Portal:Saints/Selected biography/December 2007

St. John the Apostle by Hans Memling.

John the Apostle (Greek Ιωάννης, see names of John) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Christian tradition identifies him with the authors of several New Testament works, including the Gospel of John.

At different times John the Apostle has been identified as the author of all or most of the New Testament works attributed to a writer named John. Some modern scholars distinguish at least three different authors. The creator of the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John is known as John the Evangelist, John the Theologian or John the Divine. The Second and Third Epistle of John had the same author, who calls himself the presbyter; he has been identified with the enigmatic John the Presbyter. The Book of Revelation was written by John of Patmos. Most evangelical Christians continue to hold that all New Testament "John" books were written by John the son of Zebedee. The apocryphal 2nd century Gnostic text called Secret Book of John was also attributed to John though not by the established orthodox Christian traditions. The Gospel of John contains references to the "disciple whom Jesus loved". Traditionally this was taken as a self reference by the author, and therefore a reference to John the Apostle.

John the Apostle was the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James. One tradition gives his mother's name as Salome. They originally were fishermen and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth. He was first a disciple of John the Baptist and later one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is revered as a saint by most of Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church commemorates him on December 27. He is also remembered in the liturgy on January 3. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 26, and also remembers him on May 8, on which date Christians used to draw forth from his grave fine ashes which were believed to be effective for healing the sick.