View source for John the Evangelist

{{Short description|Name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2023}}
{{Coord|37.952546|N|27.367954|E|display=Burial site}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name = John the Evangelist
|birth_date = Between {{c.|AD 6–9}}
|death_date = {{c.|AD 100}} (aged {{circa}} 92)<ref name=Theophylact>{{Citation|author=Saint [[Sophronius of Jerusalem]]|orig-year=c. 600|year=2007|title=The Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to John|chapter=The Life of the Evangelist John|publisher=Chrysostom Press|publication-place=[[House Springs, Missouri]], United States|isbn=978-1-889814-09-4|pages=2–3}}</ref>
|feast_day = 27 December ([[Western Christianity]]); 8 May and 26 September (Repose) ([[Eastern Orthodox Church]])
|venerated_in = {{unbulleted list|[[Roman Catholic Church]]|[[Eastern Catholic Churches]]|[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]|[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]|[[Anglican Communion]]|[[Lutheranism]]|[[Philippine Independent Church|Aglipayan Church]]}}
|image = Codexaureus 25.jpg
|caption = Saint John the Evangelist with eagle, [[Codex Aureus of Lorsch|Lorsch Gospels]] (9th century)
|titles = Evangelist, Apostle, Theologian
|major_shrine=[[St. John's Cathedral ('s-Hertogenbosch)]], [[Netherlands]]|attributes =Eagle, Chalice, Scrolls
|major_works = {{unbulleted list|[[Gospel of John]] (traditional attribution)|[[Epistles of John]] (traditional attribution)|[[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] (traditional attribution)}}
}}
{{John}}
''' John the Evangelist'''{{efn|{{langx|grc|Ἰωάννης|Iōánnēs}}; {{langx|arc|ܝܘܚܢܢ}}; {{langx|gez|ዮሐንስ}}; {{langx|ar|يوحنا الإنجيلي}}; {{langx|la|Ioannes}}; {{langx|he|יוחנן}}; {{langx|cop|ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ}} or {{lang|cop|ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ}}}} ({{circa|6 AD}} – {{circa|100 AD}}) is the name traditionally given to the author of the [[Gospel of John]]. Christians have traditionally identified him with [[John the Apostle]], [[John of Patmos]], and [[John the Presbyter]],<ref name="Harris" /> although there is no consensus on how many of these may actually be the same individual.<ref name="Ehrman" />

== Identity ==
{{See also|Johannine literature|Four Evangelists}}
[[File:Johannes (evangelist).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Print of John the Evangelist<ref>{{Cite web|title=Evangelist Johannes|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:E3E2CDAA-D142-11E7-9D8C-0D306EE4309A#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1300,-136,5055,2713|access-date=2 October 2020|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]

The exact identity of John – and the extent to which his identification with [[John the Apostle]], [[John of Patmos]] and [[John the Presbyter]] is historical – is disputed between [[Christian tradition]] and scholars.

The [[Gospel of John]] refers to an otherwise unnamed "[[disciple whom Jesus loved]]", who "bore witness to and wrote" the Gospel's message.<ref name = "TM1998 2">Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). Chapter 2. Christian sources about Jesus.</ref> The author of the Gospel of John seemed interested in maintaining the internal anonymity of the author's identity, although interpreting the Gospel in the light of the [[Synoptic Gospel]]s and considering that the author names (and therefore is not claiming to be) Peter, and that James was [[Christian martyr|martyred]] as early as AD 44,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|12:2}}</ref> Christian tradition has widely believed that the author was the Apostle John, though many modern scholars believe the work to be [[pseudepigrapha]].<ref name = "TM1998">Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition)</ref>

