Prophet
Holy Prophet Elisha
✓ Comprehensive Orthodox source review completed
The successor of Elijah through whom God healed, multiplied food, raised the dead and revealed the heavenly host.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Holy Prophet Elisha, Holy Scripture — 3 Kingdoms / 1 Kings 19 and 4 Kingdoms / 2 Kings 2–13, The Prologue from Ohrid — June 14. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
Disciple and Successor of Elijah
The Holy Prophet Elisha was called from his work in the fields to follow the Prophet Elijah. When Elijah was taken up, Elisha received his mantle and, according to his request, a double portion of the prophetic spirit.
He served during a troubled period in Israel, calling rulers and people to faithfulness. His ministry, recorded principally in the Books of Kings, joined prophetic rebuke with mercy toward widows, foreigners and those in need.
Miracles Recorded in Scripture
Through God's power Elisha divided the Jordan, healed the waters of Jericho, multiplied a widow's oil, raised the Shunammite woman's son, cleansed Naaman of leprosy and caused an iron axe head to float.
At Dothan, when an enemy force surrounded the city, the prophet prayed that his servant's eyes might be opened. The servant saw the mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire, revealing the unseen protection of God.
Grace after His Repose
Scripture records that a dead man revived when his body touched the bones of Elisha. The Church receives this passage as testimony that God may glorify the relics of His servants and manifest grace through material creation.
Feast Day
June 14 — Holy Prophet Elisha.
Historical Record and Ecclesiastical Tradition
First and Second Kings are the controlling sources for Elisha's call, reception of Elijah's mantle, prophetic ministry, miracles and death. Later accounts of his tomb, relics and their translations belong to Jewish and Christian ecclesiastical tradition and are separated from the Biblical narrative; similarly named persons in Scripture are not conflated with the prophet.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Holy Prophet ElishaHoly Scripture — 3 Kingdoms / 1 Kings 19 and 4 Kingdoms / 2 Kings 2–13The Prologue from Ohrid — June 14