Professor Ishin: St. Luke is an exceptional phenomenon in theology

The spiritual heritage of St. Luke, who lived in turning historical epochs, still remains in demand. This was stated on the air of the TV channel “Crimea 24” by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Vernadsky KFU Andrei Ishin.

According to the historian, the saint is an exceptional phenomenon in theology. Ishin noted that Luke lived in a difficult time and witnessed many great events – from the era of imperial Russia to the revolution, the Great Patriotic War and Khrushchev’s persecution of the Church.

In each of these epochs, the professor emphasized, the saint revealed the Gospel truth to society. Ishin recalled that we have reached 12 volumes of the preaching of the saint. The complete manuscripts are kept in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy. Even during the life of the saint, the Academic Council of the Academy recognized these sermons as outstanding.

“The transformation of Christ and the transformation of the human soul for the saint was the highest goal to which he sought to convey to man the most important truth: one must meet Christ, one must open one’s heart to the evangelical grace of Christ,” concluded the professor.

Saint Luke (in the world Valentin Felixovich Voyno-Yasenetsky, 1877-1961) was an outstanding surgeon, doctor of medicine, professor and archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea. He wrote the work “Essays on Purulent Surgery”, which is still being reprinted. During the Great Patriotic War, the saint worked as a consultant to hospitals of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the chief surgeon of the evacuation hospital, conducting operations for eight to nine hours a day.

In 1946, Luke received the Stalin Prize of the first degree. Of the 200,000 rubles awarded to him, he donated 130,000 rubles to the state to help orphans. From 1946 to 1961, he headed the Crimean diocese and continued to preach, even though he was completely blind for the last six years of his life. The saint survived eleven years of imprisonment and exile.

In October 2026, the relics of St. Luke were temporarily transferred from the Holy Trinity Convent to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral of Simferopol during the restoration of the monastery . They will stay there until April 2027 . The transfer is associated with preparations for the 150th anniversary of the birth of the saint, which will be celebrated in 2027 .

As part of the events, Metropolitan Tikhon of Simferopol and Crimea announced his work on a multi-part film about the life path of the saint - from 8 or 12 episodes.