Saint Luke
(flourished 1st century
AD; feast day October 18) In Christian tradition, the author of the third
Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote in Greek and is considered the most literary of the
New Testament writers. By his own account, he was not an eyewitness to the ministry of
Jesus. He was a companion to St.
Paul, who called him the "beloved physician," and he is believed to have accompanied Paul on missionary journeys to Macedonia and Rome. Though little is known of his life, tradition holds that he was a Gentile and a native of Antioch in Syria and that he died a martyr.
For more information on Saint Luke, visit Britannica.com.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.