Although Archbishop Luke of Simferopol and Crimea, popularly known as Saint Luke the Surgeon, was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church on May 25, 1996 following the exhumation of his sacred relics, he was not officially listed among the Saints by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, despite his popular veneration among the Greeks in Greece with churches and shrines dedicated to him there. This is a common custom, as each independent Church has its own list of saints and calendar for commemoration. Since canonizations only take place after a request has been made by a Bishop, Archbishop Luke of Simferopol and Crimea was officially canonized on June 13, 2019 after a request was made by the newly-enthroned Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kiev and All Ukraine. Therefore he is now officially listed among the Saints by decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
