_Lat._ Sanctus Johannes. _Gr._ St. John Theologos, or the Divine.
_Ital._ San Giovanni Evangelista. _Fr._ Saint Jean; Messire Saint
Jehan. _Ger._ Der Heilige Johann. (Dec. 27, A.D. 99.)
Of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, so little is certainly known,
that we have no data on which to found an individual portrait;
therefore any representation of them as venerable and inspired teachers
suffices to the fancy: but it is quite otherwise with St. John, the
most distinguished of the evangelists, and the most beloved of the
disciples of our Lord. Of him sufficient is known to convey a distinct
impression of his personal character, and an idea of what his personal
appearance may have been, supposing this outward semblance to have
harmonised with the inward being.
He was the son of the fisherman Zebedee, and, with his brother James,
among the first followers of the Saviour. He is emphatically called
‘the disciple whom Jesus loved;’ a preference which he merited, not
only from the extreme purity of his life and character, but from
his devoted and affectionate nature. He appears to have been at all
times the constant companion of his divine Lord; and his life, while
the Saviour was on earth, inseparable from His. In all the memorable
circumstances recorded in the Gospel he was a party, or at least
present. He witnessed the glory of the transfiguration; he leaned
on the bosom of Jesus at the last supper; he stood by the cross in
the hour of agony; he laid the body of his crucified Master in the
sepulchre. After the death of the Virgin Mother, who had been confided
to his care, he went about Judæa, preaching the Gospel with St. Peter.
He then travelled into Asia Minor, where he founded the Seven Churches,
and resided principally at Ephesus. During the persecution of the
Christians under Domitian, St. John was sent in fetters to Rome; and,
according to a tradition generally received in the Roman Church, he was
cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, but was miraculously preserved,
and ‘came out of it as out of a refreshing bath.’ He was then accused
of magic, and exiled to the island of Patmos, in the Ægean Sea,
where he is said to have written his Revelation. After the death of
the Emperor Domitian he was released, and returned to his church at
Ephesus; and for the use of the Christians there he is said to have
written his gospel, at the age of ninety. A few years afterwards he
died in that city, being nearly a century old. All the incidents here
touched upon occur frequently as subjects of art, but most of them
belong properly to the life of Christ.
* * * * *
The personal character of St. John, at once attractive and picturesque,
has rendered him popular as a patron saint, and devotional pictures of
him are far more numerous than of any of the other evangelists.
He is represented in one of his three characters: 1, as evangelist; 2,
as apostle; 3, as prophet; or the three are combined in one figure.