3 May: Roman Rite, Protestant Church in Germany 1 May: Anglican Communion, Old Catholics, ELCA, LCMS Philip the Apostle (Greek: Φίλιππος; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ, Philippos) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament.

[1] Philip is described as a disciple from the city of Bethsaida, and the evangelist connects him with Andrew and Peter, who were from the same town.

[5] One of the Gnostic codices discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 bears Philip's name in its title, on the bottom line.

[7] This text begins with a letter from St. Peter to St. Philip, asking him to rejoin the other apostles who had gathered at the Mount of Olives.

Fred Lapham believes that this letter indicates an early tradition that "at some point between the Resurrection of Jesus and the final parting of his risen presence from the disciples, Philip had undertaken a sole missionary enterprise, and was, for some reason, reluctant to return to the rest of the Apostles.

According to these accounts, following the resurrection of Jesus, Philip was sent with his sister Mariamne and Bartholomew to preach in Greece, Phrygia, and Syria.

[13] In 2011, Italian archaeologist Francesco D'Andria claimed to have discovered the original tomb of Philip during excavations in ancient Hierapolis, close to the modern Turkish city of Denizli.

[14] The 1st-century tomb, found to be empty of relics, stood at the centre of the 4th- or 5th-century[14] three-naved basilica, the Church of the Sepulchre, which was one of the focal points of an entire ancient pilgrimage hill complex dedicated to Philip.

Ancient Greek prayers are carved into the walls of the tomb and church venerating Philip the Apostle, and a 6th-century bread stamp (signum pistoris [es]) shows Philip holding bread (John 6) with this specific three-naved church on his left side, and the previously identified nearby martyrion church to his right, removing all doubts about the basilica being the one to contain the original tomb of the apostle.