PHILIP THE DEACON. - Second of the 7 deacons ordained by the Apostles (Acts 6:9), also called Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:8) to distinguish him from the apostle of the same name. He evangelized Samaria, performing many miracles; there he converted and also baptized Simon Magus (Acts 8:4-13). On the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza he instructed and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch of Queen Candace, then by the Spirit of the Lord he was carried off to Azotus and from there, evangelizing all the cities through which he passed, he reached Caesarea (Acts 8:26-40).
At Caesarea Maritima (in A.D. 58) he received Paul, who was returning from his third apostolic journey. Luke recounts: "Entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. He had four virgin daughters who prophesied" (Acts 21:8). A certain Cato, cited by Eusebius (Hist. eccl., 3, 31; PG 20, 281), attributes these 4 daughters, confusing the persons, to the apostle of the same name. In Philip's house, where Paul stayed "many days," a certain prophet Agabus (v.) "took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it," foretelling by that symbolic action Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10 ff.).
A Greek menologion cited by R. A. Lipsius (Die apocryphen Apostelgeschichten, III, Brunswick [1889-90], p. 3) gives these names to the 4 daughters of Philip the deacon: Hermione, Charitina, Iseida, Eutychiana. An ancient tradition holds that Philip the deacon became bishop of Tralles and died there a natural death (Acta SS. Iunii, I, Paris 1862, pp. 608-10). Other martyrologies prefer Caesarea. St. Jerome informs us (Ep., 180: PL 22, 82) that Paul visited at Caesarea the house of Philip and the rooms of his 4 daughters. The feast of St. Philip the deacon is celebrated on June 6.
Bibliography
Pietro De Ambroggi