John the Evangelist

For more information on the apostle of Jesus, see John the Apostle.

For more information on the author of the Book of Revelation, see John of Patmos.

St John the Evangelist, imagined by Jacopo Pontormo, ca 1525 (Santa Felicita, Florence)

Saint John the Evangelist (d. ca. 110; יוחנן "The LORD is merciful", Standard Hebrew Yoḥanan, Tiberian Hebrew Yôḥānān), or the Beloved Disciple, is traditionally the name used to refer to the author of the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John. Traditionally he has been identified with John the Apostle. The identification with the author of the second and third epistles of John and the author of the Book of Revelation is a long-held tradition, though debated among some historical-critical scholars (see John the Presbyter and John of Patmos).

In the Bible

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was one of Christ's original twelve apostles; the only one to live into old age; and not martyred for his faith. John the Evangelist is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that after a long life he was exiled to Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However this is a matter of debate, with some attributing authorship to John of Patmos or John the Presbyter. It also debated whether John the Evangelist is the same as St. John the Apostle.

Question of Authorship

Main article: Authorship of the Johannine works

Numerous modern scholars dispute that these works were by the same person. The most widely accepted view is that - whether or not the same man wrote all the Johannine literature - it all came out of the same community in Asia Minor, which had some connection to John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter. The author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself. He is generally assumed to be the "beloved disciple" repeatedly referred to in the Gospel. The author of this Gospel is also sometimes presumed to be the author of 1 John, and also, more rarely, of 2 John and 3 John. The 4th century Council of Rome decreed that the author of 1 John and that of 2 and 3 John should be regarded as distinct individuals, and modern textual criticism often agrees. There are also schools of thought which attribute some of these five works (always including The Gospel of John) to John the Apostle, and others (usually including the 2nd and 3rd epistles) to another. Collectively, the Gospel, the three Epistles, and Revelation are known as Johannine literature, and there is some internal textual evidence to suggest they may have been authored by the same person (see textual criticism). Of the Johannine literature, Revelation bears the least grammatical similarity to the Gospel. A Jesus Seminar scholar believes that the Apostle John wrote none of these texts ^[1]. However, traditional Catholic thought on the subject points to St. John the Apostle as the author of the Gospel, the three Epistles and the Book of Revelation that bear his name ^[2].

Patron Saint

St. John the Evangelist is (along with St. John the Baptist) a Patron Saint of the fraternal society of Free and Accepted Masons (better known as the Freemasons).^[3]

See Also

• Names of John
• Four Evangelists
• Gospel of Mark
• Gospel of Matthew
• Gospel of Luke
• Mark the Evangelist
• Luke the Evangelist
• Matthew the Evangelist

References

External Links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. John the Evangelist