drevo-info.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Рубрика "Рождественский пост" - Пять ступеней веры". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Advent and Nativity Fast". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  21. ^ Grube, Madison. "St. Philip the Apostle and History". The Falcon's Flyer. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

External links

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Catholic Church Titles
New creation Bishop of Hierapolis
1st century 		Succeeded by