08 — Reception and Iconography
How the Church received the Apostle Philip in her theology, her hymnody, and her images: the patristic reception, centered on the exegesis of the Supper-exchange (John 14:8–9) as a charter text for the vision of the Father in the Son; and the iconography, hymnography, relics, and cult of the apostle. These files gather the Fathers’ reading of Philip’s questions and the liturgical and visual tradition that venerates him.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Philip’s chief place in patristic theology comes not from his deeds but from his question. “Lord, show us the Father” became one of the standard occasions for the Fathers to expound how the Son reveals the Father — a text used by Chrysostom, Augustine, Hilary, Cyril, and the conciliar tradition against both those who divided the Son from the Father and those who confused them. The hymnography of his feast praises him as the one called early, who called Nathanael, who brought the Greeks, and who suffered for Christ at Hierapolis; the iconography shows him young and beardless or lightly bearded, often with a scroll or cross, and in the festal image of his martyrdom. This section sets out the theological reception and the cultic reception side by side.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Patristic Reception | The Fathers on Philip’s questions, above all “show us the Father” (John 14:8–9): Chrysostom, Augustine (Tractate 70), Hilary, and Cyril on the vision of the Father in the Son; the use of the text in Trinitarian and Christological argument; Clement of Alexandria on the married apostles. |
| Iconography and Cult | The iconographic type of the apostle (young, scroll or cross, the martyrdom image); the hymnography of the November 14 feast; the relics and their translation (Hierapolis → Constantinople → Rome, Santi Apostoli); churches and dedications. |
See Also
- Show Us the Father — the text the Fathers expound
- The Feast and the Fast — the liturgical feast the hymnography serves
- The Tomb and the Octagon — the relics and their translation
- Christology — the doctrine the John 14 exegesis serves
- The Church Fathers — the patristic tradition that received Philip
References
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of St. John 74–75. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 14.
- Augustine of Hippo. Tractates on the Gospel of John 70. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 7.
- Hilary of Poitiers. On the Trinity. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 9.
- The Menaion for November. (The propers of the feast of the Apostle Philip, November 14.)