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. John, [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[James the Just]] were the ''[[Triumvirate#Biblical|three pillars]]'' of the [[Early Christianity#Jerusalem church|Jerusalem church]] after Jesus' death.<ref name="Harris John">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" p. 302-310</ref> He was one of the original [[twelve apostles]] and is thought to be the only one to escape martyrdom. It had been believed that he was exiled (around AD 95) to the Aegean island of [[Patmos]], where he wrote the [[Book of Revelation]]. However, some attribute the authorship of Revelation to another man, called [[John the Presbyter]], or to other writers of the late first century AD.<ref>{{cite book |title=In Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica concise encyclopedia |date=2017 |publisher=Britannica Digital Learning |location=Chicago IL}}</ref> Bauckham argues that the early Christians identified John the Evangelist with [[John the Presbyter]].<ref name="Bauckham2007">Bauckham, Richard (2007)) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=QQzjDM_L7-oC The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple]''.</ref>

==Authorship of the Johannine works==
{{Main|Authorship of the Johannine works|Johannine epistles}}
Since at least the 2nd century AD, [[Biblical criticism|scholars]] have debated the authorship of the [[Johannine works]]—whether they were written by one author or many, and if any of the authors can be identified with John the Apostle.<ref>F. L. Cross, ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 45</ref>

The gospel and epistles traditionally and plausibly came from [[Early centers of Christianity#Asia Minor|Ephesus]], {{c.|90–110}}, although some scholars argue for an origin in [[Early centers of Christianity#Damascus|Syria]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Raymond E. |author-link=Raymond E. Brown |title=Introduction to the New Testament |year=1997 |publisher=Anchor Bible |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00brow_0/page/334 334] |location=New York |isbn=0-385-24767-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00brow_0/page/334 }}</ref> Eastern Orthodox tradition attributes all of the Johannine books to John the Apostle.<ref name=Harris>Stephen L Harris, ''Understanding the Bible'', (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985), 355</ref> Some today agree that the gospel and epistles may have been written by a single author,<ref name=Harris/> whether or not this was the apostle.

Other scholars conclude that the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel, although all four works originated from the same community.<ref>Ehrman, pp.&nbsp;178–9.</ref>  In the 6th century, the {{lang|la|[[Decretum Gelasianum]]}} argued that the [[Second Epistle of John|Second]] and [[Third Epistle of John]] have a separate author known as "[[John the Presbyter|John the priest]]."{{efn|Since the 18th century, the {{lang|la|Decretum Gelasianum}} has been associated with the [[Council of Rome]] (382), although historians dispute the connection.}}

