Philip of Agira

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Philip of Agira
birth_date=1st Century or 5th century
death_date=
feast_day=12 May
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


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birth_place=Thrace
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patronage=Agira, Sicily and Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta, United States Army Special Forces
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Saint Philip of Agira (also Aggira, Agirone, Agirya or Argira) was an early Christian confessor. There are two parallel stories of this saint which give to possible dates in which this saint lived. Traditionally, thorugh the writings of St.Athanasius, it is kept that St.Philip is a Saint of the 1st Century, born in the year 40 AD in Cappadocia (modern Turkey) and died on the 12th of May, 103 AD. Another recent study says to have been born of a Syrian father in Thrace on an unknown date in the 5th century whose elder brothers drowned whilst fishing. Philip was known as the "Apostle of the Sicilians", as he was the first Christian missionary to visit that island. Nothing else can be certainly stated about him. His feast day is May 12 and he is, naturally, patron saint of the city of Agira, Sicily and of the city of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta. Philip is one of the patron saints of the United States Army Special Forces. [ [http://www.catholic.org/saints/patron.php?letter=U Catholic Online - Saints & Angels - Patron Saints - U ] ]

References

[http://www.agira.org Il portale di Agira]