John the Evangelist

John the Evangelist^[a] 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,^[2] although this has been disputed by most modern scholars.^[3]

Saint

John the Evangelist

Between c. AD 6–9

c. AD 100^[1]

27 December (Western Christianity); 8 May and 26 September (Repose) (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Eagle, Chalice, Scrolls

Gospel of John (traditional attribution)
Epistles of John (traditional attribution)
Revelation (traditional attribution)

Feast day[edit]

The feast day of Saint John in the Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Calendar, is on 27 December, the third day of Christmastide.^[25] In the Tridentine calendar he was commemorated also on each of the following days up to and including 3 January, the Octave of the 27 December feast. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955.^[26] The traditional liturgical color is white.

Freemasons celebrate this feast day, dating back to the 18th century when the Feast Day was used for the installation of Grand Masters.^[27]

In art[edit]

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.^[28]^[29] The first way of depicting him was more common in Byzantine art, where it was possibly influenced by antique depictions of Socrates;^[30] the second was more common in the art of Medieval Western Europe and can be dated back as far as 4th-century Rome.^[29]

In medieval works of painting, sculpture and literature, Saint John is often presented in an androgynous or feminized manner.^[31] Historians have related such portrayals to the circumstances of the believers for whom they were intended.^[32] For instance, John's feminine features are argued to have helped to make him more relatable to women.^[33] Likewise, Sarah McNamer argues that because of John's androgynous status, he could function as an 'image of a third or mixed gender'^[34] and 'a crucial figure with whom to identify'^[35] 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.^[36]

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.^[29] One of John's familiar attributes is the chalice, often with a snake emerging from it.^[37] According to one legend from the Acts of John,^[38] 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.^[37]^[39] 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."^[40]^[41] According to the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, some authorities believe that this symbol was not adopted until the 13th century.^[41] There was also a legend that John was at some stage boiled in oil and miraculously preserved.^[42] Another common attribute is a book or a scroll, in reference to his writings.^[37] John the Evangelist is symbolically represented by an eagle, one of the creatures envisioned by Ezekiel (1:10)^[43] and in the Book of Revelation (4:7).^[44]^[41]