[[Historical criticism|Historical critics]] like H.P.V. Nunn,<ref>{{cite book|last=Nunn|first=Rev Henry Preston Vaughan (H.P.V.)|title=The Fourth Gospel: An Outline of the Problem and Evidence|url=https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_4thgospel_nunn.html|date= 1 January 1946|publisher=London The Tyndale Press|asin=B002NRY6G2|pages=10–13, 14–18, 19, 21–35, 37–39}}</ref> [[Reza Aslan]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Aslan|first=Reza |title=ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth|date= 16 July 2013|publisher=Random House; Illustrated Edition, New York Times Press|isbn=978-2523470201|page=XX}}</ref> and [[Bart Ehrman]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart |title=Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the Millennium|url=http://www.bartdehrman.com/jesus-apocalyptic-prophet-of-the-new-millennium/|date= May 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press Press|isbn=978-0195124743|pages=41–44, 90–93}}</ref> believe with most modern scholars that the apostle John wrote none of these works.<ref name="Fourth Gospel 1985 p. 355">"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." [[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible'' (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985) p. 355</ref><ref name="Kelly2012">{{cite book|last=Kelly|first=Joseph F.|title=History and Heresy: How Historical Forces Can Create Doctrinal Conflicts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=923-w0Knq-AC&pg=PA115|date=1 October 2012|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5999-1|page=115}}</ref> Some scholars, though, such as [[John Robinson (bishop of Woolwich)|John Robinson]], [[F. F. Bruce]], [[Leon Morris]], and [[Martin Hengel]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Hengel |first=Martin |title=Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ, 1st edition |page=40 |isbn=978-1-56338-300-7 |publisher=Trinity Press International |year=2000}}</ref> still hold the apostle to be behind at least some of the works in question, particularly the gospel.<ref name="Morris1995">Morris, Leon (1995) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=II-33dS9esAC&q=Continental+scholars&pg=PA4 The Gospel According to John]'' Volume 4 of The new international commentary on the New Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2504-9}}, pp. 4–5, 24, 35–7. "Continental scholars have{{nbsp}}[...] abandoned the idea that this gospel was written by the apostle John, whereas in Great Britain and America scholarship has been much more open to the idea." Abandonment is due to changing opinion rather "than to any new evidence." "Werner, Colson, and I have been joined, among others, by I. Howard Marshall and J.A.T. Robinson in seeing the evidence as pointing to John the son of Zebedee as the author of this Gospel." The view that John's history is substandard "is becoming increasingly hard to sustain. Many recent writers have shown that there is good reason for regarding this or that story in John as authentic.{{nbsp}}[...] It is difficult to{{nbsp}}[...] regard John as having little concern for history. The fact is John is concerned with historical information.{{nbsp}}[...] John apparently records this kind of information because he believes it to be accurate.{{nbsp}}[...] He has some reliable information and has recorded it carefully.{{nbsp}}[...] The evidence is that where he can be tested John proves to be remarkably accurate."
*Bruce 1981 pp. 52–4, 58. "The evidence{{nbsp}}[...] favor[s] the apostolicity of the gospel.{{nbsp}}[...] John knew the other gospels and{{nbsp}}[...] supplements them.{{nbsp}}[...] The synoptic narrative becomes more intelligible if we follow John." John's style is different so Jesus' "abiding truth might be presented to men and women who were quite unfamiliar with the original setting.{{nbsp}}[...] He does not yield to any temptation to restate Christianity.{{nbsp}}[...] It is the story of events that happened in history.{{nbsp}}[...] John does not divorce the story from its Palestinian context."
*Dodd p. 444. "Revelation is distinctly, and nowhere more clearly than in the Fourth Gospel, a historical revelation. It follows that it is important for the evangelist that what he narrates happened."
*Temple, William. "Readings in St. John's Gospel". MacMillan and Co, 1952. "The synoptists give us something more like the perfect photograph; St. John gives us the more perfect portrait".
*Edwards, R. A. "The Gospel According to St. John" 1954, p 9. One reason he accepts John's authorship is because "the alternative solutions seem far too complicated to be possible in a world where living men met and talked".
*Hunter, A. M. "Interpreting the New Testament" P 86. "After all the conjectures have been heard, the likeliest view is that which identifies the Beloved Disciple with the Apostle John.</ref><ref name="Strobel, Lee 1998">Dr. [[Craig Blomberg]], cited in Lee Strobel ''The Case for Christ'', 1998, Chapter 2.
*Marshall, Howard. "The Illustrated Bible Dictionary", ed J. D. Douglas et al. Leicester 1980. II, p 804
*Robinson, J. A. T. "The Priority of John" P 122
*Cf. Marsh, "John seems to have believed that theology was not something which could be used to read a meaning into events but rather something that was to be discovered in them. His story is what it is because his theology is what it is; but his theology is what it is because the story happened so" (p&nbsp;580–581).</ref>

The Book of Revelation is today generally agreed to have a separate author, [[John of Patmos]], {{c.|95}} with some parts possibly dating to [[Nero]]'s reign in the early 60s.<ref name="Hart 2023 p. 575">{{cite book | last=Hart | first=David Bentley | title=The New Testament: A Translation | publisher=Yale University Press | year=2023 | isbn=978-0-300-27146-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CU6qEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA575 | access-date=1 January 2024 | page=575}}</ref><ref name="Hodgkins 2019 p. 597">{{cite book | last=Hodgkins | first=Christopher | title=Literary Study of the Bible: An Introduction | publisher=Wiley | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-118-60449-6 | chapter=15.2 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OOLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT597 | access-date=1 January 2024 | page=unpaginated}}</ref><ref name="Fletcher 2017 p. 70">{{cite book | last=Fletcher | first=Michelle | title=Reading Revelation as Pastiche: Imitating the Past | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | series=The Library of New Testament Studies | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-567-67271-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upSZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 | access-date=1 January 2024 | page=70}}</ref><ref name=Harris/><ref name="Fourth Gospel 1985 p. 355"/><ref name="Kelly2012"/><ref name=Ehrman>{{Cite book|last=Ehrman |first=Bart D.|author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford |location=New York |isbn=0-19-515462-2 |page=468 }}</ref>

