The saints

Saint Philip

Apostle · Feast day May 3 (with Saint James the Less) · First century · Bethsaida of Galilee · Also known as Philip the Apostle

Saint Philip was among the first Jesus called, a seeker who brought his friend Nathanael to Christ with the simple invitation, Come and see. In John's Gospel he is the practical, questioning apostle to whom Jesus said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?John 14:9 (KJV)

Come and see

Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Peter and Andrew, and Jesus found him and said, Follow me. At once Philip went to find Nathanael and told him they had found the one Moses and the prophets wrote of, Jesus of Nazareth. When Nathanael scoffed, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth, Philip did not argue; he simply said, Come and see, the perfect invitation of a friend to a friend.

The practical apostle

John's Gospel gives Philip several memorable moments. Before the feeding of the thousands, Jesus tested him by asking where they could buy bread, and Philip reckoned the cost and found it impossible. At the last supper Philip said, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us, and Jesus answered with one of the deepest words in Scripture: Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.

Mission and martyrdom

By tradition Philip preached in Phrygia, in Asia Minor, and was martyred at Hierapolis. He is remembered with James the Less, and a great church was built over his tomb, whose ruins have been found in modern times.

Why Philip still matters

Philip is the apostle of the honest question and the simple invitation. He did not have every answer, but he knew where to bring people: Come and see. The whole mission of the church can be carried in those three words.

A note for all traditions: the saints are honored across the church as examples of faith and, in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, as friends who pray with us, never worshiped, for worship belongs to God alone. What Scripture records and what later tradition holds are distinguished above. In every tradition there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and every believer, not only the saints, is called to follow him.

Related: Saint Bartholomew · Saint James the Less · Saints for May 3 · Saint of the day