St. Philip

One of the saints we celebrate today is one of the apostles, St. Philip. Philip was born in a tiny village of the Holy Land, called Bethsaida, birthplace of St. Peter and St. Andrew. When the disciples drew lots to find which part of the world they would go to preach, St. Philip drew the continent of Asia, also called Asia Minor. He was aided in his holy duties by his sister Miriam and the Apostle Bartholomew.

In Phrygia in western Asia Minor, the threesome came to Ophiorhyme; that is, “Serpent’s Town,” so-called because the inhabitants worshiped serpents and a viper called Echidna. Images of the viper and serpents filled the town, including the serpent temple with its statue of Echidna.

St. Philip approached the creature and placed his hand on it, causing the snake to die immediately. He then converted the thousands of cult members to Christianity. This greatly upset the pagan leaders. Because of this, St. Philip, his sister Miriam and St. Bartholomew were condemned to die on the cross. When the crosses were raised with the three nailed to them, the sky darkened and the earth rumbled. The pagans immediately tried to appease God by removing the three from their crosses. Miriam and St. Bartholomew lived, but St. Philip died on November 14, his last breath praising the Lord.


Italian professor Francesco D’Andria has announced the apparent discovery of the tomb of St. Philip, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles, at the ancient city of Hierapolis in the Aegean province of Denizli. Professor D’Andria has been leading archeological excavations at the ancient city for 32 years.

Profesor D'Andria said, "Until recently, we thought the grave of St. Philip was on Martyrs’ Hill, but we discovered no traces of him in the geophysical research conducted in that area. A month ago, we discovered the remnants of an unknown church, 40 meters away from the St. Philip Church on Martyrs’ Hill. And in that church we discovered the grave of St. Philip.

“St. Philip is considered a martyr. In fact, the church built in his name on the Martyrs’ Hill is, for this reason, also called Martyrion, despite the fact there were no traces of the grave of St. Philip. As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we finally found the grave. With close examination, we determined that the grave had been moved from its previous location in the St. Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the Byzantine era. We are extremely happy and proud to have discovered the grave of a saint whose name appears in the bible – this surely is an important discovery for religious tourism, archaeology and Christendom."

St. Philip, pray for us.