2,000-year-old tomb found belonging to St. Philip, 5th Apostle of Jesus Christ

"Philip was present at the miracle of the loaves and fishes, when he engaged in a brief dialogue with the Lord, and was the Apostle approached by the Hellenistic Jews from Bethsaida to introduce them to Jesus. " (Free Republic)

An Italian professor and head of an excavation team at Hierapolis, Turkey, Francesco D’ Andria reported that archeologists have discovered the 2,000-year old Tomb of St. Philip, the fifth chosen apostle of Jesus Christ, on Wednesday, July 27, 2011.

“Until recently, we thought

the grave of St. Philip was on Martyrs’ Hill, but we discovered no traces of him in the geophysical research conducted in that area. A month ago, we discovered the remnants of an unknown church, 40 meters away from the St. Philip Church on Martyrs’ Hill. And in that church we discovered the grave of St. Philip,” said D’Andria. (Jesus Apostles Tomb Unearthed in Turkey)

Home to many civilizations, Turkey ranks fourth in historic artifact robbery, according to writer and researcher Yaşar Yılmar. Yet the discovered intact tomb was within a newly revealed church, with a design and writings that prove it belongs to the martyred St. Philip, the Apostle of Jesus. The church is located in Turkey’s ancient city of Hierapolis, within the Aegean province of Denizli.

A biblical saint who was fifth of the apostles, St. Philip was a shy, sober-minded and naïve man when Jesus met him, calling for him to become one of the twelve Apostles with the words, “Follow me.” (New Advent) St. Philip would then preach in Phrygia, Syria and Greece; of the four Gospels, he would become most prominent in the Gospel of John.

The life of St. Philip was written in the anonymous Acts of Philip, where at Hierapolis the saint was said to be tortured and crucified upside-down by Romans, as he preached of God and the Lamb of God to the people. Considered a martyr, the grave is unopened…yet plans are being made that will soon affect Christendom, religious tourism and archeology.