Saint Philip the Apostle in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The hymns of our Church naturally emphasize, since he is an Apostle of Christ, and indeed one of the Twelve, “the foundations of the Church,” his election by the Lord – “Christ included him in the choir of disciples” – his participation in the flame of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so that “filled with this flame, he might give life with the fervor of faith to those who had been frozen by atheism,” his presence in the world in general as “divine salt, in order to dry up the terrible rot of humanity worn out by passions,” and of course his glorified position in the Kingdom of God, in which “he sees Christ Himself not enigmatically, but clearly face to face.”

November: Day 14: Teaching 1: Holy Apostle Philip

 

 

November: Day 14: Teaching 1:
Holy Apostle Philip
 
(Lessons From the Life of the Holy Apostle Philip:
a. We Must Obey the Voice of God Calling Us to Salvation;
b. We Must Firmly and Decisively Leave Everything and Follow Jesus Christ; and
c. We Must Try to Bring our Neighbors to Christ)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Apostle Philip, whose memory is celebrated today, was one of the Twelve Apostles, born in Bethsaida. He was one of those people who ardently desired the speedy appearance of the Savior in the world. Having heard about John the Baptist, the Holy Apostle Philip left his parents' home and became one of the closest disciples of the Forerunner. With delight he learned from Saint John that the expected Messiah had already come. When the Savior, after baptism and forty days of fasting in the desert, went out to preach, He met the Holy Apostle Philip and said to him: "Come, follow Me" (John 1:43). The Holy Apostle Philip unquestioningly followed the Lord, brought his friend Nathanael to Him and from that moment became His constant follower and zealous disciple. The Holy Apostle Philip was crucified head down for his zealous preaching of the gospel. The fast before the feast of the Nativity of Christ, beginning on November 15, is named after Saint Philip.