==Feast day==
The [[feast day]] of Saint John in the [[Catholic Church]], [[Anglican Communion]], and the Lutheran Calendar, is on 27 December, the [[Twelve Days of Christmas|third day]] of [[Christmastide]].<ref name="Dame2006">{{cite book|last=Frandsen|first=Mary E. |title=Crossing Confessional Boundaries : The Patronage of Italian Sacred Music in Seventeenth-Century Dresden|url=https://archive.org/details/crossingconfessi00fran_0|url-access=registration|date=4 April 2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195346367|page=[https://archive.org/details/crossingconfessi00fran_0/page/161 161]|quote=On the Feast of St. John the Evangelist (the third day of Christmas) in 1665, for example, peranda presented two concertos in the morning service, his ''O Jesu mi dulcissime'' and ''Verbum caro factum est'', and presented his ''Jesus dulcis'', ''Jesu pie'' and ''Atendite fideles'' at Vespers.}}</ref> In the [[Tridentine calendar]] he was commemorated also on each of the following days up to and including 3 January, the [[Octave (liturgy)|Octave]] of the 27 December feast. This Octave was abolished by [[Pope Pius XII]] in 1955.<ref>General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII</ref> The traditional liturgical color is white.

[[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] [[St. John's Day, Masonic feast|celebrate this feast day]], dating back to the 18th century when the Feast Day was used for the installation of [[Grand Master (Freemasonry)|Grand Masters]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=12&new_day=27&new_year=2015|title=Today in Masonic History – Feast of St. John the Evangelist|website=www.masonrytoday.com|access-date=28 December 2019}}</ref>

==In art==

John is traditionally depicted in one of two distinct ways: either as an aged man with a white or gray beard, or alternatively as a beardless youth like John the Apostle.<ref name=HallJerousek>Sources:
*James Hall, ''Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), 129, 174-75.
*Carolyn S. Jerousek, "Christ and St. John the Evangelist as a Model of Medieval Mysticism", ''Cleveland Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 6 (2001), 16.
</ref><ref name=BritannicaOnline>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |title=Saint John the Apostle |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Apostle |access-date=4 August 2017 |location=Chicago}}</ref> The first way of depicting him was more common in [[Byzantine art]], where it was possibly influenced by antique depictions of [[Socrates]];<ref>
Jadranka Prolović, "Socrates and St. John the Apostle: the interchangеable similarity of their portraits" ''Zograf'', vol. 35 (2011), 9: "It is difficult to locate when and where this iconography of John originated and what the prototype was, yet it is clearly visible that this iconography of John contains all of the main characteristics of well-known antique images of Socrates. This fact leads to the conclusion that Byzantine artists used depictions of Socrates as a model for the portrait of John."</ref> the second was more common in the art of [[Medieval art|Medieval Western Europe]] and can be dated back as far as 4th-century Rome.<ref name="BritannicaOnline" />

