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Day 22 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Babah, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Twenty-Second Day of the Blessed Month of Babah
Martyrdom of St.Luke the Evangelist
On this day, St. Luke the Evangelist
and physician, was martyred. He was one of the 70 disciples mentioned in
the tenth chapter of his gospel. He accompanied the Apostles Peter and
Paul and wrote their account. After the martyrdom of these two Apostles,
he went through Rome preaching. Those who worshipped idols and the Jews
in Rome agreed among themselves and went to Nero the Emperor accusing St.
Luke of attracting many men to his teaching with his sorcery. Nero commanded
that St. Luke be brought before him. When St. Luke knew that, he gave all
the books he had to a fisherman and told him, "Take these and keep them
for they will be useful to you and will show you God's way." When St. Luke
came before Nero the Emperor, the Emperor asked him, "How long will you
lead the people astray?" St. Luke replied, "I am not a magician, but I
am an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God." The
Emperor commanded his men to cut off his right hand saying, "Cut off this
hand which wrote the books." The saint replied to him, "We do not fear
death, nor the departure from this world, and to realize the power of my
Master." He took up his severed hand and made it reattach to its proper
place, then he separated it. Those who were present marvelled and the head
of the Emperor's cabinet and his wife believed as well as many others and
it was said that they numbered 276. The Emperor wrote their decree and
ordered that their heads be cut off together with that of the Apostle St.
Luke; thus their martyrdom was completed. They placed the body of the saint
in a hair sack and cast it in the sea. By God's will, the waves of the
sea brought it to an island. A believer found it, took it and buried it
with great honor. This saint wrote the Gospel bearing his name and the
"Acts of the Apostles" addressing his words to his disciple Theophilus
who was a gentile.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.