A parchment leaf lies open in the reading room. On it, the name “Philip” appears twice in the same manuscript: once among the twelve apostles in the Gospel of John, once in the Acts of the Apostles as a deacon who baptizes an Ethiopian official. The same name, but the scribe used different marginal symbols to mark them. He knew, as we must, that these are two men, not one. Philip the Apostle was one of the Twelve disciples of Jesus. Philip the Evangelist was a Hellenistic deacon and missionary in the early church, never part of the Twelve. The key fact: the Apostle appears in the Gospels and is associated with the Gnostic Gospel of Philip; the Evangelist appears only in Acts and left no known writings. Confusing them obscures two distinct currents in early Christianity.
The Biblical Evidence: Two Men, One Name
Both Philips appear in the New Testament, but their stories do not overlap. The Apostle Philip is introduced in the Gospel of John 1:43–44: Jesus found him in Bethsaida and called him directly. He is listed among the Twelve in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14) and in Acts 1:13. He appears in several narrative scenes: he calculates the cost of feeding the five thousand (John 6:5–7), he brings Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:45), and he asks Jesus to show the Father (John 14:8–9). His last mention in the New Testament is in the upper room after the Ascension (Acts 1:13). After that, the text falls silent on him.
Philip the Evangelist appears only in Acts. He is introduced in Acts 6:5 as one of the seven men chosen to serve tables, a deacon, not an apostle. The seven are all Greek-speaking Hellenists, which suggests a different cultural background from the Apostle, who was Aramaic-speaking. The Evangelist’s major acts: he preaches in Samaria (Acts 8:5–13), where he performs signs and baptizes, then he meets the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza (Acts 8:26–39), explaining Isaiah and baptizing him. He later appears in Caesarea, hosting Paul (Acts 21:8–9). The text calls him “Philip the evangelist, one of the seven.” That is the only place in the New Testament where the term “evangelist” is applied to an individual.
The early church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–340 CE) in his Ecclesiastical History (3.31, 3.39) explicitly distinguishes them. He notes that Philip the Apostle was buried in Hierapolis, while Philip the Evangelist lived in Caesarea with his four prophesying daughters. Eusebius relied on the earlier witness of Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 CE), who wrote about both but did not confuse them. We have that confusion only later, when medieval hagiographers merged the two into a single figure.
Esoteric Significance: The Apostle and the Gnostic Gospel
For the library of occult and esoteric knowledge, the Apostle is far more consequential than the Evangelist. The Gospel of Philip, a Gnostic text discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945, is attributed to him. It is not a narrative gospel but a collection of sayings and sacramental teachings, likely composed in the late second century CE. The text uses the name Philip in its title, and early church fathers such as Epiphanius of Salamis (Panarion 26.13) mention a “Gospel of Philip” used by Gnostic groups. The manuscript is Coptic, but the original was Greek.
The Gospel of Philip contains esoteric material on the nature of the sacraments, the bridal chamber, the resurrection, and the distinction between the names of Jesus. It says, “The names given to the worldly are very deceptive, for they turn the heart from what is true to what is not real” (Gospel of Philip 53). This resonates with the Neoplatonic and Hermetic streams that later fed into Western esotericism. The text also describes the “bridal chamber” as a mystery rite, a concept that appears in later alchemical and Rosicrucian symbolism.
Philip the Apostle also appears in the Acts of Philip, a third-century apocryphal work that details his missionary journeys, his debates with the Jewish high priest, and his martyrdom in Hierapolis. In that text, he is paired with his sister Mariamne, a figure sometimes associated with Mary Magdalene in Gnostic traditions. The Acts of Philip includes a section called the “Act of the Cross,” where a talking cross appears and speaks of cosmic mysteries. These texts are not canonical but have been preserved in esoteric circles.
The Evangelist, by contrast, has no apocryphal corpus. His only esoteric associations come from the symbolic meaning of the Ethiopian eunuch: a figure of inclusion, of the foreigner initiated into the mysteries. In some alchemical readings, the eunuch represents the mercurius without seed, a figure of purification. But these are later interpretations, not primary.