In medieval works of painting, sculpture and literature, Saint John is often presented in an androgynous or feminized manner.<ref>
* James Hall, ''Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), 129, 174-75.
* [[Jeffrey F. Hamburger]], ''St. John the Divine: The Deified Evangelist in Medieval Art and Theology.'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), xxi-xxii; ibidem, 159-160.
* Carolyn S. Jerousek, "Christ and St. John the Evangelist as a Model of Medieval Mysticism", ''Cleveland Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 6 (2001), 16.
* Annette Volfing, ''John the Evangelist and Medieval Writing: Imitating the Inimitable.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 139.
</ref> Historians have related such portrayals to the circumstances of the believers for whom they were intended.<ref>
* [[Jeffrey F. Hamburger]], ''St. John the Divine: The Deified Evangelist in Medieval Art and Theology.'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), xxi-xxii.
* Carolyn S. Jerousek, "Christ and St. John the Evangelist as a Model of Medieval Mysticism" ''Cleveland Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 6 (2001), 20.
* Sarah McNamer, ''Affective Meditation and the Invention of Medieval Compassion'', (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), 142-148.
* Annette Volfing, ''John the Evangelist and Medieval Writing: Imitating the Inimitable.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 139.
</ref> For instance, John's feminine features are argued to have helped to make him more relatable to women.<ref>
* Carolyn S. Jerousek, "Christ and St. John the Evangelist as a Model of Medieval Mysticism" ''Cleveland Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 6 (2001), 20.
* Annette Volfing, ''John the Evangelist and Medieval Writing: Imitating the Inimitable.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 139.
</ref> Likewise, Sarah McNamer argues that because of John's androgynous status, he could function as an 'image of a third or mixed gender'<ref>
Sarah McNamer, ''Affective Meditation and the Invention of Medieval Compassion'', (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), 142.
</ref> and 'a crucial figure with whom to identify'<ref>
Sarah McNamer, ''Affective Meditation and the Invention of Medieval Compassion'', (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), 145.
</ref> for male believers who sought to cultivate an attitude of [[affective piety]], a highly emotional style of devotion that, in late-medieval culture, was thought to be poorly compatible with masculinity.<ref>
Sarah McNamer, ''Affective Meditation and the Invention of Medieval Compassion'', (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), 142-148.</ref>

Legends from the "[[Acts of John]]" contributed much to medieval iconography; it is the source of the idea that John became an apostle at a young age.<ref name="BritannicaOnline" /> One of John's familiar attributes is the [[chalice]], often with a snake emerging from it.<ref name="Hall1979">James Hall, "John the Evangelist", ''Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', rev. ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1979)</ref> According to one legend from the Acts of John,<ref>J.K. Elliot (ed.), ''A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation Based on M.R. James'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993/2005), 343-345.</ref> John was challenged to drink a cup of poison to demonstrate the power of his faith, and thanks to God's aid the poison was rendered harmless.<ref name="Hall1979" /><ref>J K Elliott, "Graphic Versions: Did non-biblical stories about Jesus and the saints originate more in art than text?", ''Times Literary Supplement'', 14 December 2018, pp. 15-16, referring to the El Greco painting.</ref> The chalice can also be interpreted with reference to the [[Last Supper]], or to the words of Christ to John and James: "My chalice indeed you shall drink."<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|20:23}}</ref><ref name="CathEnc">Fonck, L. (1910). [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08492a.htm St. John the Evangelist]. In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York: Robert Appleton Company). Retrieved 14 August 2017 from New Advent.</ref> According to the 1910 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', some authorities believe that this symbol was not adopted until the 13th century.<ref name="CathEnc" /> There was also a legend that John was at some stage boiled in oil and miraculously preserved.<ref>J K Elliott, "Graphic Versions: Did non-biblical stories about Jesus and the saints originate more in art than text?", ''Times Literary Supplement'', 14 December 2018, pp. 15-16, referring to a thirteenth-century manuscript in Cambridge known as the Trinity College Apocalypse.</ref> Another common attribute is a book or a scroll, in reference to his writings.<ref name="Hall1979" /> John the Evangelist is symbolically represented by an [[eagle]], one of the creatures envisioned by Ezekiel (1:10)<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|1:10}}</ref> and in the Book of Revelation (4:7).<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|4:7}}</ref><ref name="CathEnc" />

