The Holy Relics of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke

According to Church tradition, the Apostle and Evangelist Luke reposed at the age of 84 and was buried in Thebes, Boeotia. During the second half of the fourth century, his relics were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles. This transfer to Constantinople is already mentioned by Jerome.

From Constantinople, the relics later reached Padua, Italy. The date and circumstances of this transfer have not been established. One tradition associates it with the reign of Julian the Apostate in the fourth century, while another places it in the eighth century, during Iconoclasm. According to the latter account, a priest named Urio brought the relics of Luke and the Apostle Matthias to Padua to protect them. These accounts, however, are traditions concerning the journey of the relics rather than conclusively established historical facts.

An important milestone in their history is the year 1177, when the discovery of the relics attributed to the Evangelist Luke was recorded at the site of Saint Justina’s. Hagiographical accounts associate the discovery with dreams, apparitions, and a sweet fragrance. In 1313, an ornate marble sarcophagus was constructed…