The tomb of St John the Evangelist, a great pilgrimage site in the middle ages. Ephesus, Turkey. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Name: St John the Beloved
Feast Day: December 27
Patron: Wine, Authors, Eagles, Love, Friendship, Loyalty
Death: ~98 AD. Natural causes.
Shrine: Ephesus, Basilica of St John.
The Basilica was converted into an Islamic mosque in the 14th century, during the Turkish conquest of Magna Graecia. It is now in ruins.
Customs: Giving a gift of blessed wine on the Feast of St John
Exterior of the ruined Basilica of St John, Ephesus, Turkey. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Life and Scriptures:
St John is widely referred to in the scriptures and wrote the Gospel of St John and the Book of the Apocalypse.
He appears in all of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Apocalypse.
St John the Apostle was the son of Zebedee, brother of St James the Greater.
St John was singled out as second only to St Peter in influence and authority.
St John was the only Apostle to remain at the foot of the cross, with the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was the one to whom Christ entrusted His Mother. St John belonged to a special group – present at the Transfiguration on Mt Tabor, Our Lord’s Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the raising of Jairus’ daughter.
Ancient Catholic tradition holds that St John was the youngest of the Apostles and lived to a great age.
He was reputed to be exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse. He then returned to Ephesus, where he died and was buried.
Church Fathers: St John is widely referred to in the writings of the Church Fathers, such as Tertullian, Eusebius, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria.
