John the Apostle
John the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰωάννης; Latin: Ioannes 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, 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.
Saint John the Apostle | |
|---|---|
St John by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611) | |
| Apostle and Evangelist | |
| Born | c. 6 AD Bethsaida, Galilee, Roman Empire |
| Died | c. 100 AD (aged 93) place unknown, probably Ephesus, Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | All Christian denominations which venerate saints Islam (named as one of the disciples of Jesus) Druze faith |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | 27 December (Roman Catholic, Anglican) 26 September (Eastern Orthodox) |
| Attributes | Eagle, gospel, serpent in a chalice, cauldron |
| Patronage | Love, loyalty, friendships, authors, booksellers, burn-victims, poison-victims, art-dealers, editors, publishers, scribes, examinations, scholars, theologians, Asia Minor, Turkey and Turks, against jealousy and envy |
| Influences | Jesus |
| Influenced | Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Papias of Hierapolis, Odes of Solomon |
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, only a minority of contemporary scholars believe he wrote the gospel, and most conclude that he wrote none of them. 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.