Venerable
Venerable Philip of Agira
ок. 40 — ок. 103
Also known as: Апостол Сицилии
Venerable Philip of Agira — an early Christian missionary venerated as the "Apostle of Sicily," ordained by the Apostle Peter and sent to preach on the island, where through prayer he performed numerous exorcisms and founded several churches.
ADDITION: confirmed the authenticity of the Malta connection shown in the image — the parish church dedicated to St. Philip of Agira in Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta (consecrated 1729), explains the town-twinning with Sicilian Agira commemorated on the bust's plaque.
Venerable Philip of Agira was an early Christian missionary venerated as the "Apostle of Sicily," the first preacher of Christianity on the island. Tradition holds he was born c. 40 AD in Caesarea in Palestine (alternatively, a Syrian born in Thrace), converted and ordained in Rome by the Apostle Peter, who sent him to preach in Sicily.
With his companion Eusebius, Philip landed at Messina, where through prayer and invocation of Christ and Peter he performed numerous exorcisms — tradition credits him with over 400 deliverances, including driving evil spirits from Mount Etna. He preached around Agira, opposed pagan funerary customs, and founded churches there.
He died peacefully c. 103 AD (an alternate hypothesis places him in the 5th century); a monastery was later built over his tomb, becoming a notable center of Byzantine monasticism in Sicily. Until 1861 the town of Agira was officially named San Filippo d'Argirò in his honor. He is venerated in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.