Monastic career and foundations
Luke came from a noble family and, against his parents' wishes, chose the monastic life over marriage, entering the Basilian convent of San Filippo in Agira in Sicily — the same monastic house that Saint Vitalius of Castronovo would later join. He afterward moved near Reggio Calabria and spent time with Saint Elia Speleota.
Having prophesied a Saracen invasion of Aspromonte, Luke relocated northward to Noa (modern Noepoli) in the Mercurion eparchia on the border of Lucania, where he restored a church dedicated to Saint Peter and gathered a monastic community. After seven years there he moved along the Agri River and restored the monastery of San Giuliano, which prospered and expanded despite an unsuccessful attempt by a local nobleman named Landolfo to destroy it. When Otto I attacked the region, Luke and his disciples relocated to Armento and founded a fortified monastery.
Defense of Armento
During a Saracen invasion, Luke led his monks in mounted combat — described in his Vita as a genuine battle with bloodshed. This is an unusual detail in contemporary saints' lives, in which monks typically fled, converted invaders peacefully, or achieved miraculous victories without violence.
Companionship with Saint Vitalius of Castronovo
Luke's life is closely tied to that of Saint Vitalius of Castronovo (c. 900 – 994), a Sicilian hermit and abbot who became a monk around 950 at the same Monastery of Saint Philip in Agira. While Vitalius lived in a cave near Armento in Basilicata, he was visited by Luke, with whom he prayed and discussed spiritual matters — a meeting that attests to the close spiritual relationship between the two in the Lucanian monastic milieu.
Relics & Shrines
After Vitalius died in 994, his remains were relocated several times and eventually housed at Armento alongside those of Luke of Demena. Both saints' relics were later placed in Tricarico Cathedral before being returned to Armento. Vitalius is honored as principal patron of Armento in Basilicata.
Sources and identity
The earliest information about Luke comes from a Vita published in the Acta Sanctorum Octobris, whose Latin translation contains elements absent from the original Greek text. In 1600, Paolo Emilio Santoro confused Luke of Armento with a contemporary saint named Luke of Carbone, a confusion that persisted for centuries and appears even in the Bibliotheca Sanctorum.
The original Greek Vita dates his death to the year 6493 from Creation, corresponding to 984 AD; the Latin translator miscalculated and incorrectly placed his death in 993.
Family
Luke's parents were named Giovanni and Tedibia. His sister Caterina, widowed with two sons, joined him at Armento; all took monastic vows, and Luke established her and other nuns in a convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary that had previously been ransacked by Saracens.
