On October 11th, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Philip the Apostle, who is one of the seven deacons.
According to tradition, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles stayed for a short time in Jerusalem. They were joined every day by many people who accepted Christianity.
They lived in love and understanding. People sold their possessions and gave the money to the apostles, who in turn distributed it to everyone. But with the increase in the number of students, disagreements also appeared.
The apostles did not have the opportunity to deal with the needs of society, as they preached the word of God. That's why they all together chose seven men who were to take care of the household problems and distribute aid.
The seven chosen were Philip, Nicanor, Parmen, Stephen, Prochorus, Timon and Nicholas. They were called deacons by the apostles. The name Philip comes from ancient Greek and means “lover of horses“.
St. Apostle Philip was born in Caesarea Palestine Chosen as a deacon, he diligently performed his duties. The Jews, seeing that the number of believers was increasing, began to persecute God's church.
They stoned Archdeacon Stephen. Many believers left Jerusalem and scattered in different directions. In the cities and villages where they scattered, they diligently preached the word of God. So this persecution served for an ever wider spread of the Christian faith.
Deacon Philip, having left Jerusalem, came to Samaria, where he diligently preached the good news about the saving work of the God-man. The people listened to him with joy and were amazed at the miracles he performed. Philip cast out unclean spirits and healed the sick. Many people believed in his preaching.
In Samaria there was a man named Simon, known as a sorcerer. He also received holy baptism from Philip. The apostles, who continued to reside in Jerusalem, heard that many inhabitants of Samaria accepted the word of God through the gospel of the deacon Philip, who in his ministry rose to the rank of an apostle.
The apostles Peter and John also came to Samaria to help Philip in establishing the Church there. They began to pray hard for those who believed, laying hands on them. And all of them received the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Himself guided the apostles, instructing them what to do and where to go. Thus, once an angel of the Lord said to Philip: - Get up and go south along the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza and which is deserted. Philip listened and went to that road, where at that time an Ethiopian was traveling in a chariot.
This Ethiopian, an eunuch, was the nobleman of Candacia, queen of Ethiopia, keeper of all her treasures. He was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. And he, like many other foreigners, believed in the Mosaic Law. Now he was returning to his homeland.
Sitting in his chariot, he was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. At the moment, he was just reading the words of the prophet Isaiah about the Redeemer: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He did not open His mouth.
In His humiliation He was deprived of a just judgment. But who will explain His kind? Because His life is taken from the earth.” The Ethiopian nobleman did not understand who the prophet was talking about. God, seeing his sincere desire to know the truth, sent him unexpected help.
The Holy Spirit prompted Philip to approach the chariot and speak with him. Philip approached and asked the nobleman: - Do you understand what you are reading? The nobleman answered:
- How can I if someone doesn't guide me? And he asked Philip to get into the chariot, sit with him and explain to him what he had read.
- Please tell me – he told him – of whom the prophet speaketh this.
Sitting in the chariot, Philip explained to him the meaning of the prophecy. Good news to him about the Lord Jesus. The nobleman listened with deep attention.
When they came to a water, he said to Philip:
- Here's water. What prevents me from being baptized?
- If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized – answered Philip.
- I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God – the Ethiopian declared enthusiastically. The chariot stopped.
The two entered the water. Philip baptized the nobleman. When they came out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon the newly converted. The Ethiopian was already a living member of the Church of God. An angel of the Lord took Philip away from that place. The Scorpion saw him no more.
He happily continued his journey to his homeland. Brought her the most precious gift – the gospel of the Kingdom of God. St. Philip continued his apostolic ministry. He was in the city of Azot. After that he visited many more towns and villages. Everywhere he tirelessly revealed the truth about the work of the Savior in this world. Arrived in Caesarea with his four daughters.
He lived with them and received the new believers here. His daughters had a prophetic gift. St. the apostle Paul, on his way to Jerusalem, was in Caesarea. Stopped at St. Philip's. From Caesarea Philip came to the Lydian city of Tralia, Asia Minor. Here he served the Church as bishop of Tralee.
Converted many to Christ. He performed great miracles here, as in many other places. Died at a very old age, loved by all his numerous flock.
On October 11, Philip, Filipiana, Filippa, Filko, Filcho, Filoslav, Ficho, Philomir celebrate their name day.