Icon "Saint Apostle Luke"

The icon shows a half-length image of the Holy Apostle Luke, in a three-quarter turn to the left, with short dark hair, a mustache and a small beard. The saint wears a red chiton, with a dark-green himation draped over his left shoulder; around his head is a radiant glow, and above it a halo in the form of a thin yellow circle. Luke sits at a table, writing the text of the Gospel with a goose-quill pen. To the left is the head of an ox (the Christian symbol of the Evangelist Luke), holding an inkwell on a cord in its mouth. The Apostle is illumined by divine light coming from the upper left corner of the icon, marked with the inscription "God." Above the saint's halo is the inscription in yellow letters: "HOLY APOSTLE LUKE"; on the page of the book the Apostle is writing appears the inscription: "Having risen [...]." The image is bordered by a narrow yellow frame.

The icon panel is reinforced with two inset end battens.

The icon originally had a silver oklad (revetment), which was later removed.
The icon belonged to the collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated, and returned to Kharkiv in 1944.

Legend: the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke was one of the Seventy Apostles, chosen and sent out by the Lord Jesus Christ to preach. According to church tradition, he was one of the two disciples to whom the risen Christ first appeared, on the road to Emmaus, on the very day of the Resurrection.

Luke later became a companion of the Apostle Paul, accompanying him on his missionary journeys and remaining at his side even during his imprisonment. According to tradition, it was during this time, while in Rome, that he wrote the Gospel and the Acts of the Holy Apostles, both of which became part of the New Testament. After the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul, Luke continued to preach the Gospel in various lands and likewise ended his life as a martyr.

By profession Luke was a physician, and for this reason he is regarded as the patron of doctors and medical workers.

In Christian tradition, Luke is also venerated as the first icon painter and the patron of artists. According to tradition, it was he who painted the first images in history of the Most Holy Theotokos and of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

In both the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, one finds the subject "Saint Luke Painting an Icon," in which the Evangelist Luke is shown in the act of creating an image of the Mother of God.