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="154px" heights="200px" perrow="4" caption="John the Evangelist">
File: Joan_de_Joanes_-_St_John_the_Evangelist_-_WGA12061.jpg|''St. John the Evangelist'' by [[Vicente Juan Masip|Joan de Joanes]] (1507–1579), oil on panel
File:Zampieri St John Evangelist.jpg|''[[Saint John the Evangelist (Domenichino)|Saint John the Evangelist]]'' by Domenichino (1621–29)
File:1490 Gleismüller Johannes auf Patmos anagoria.JPG|''Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos'', 1490
File:Piero di Cosimo (Piero di Lorenzo) - St. John the Evangelist, c. 1500.jpg|[[Piero di Cosimo]], ''Saint John the Evangelist'', oil on panel, 1504–6, [[Honolulu Museum of Art]]
<!-- File:John at patmos n.novgorod.jpg|''Saint John at Patmos'' [[icon]] from the [[Novgorod School|School of Novgorod]]<br>Russia (17th century) --> 
File:El Greco, The Vision of Saint John (1608-1614).jpg |''The Vision of Saint John'' (1608–1614), by El Greco
File:Simone Cantarini - São João Batista em Meditação.jpg|''Saint John the Evangelist in meditation'' by [[Simone Cantarini]]<br>(1612–1648), [[Bologna]]
File:Sts-john-and-bartholomew-with-donor-dosso-dossi.jpg|''Saints John and Bartholomew'', by [[Dosso Dossi]]
File:Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral East Aisle Second Window Evangelist John Detail 2009 09 28.jpg|[[Stained glass]] window in [[St. Aidan's Cathedral]], Ireland
File:Cano - San Juan.jpg|<br>''Saint John and the Poisoned Cup'' by [[Alonzo Cano]]<br>Spain (1635–1637)
File:GRM Inv. J-3182.jpg|''Saint John and the eagle'' by [[Vladimir Borovikovsky]] in [[Kazan Cathedral, Saint Petersburg]]
File:KellsFol291vPortJohn.jpg|A portrait from the [[Book of Kells]], {{circa|800}}
File:El Greco 034.jpg|''Saint John and the cup'' by [[El Greco]]
File:St-johns-seminary-st-john.jpg|Statue of ''John the Evangelist'' outside [[Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts)|St. John's Seminary]], [[Boston]]
File:De Grey Hours f.26.v St. John the Evangelist.png|St John the Evangelist depicted in a 14th-century manuscript in the Flemish style 
File:San Juan Evangelista, por Francisco Pacheco.jpg|''St John the Evangelist'', by [[Francisco Pacheco]] (1608, Museo del Prado)
File:Prochorus and St John Miniature, 1224.jpg|Prochorus and St John depicted in Xoranasat's gospel manuscript in 1224. Armenian manuscript.
File:Pendentiefkoepel (detail) - Johannes (evangelist) - Onbekend - Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Sint-Pieterskerk Gent (1).jpg|Depiction of "John the Evangelist" on pendentive dome of the [[St. Peter's Abbey, Ghent]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Eagle of Saint John]]
* [[Luke the Evangelist]]
* [[Mark the Evangelist]]
* [[Matthew the Evangelist]]
* [[St. John the Evangelist Church (disambiguation)|St. John the Evangelist Church]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Saint John the Evangelist}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{AmCyc Poster}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305163/Saint-John-the-Apostle "Saint John the Apostle." ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online.]
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/john.html St. John the Evangelist] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] web site
* Caxton's translations of the ''[[Golden Legend]]''{{'}}s two chapters on St. John: [http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/john.htm Of St. John the Evangelist] and [http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/johnPortLatin.htm The History of St. John Port Latin]

{{Apostles}}
{{Gospel of John}}
{{New Testament people}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Coptic saints}}
{{Subject bar |portal1=Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= Bible |portal5=Ancient Rome}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:John The Evangelist}}
[[Category:10s births]]
[[Category:100s deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century writers]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the New Testament]]
[[Category:Four Evangelists]]
[[Category:Saints from the Holy Land]]
[[Category:John the Apostle]]