Jerome. Lives of Illustrious Men 7
7 Luke, the evangelist PL 23, 619
Luke a physician of Antioch, as his writings indicate, was not unskilled in the Greek language. An adherent of the apostle Paul, and companion of all his journeying, he wrote a Gospel, concerning which the same Paul says, “We send with him a brother whose praise in the gospel is among all the churches” and to the Colossians “Luke the beloved physician salutes you,” and to Timothy “Luke only is with me.” He also wrote another excellent volume to which he prefixed the title Acts of the Apostles, a history which extends to the second year of Paul’s sojourn at Rome, that is to the fourth year of Nero, from which we learn that the book was composed in that same city. Therefore the Acts of Paul and Theclaand all the fable about the lion baptized by him we reckon among the apocryphal writings, for how is it possible that the inseparable companion of the apostle in his other affairs, alone should have been ignorant of this thing. Moreover Tertullian who lived near those times, mentions a certain presbyter in Asia, an adherent of the apostle Paul, who was convicted by John of having been the author of the book, and who, confessing that he did this for love of Paul, resigned his office of presbyter. Some suppose that whenever Paul in his epistle says “according to my gospel” he means the book of Luke and that Luke not only was taught the gospel history by the apostle Paul who was not with the Lord in the flesh, but also by other apostles. This he too at the beginning of his work declares, saying “Even as they delivered unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.” So he wrote the gospel as he had heard it, but composed the Acts of the apostles as he himself had seen. He was buried at Constantinople to which city, in the twentieth year of Constantius, his bones together with the remains of Andrew the apostle were transferred.
Lucas medicus Antiochensis, ut ejus scripta indicant, Graeci sermonis non ignarus fuit, sectator Apostoli Pauli, et omnis peregrinationis ejus comes, scripsit Evangelium, de quo idem Paulus: Misimus, inquit, cum illo fratrem, cujus laus est in Evangelio per omnes Ecclesias ; et ad Colossenses: Salutat vos Lucas medicus charissimus ; et ad Timotheum: Lucas est mecum solus . Aliud quoque edidit volumen egregium, quod titulo Apostolicarum πράξεων praenotatur, cujus historia usque ad biennium Romae commorantis Pauli pervenit, id est, usque ad quartum Neronis annum . Ex quo intelligimus, 841 in eadem urbe librum esse compositum. Igitur περιόδους [ Ms. περιοχὰς] Pauli, et Theclae, et totam baptizati Leonis fabulam, inter apocryphas scripturas computamus. Quale enim est, ut individuus comes Apostoli, inter caeteras ejus res hoc solum ignoraverit? Sed et Tertullianus vicinus eorum temporum, refert presbyterum quemdam in Asia σπουδαστὴν apostoli Pauli, convictum apud Joannem, quod auctor esset libri, et confessum se hoc Pauli amore fecisse, loco excidisse. Quidam suspicantur, quotiescumque in Epistolissuis Paulus dicit, juxta Evangelium meum, de Lucae significare volumine, et Lucam non solum ab apostolo Paulo didicisse Evangelium, qui cum Domino in carne non fuerat, sed et a caeteris Apostolis. Quod ipse quoque in principio sui voluminis declarat, dicens: Sicut ut tradiderunt nobis, qui a principio ipsi viderunt, et ministri fuerunt sermonis. Igitur Evangelium sicut audierat, scripsit. Acta vero Apostolorum sicut viderat, composuit. Sepultus est Constantinopoli, ad quam urbem vicesimo Constantii anno, ossa ejus cum reliquiis Andreae apostoli translata sunt.
Λουκᾶς ἰατρὸς Ἀντιοχεὺς καθὼς τὰ συγγράμματα αὐτοῦ δηλοῖ, τοῦ ἑλληνικοῦ οὐκ ἄπειρος, σπουδαστὴς Παύλου Ἀποστόλου, καὶ πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀλλοδαπῆς ἀκόλουθος, συνέταξεν Εὐαγγέλιον, περὶ οὗ αὐτὸς Παῦλος· Ἀπεστείλαμεν, φησὶ, σὺν αὐτῷ τὸν ἀδελφὸν, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἐκκλησίας. Καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Κολοσσαεῖς· Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Λουκᾶς ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁ ἀγαπητός. Καὶ πρὸς Τιμόθεον· Λουκᾶς ἐστι μετ' ἐμοῦ μόνος. Καὶ ἕτερον δὲ ἐξέδωκε τεῦχος ἐξαίρετον, ἐπιγραφὴν Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, τοῦ ἡ ἰστορία ἕως διετίας διάγοντος ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ Παύλου ἐκτείνεται, τουτέστιν ἕως τετάρτου Νέρωνος ἐνιαυτοῦ. Ἀφ' ὧν πεπείσμεθα, ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει τὴν βίβλον συντετάχθαι. Ἡ γὰρ Περίοδος Παύλου καὶ Θέκλας 842 καὶ πᾶς ὁ μῦθος ὡσανεί λέοντος βαπτισθέντος, εἰς τὰς ἀποκρὺφους γραφὰς ψηφισθήσεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐνεχώρει τὸν ἀχώριστον τοῦ Ἀποστόλου μεταξὺ τῶν λοιπῶν αὐτοῦ πράξεων τοῦτο ἠγνοηκέναι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Τερτυλλιανὸς, ἐκείνων τῶν χρόνων, ἀναφέρει πρεσβύτερόν τινα ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, σπουδαστὴν Παύλου Ἀποστόλου, ἐλεγχθέντα ἐπὶ Ἰωάννου οἷα παρ' αὐτοῦ συνταγείσης βίβλου, ὡμολογηκέναι φίλτρῳ κατεχόμενον Παύλου τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι, διὸ καὶ ἐκβεβλῆσθαι τοῦτόν τινες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν. Ὁσάκις γὰρ Παῦλος ἐν ταῖς οἰκείαις Ἐπιστολαῖς λέγει, Κατὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιόν μου, δῆλον ὡς περὶ τοῦ τεύχους τοῦ κατὰ Λουκᾶν σημαίνει, καὶ Λουκᾶν οὐ μόνον παρὰ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου Παύλου μεμαθηκέναι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, οἷα μετὰ τοῦ Κυρίου τηνικαῦτα ἐν τῷ σώματι μὴ γενομένου, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τῶν λοιπῶν Ἀποστόλων, ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ ἰδίου συντάγματος περιφανῶς λέγει· Καθὼς παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἀφ' ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται. Τοιγαροῦν τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον καθὼς ἀκήκοεν ἔγραψε, τὰς δὲ Πράξεις τῶν Ἀποστόλων, καθὰ ἱστόρησεν αὐτὸς καὶ συνέταξεν. Ἠνέχθη τὰ λείψανα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπετέθη ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, εἰς ἣν πόλιν τῷ εἰκοστῷ Κωνσταντίου ἐνιαυτῷ τὸ τούτου σῶμα μετὰ τῶν λειψάνων Ἀνδρέου τοῦ Ἀποστόλου μετηνέχθη.