Philip and the Ethiopian

An angel of the Lord told the deacon Philip: "Go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." Philip got up and went. On the road, he saw the chariot of a high official — the treasurer of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. This official had come to Jerusalem to worship and was now returning home, reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and stay near that chariot." Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading aloud from Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The official replied, "How can I unless someone guides me?" He invited Philip up into the chariot. He was reading the passage about a sheep being led to slaughter — "Who shall speak of His descendants?" Philip opened his mouth, and starting from that scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled, they came to water. The official said, "Look, here is water — what is to prevent me from being baptized?" Philip baptized him right there. This is extraordinarily important for the Coptic Church: this Ethiopian official was one of the very first people from Africa to be baptized into the Christian faith, possibly even before the Gospel spread widely. The Gospel went south to Africa early — and Coptic Christianity is among the oldest Christian traditions in the world.