John the Apostle

Not to be confused with John the Baptist.

Saint

John the Apostle
St John by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611)
Apostle and Evangelist
Bornc. 6 AD[1]
Bethsaida, Galilee, Roman Empire
Diedc. 100 AD (aged 93)
place unknown,[2][3] probably Ephesus, Roman Empire[4]
Venerated inAll Christian denominations which venerate saints
Islam (named as one of the disciples of Jesus)[5]
Druze faith[6]
CanonizedPre-congregation
Feast27 December (Roman Catholic, Anglican)
26 September (Eastern Orthodox)
AttributesEagle, gospel, serpent in a chalice, cauldron
PatronageLove, loyalty, friendships, authors, booksellers, burn-victims, poison-victims, art-dealers, editors, publishers, scribes, examinations, scholars, theologians, Asia Minor, Turkey and Turks,[7][8][9] against jealousy and envy[10]
InfluencesJesus
InfluencedIgnatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Papias of Hierapolis, Odes of Solomon [11]

John the Apostle[12] (Ancient Greek: Ἰωάννης; Latin: Ioannes[13] c. 6 AD – c. 100 AD; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian,[14] was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome. His brother James was another of the Twelve Apostles. The Church Fathers identify him as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Disciple, and testify that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes, although modern scholars are divided on the veracity of these claims.

John the Apostle, detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century

John the Apostle is traditionally held to be the author of the Gospel of John, and many Christian denominations believe that he authored several other books of the New Testament (the three Johannine epistles and the Book of Revelation, together with the Gospel of John, are called the Johannine works), depending on whether he is distinguished from, or identified with, John the Evangelist, John the Elder, and John of Patmos.

Although the authorship of the Johannine works has traditionally been attributed to John the Apostle,[15] only a minority of contemporary scholars believe he wrote the gospel,[16] and most conclude that he wrote none of them.[15][17][18] Regardless of whether or not John the Apostle wrote any of the Johannine works, most scholars agree that all three epistles were written by the same author and that the epistles did not have the same author as the Book of Revelation, although there is widespread disagreement among scholars as to whether the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel.[19][20][21]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Theophylact was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Wills, Garry (10 March 2015). The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-698-15765-1. (Candida Moss marshals the historical evidence to prove that "we simply don't know how any of the apostles died, much less whether they were martyred.")6 Citing Moss, Candida (5 March 2013). The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. HarperCollins. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-06-210454-0.
  3. ^

    Nor do we have reliable accounts from later times. What we have are legends, about some of the apostles – chiefly Peter, Paul, Thomas, Andrew, and John. But the apocryphal Acts that tell their stories are indeed highly apocryphal.

    — Bart D. Ehrman, "Were the Disciples Martyred for Believing the Resurrection? A Blast From the Past", ehrmanblog.org

    Bart Ehrman

    — Emerson Green, "Who Would Die for a Lie?", The big problem with this argument [of who would die for a lie] is that it assumes precisely what we don't know. We don't know how most of the disciples died. The next time someone tells you they were all martyred, ask them how they know. Or better yet, ask them which ancient source they are referring to that says so. The reality is [that] we simply do not have reliable information about what happened to Jesus' disciples after he died. In fact, we scarcely have any information about them while they were still living, nor do we have reliable accounts from later times. What we have are legends.
  4. ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Smith, III, James D. (2010). The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, Volume 2. Scarecrow Press. p. 391. ISBN 9780810872837. Though not in complete agreement, most scholars believe that John died of natural causes in Ephesus
  5. ^ Historical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam And Judaism, Brandon M. Wheeler, Disciples of Christ: "Islam identifies the disciples of Jesus as Peter, Philip, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, John, James, Bartholomew, and Simon"
  6. ^ S. Swayd, Samy (2009). The A to Z of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 109. ISBN 9780810868366.
  7. ^ McCain, Edward (2010). A Gift of Angels: The Art of Mission San Xavier Del Bac. University of Arizona Press. p. 138. ISBN 9780816528400. Saint John the Evangelist is patron of miners (in Carinthia), Turkey (Asia Minor), sculptors, art dealers, bookbinders ...
  8. ^ P. Foley, Michael (2020). Drinking with Your Patron Saints: The Sinner's Guide to Honoring Namesakes and Protectors. Simon and Schuster. p. 150. ISBN 9781684510474. John is a patron saint of Asia Minor and Turkey and Turks because of his missionary work there.
  9. ^ M. Limberis, Vasiliki (2011). Architects of Piety: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Cult of the Martyrs. Oxford University Press. p. 164. ISBN 9780190208684.
  10. ^ Brian Bartholomew Tan. "On Envy". Church of Saint Michael. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ^ Smith, Preserved (1915). "The Disciples of John and the Odes of Solomon" (PDF). The Monist. 25 (2): 161–199. doi:10.5840/monist191525235. JSTOR 27900527.
  12. ^ Henry Chadwick (2021). "Saint John the Apostle". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  13. ^ Also Imperial Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ ܫܠܝܚܐ, Yohanān Shliḥā; Hebrew: יוחנן בן זבדי, Yohanan ben Zavdi; Coptic: ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ; Հովհաննես[citation needed]
  14. ^ Ivanoff, Jonathan. "Life of St. John the Theologian". www.stjt.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  15. ^ a b Harris, Stephen L. (1985). Understanding the Bible: a Reader's Introduction (2nd ed.). Palo Alto: Mayfield. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-87484-696-6. Although ancient traditions attributed to the Apostle John the Fourth Gospel, the Book of Revelation, and the three Epistles of John, modern scholars believe that he wrote none of them.
  16. ^ Lindars, Edwards & Court 2000, p. 41.
  17. ^ Kelly, Joseph F. (1 October 2012). History and Heresy: How Historical Forces Can Create Doctrinal Conflicts. Liturgical Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8146-5999-1.
  18. ^ Harris, Stephen L. (1980). Understanding the Bible: A Reader's Guide and Reference. Mayfield Publishing Company. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-87484-472-6. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  19. ^ Kruger, Michael J. (30 April 2012). Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books. Crossway. p. 272. ISBN 9781433530814.
  20. ^ Brown, Raymond E. (1988). The Gospel and Epistles of John: A Concise Commentary. Liturgical Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780814612835.
  21. ^ Marshall, I. Howard (14 July 1978). The Epistles of John. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 9781467422321.