Lucius of Laodicea (), also known as Luke and Lucius of Cyrene, was, according to the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

, one of the founders of the Christian Church in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

and according to

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

tradition, one of the

Seventy Disciples The seventy disciples (Greek language, Greek: ἑβδομήκοντα μαθητές, ''hebdomikonta mathetes''), known in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles (Greek language, Greek: ἑβδομήκον� ...

. He is mentioned by name as a member of the church in Antioch, following the account of King Herod's death: The account in Acts 13 states that the group of prophets and teachers prayed and fasted, and were inspired to commission

Barnabas Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christians, Christian, one of the prominent Disciple (Christianity), Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jews, Cyprio ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

to undertake missionary journeys further afield. Lucius is indicated as a founder of the Antiochene church by inference from an earlier passage: He is considered to have been one of the first bishops of Laodicea, or the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Cyrene.Walsh, Michael J., (2007) ''A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West'' p. 372 There is also a Lucius mentioned in Romans 16:21. There is no way of knowing for sure whether this is the same person, but

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

identifies the Lucius in Romans with the evangelist Luke (''Comm. Rom.'' 10.39)

Veneration

Lucius is venerated as a saint in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Lucius is commemorated on 22 April and 10 September in the Eastern Orthodox Church, along with Saints Apelles of Heraklion and Clement of Sardis. He is also commemorated on 4 January with the other

. According to the ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...

'', Lucius' feast day is on 6 May.

Notes

References

* Walsh, Michael ''A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West'' London: Burns & Oats 2007

External links

Lucius of Cyrene at Catholic Online

saints.sqpn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucius Of Cyrene 1st-century bishops in Roman Anatolia Christian saints from the New Testament Libyan saints People in Acts of the Apostles People in the Pauline epistles Saints of Roman Cyrenaica Seventy disciples