Where the Confusion Begins
The mixing of the two Philips started in the early medieval period. The fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions (8.46) lists Philip the Apostle as a bishop of Tralles, but that may be a conflation. The fifth-century historian Philip of Side wrote that the “Philip who baptized the eunuch” was the same as the Apostle, contradicting Eusebius. By the time of the Golden Legend (c. 1260), Jacobus de Voragine merged their stories: the Apostle Philip is said to have preached in Scythia and died in Hierapolis, but the text also mentions his daughters, which belong to the Evangelist. This amalgam became the standard hagiography.
We sort through the manuscripts with care. The distinction matters not only for historical accuracy but for understanding the diverse streams of early Christianity. The Apostle belongs to the inner circle of the Twelve, the tradition of apostolic authority, and the esoteric writings that later emerged from that circle. The Evangelist belongs to the Hellenist wing, the missionary expansion, and the deaconate. They represent two different models of religious authority: the charismatic witness and the institutional servant.
How to Tell Them Apart: A Quick Reference
| Attribute | Philip the Apostle | Philip the Evangelist |
|---|---|---|
| Role | One of the Twelve apostles | One of the seven deacons |
| Biblical source | Gospels, Acts 1:13 | Acts 6–8, 21 |
| Known for | Bringing Nathanael, questioning Jesus, Gospel of Philip | Preaching in Samaria, baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch |
| Writings | Gospel of Philip (apocryphal) | None |
| Death tradition | Hierapolis (martyrdom) | Caesarea (natural death, with daughters) |
| Feast day (Western) | May 3 | June 6 (with the other deacons) |
The Eastern Orthodox tradition keeps them separate: the Apostle is commemorated on November 14, the Evangelist on October 11. That is a reliable guide.
Common Misconceptions
“Philip the Evangelist is the same as Philip the Apostle.” This is the most frequent error. The two were never equated in the New Testament. The confusion arose from later hagiography and the fact that both appear in the same book (Acts). The Apostle appears only in Acts 1:13; the Evangelist dominates Acts 8.
“The Gospel of Philip was written by the Evangelist.” No. The Gospel of Philip is attributed to the Apostle, though it was likely written in the second century, long after his death. The Evangelist is not associated with any Gnostic text.
“The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by the Apostle.” No. Acts 8:26–39 clearly identifies the baptizer as Philip the Evangelist. The eunuch became a symbol of gentile inclusion, but the Apostle had no role in that story.
“Philip the Apostle had four daughters who prophesied.” The four daughters of Philip are mentioned in Acts 21:9, but they are the daughters of Philip the Evangelist, not the Apostle. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 3.31) confirms this.
FAQ
Who was Philip the Apostle?
One of the Twelve disciples of Jesus, from Bethsaida, who appears in the Gospels and is associated with the Gnostic Gospel of Philip.
Who was Philip the Evangelist?
A Hellenistic deacon chosen in Acts 6, who preached in Samaria and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. He is also called Philip the Deacon.
What is the Gospel of Philip?
A Gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi library, attributed to Philip the Apostle. It contains esoteric teachings on sacraments, the bridal chamber, and the names of Jesus.
Which Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch?
Philip the Evangelist, as recorded in Acts 8:26–39. The Apostle Philip was not involved in that event.
The two Philips are not a puzzle to be solved but a window into the diversity of early Christianity. One stands at the center, the other at the frontier. One left a text that Gnostic communities treasured, the left a legacy of missionary inclusion. We keep them separate in our catalogues, and we recommend that anyone working with the Gospel of Philip or the Acts of Philip start by remembering which Philip they are reading. For further exploration of Gnostic apocrypha, see our guide to the Nag Hammadi library. The figure of the eunuch appears in other esoteric traditions; you can find it in the glossary of Hermetic symbols. And for a deeper look at the Gospel of Philip itself, we have a dedicated study here.