Philip the Apostle

Philip the Apostle (Greek: Φίλιππος, Philippos) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament. He appears in all three synoptic Gospels and the Book of Acts, consistently listed fifth. The Gospel of John gives him the most attention, noting he came from Bethsaida and was the one who brought Nathanael (sometimes identified with Bartholomew) to Jesus. Later Christian tradition holds that Philip preached in Carthage, Greece, Syria, and Asia-Minor.

In the Roman Rite, Philip’s feast day was traditionally observed on 1 May, alongside that of James the Less, marking the dedication of their church in Rome (now the Church of the Twelve Apostles). A 1960 calendar reform moved it to 11 May, but since 1969 it has been on 3 May. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates his feast on 14 November.

**Life**

**New Testament** All three synoptic Gospels and Acts list Philip among the apostles, always in fifth place. The Gospel of John recounts his calling: Jesus found and directly called Philip, a disciple from Bethsaida, without prior mention of John the Baptist. The evangelist links Philip with Andrew and Peter, who were from the same town. Philip first introduced Nathanael to Jesus. According to Butler, Philip was among those at the wedding at Cana. Philip appears most prominently in John’s Gospel. Jesus tests him by asking how to feed the 5,000 (John 6:6). Later, Philip—who bore a Greek name and likely spoke Greek—serves as a link to Greek pilgrims in Jerusalem. He tells Andrew that certain Greeks wish to meet Jesus, and together they inform Jesus (John 12:21). At the Last Supper, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father, prompting Jesus to teach about the unity of the Father and the Son.

**Early traditions** Eusebius, in his history of the Early Church, cites Clement of Alexandria stating that Philip, like Peter, married, had children, and gave his daughters in marriage. Eusebius also cites Polycrates, who confirms Philip married, had three daughters, was buried at Hierapolis alongside two of them, while the third was buried at Ephesus. The anonymous *Acts of Philip*, likely written around Eusebius’s time, recounts further stories. This non-canonical book describes Philip’s preaching and miracles after Jesus’ resurrection, when he was sent with his sister Mariamne and Bartholomew to preach in Greece, Phrygia, and Syria. An appendix, “Of the Journey of Philip the Apostle,” gives an embellished account of his martyrdom in Hierapolis. According to it, Philip converted the wife of the city’s proconsul through healing and preaching. The enraged proconsul had Philip, Bartholomew, and Mariamne tortured. Philip and Bartholomew were crucified upside-down, and Philip preached from his cross. The crowd released Bartholomew, but Philip insisted they not release him, and he died on the cross. Other traditions say Philip was martyred by beheading in Hierapolis.

**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).

**Apocryphal writings** One Gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi library (1945) bears Philip’s name in its title. Another early extra-biblical story appears in the *Letter from Peter to Philip*, also from Nag Hammadi, dated to the late 2nd or early 3rd century. It begins with Peter asking Philip to rejoin the other apostles at the Mount of Olives. Fred Lapham suggests this indicates an early tradition that, after the Resurrection, Philip undertook a solo missionary journey and was reluctant to return.

**Relics** Philip’s relics are currently in the crypt of the Basilica Santi Apostoli in Rome, as well as in the Church of St. Philip the Apostle in Cheektowaga, New York.

**Possible tomb location** In 2011, Italian archaeologist Francesco D’Andria claimed to have discovered Philip’s tomb during excavations in ancient Hierapolis, near modern Denizli, Turkey. The 1st-century tomb, empty of relics, stood at the center of a 4th- or 5th-century three-naved basilica, the Church of the Sepulchre, part of a pilgrimage hill complex dedicated to Philip. Ancient Greek prayers on the tomb and church walls venerate Philip, and a 6th-century bread stamp shows Philip holding bread (John 6) with a three-naved church on his left and the nearby martyrion church on his right, supporting the claim. The church built on his tomb and the martyrion church, about 40 yards away, were intensely venerated for centuries; marble floors in Philip’s Church of the Sepulchre were worn down by pilgrims. 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.