Feast of Saint John the Evangelist – December 27

Saint John was one of Jesus’ Twelve disciples and is identified in Christian tradition with the disciple described in Saint John’s Gospel as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”.

According to the Gospel account, John and his brother James were among the first disciples called by Jesus. They were the sons of Zebedee and were fishermen by trade. According to the Gospel of Saint John, he and his brother had been disciples of Saint John the Baptist. John was part of an inner circle of three disciples, together with Peter and James, called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Yair’s daughter (Mark 5:37, Luke 8:51), of the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2, Luke 9:28) and of the passion in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37, Mark 14:33). The beloved disciple was present under the Cross together with Jesus’ mother and Jesus confided his mother to him (John 19:26-27).

In the Acts of the Apostles, John accompanies Peter in his mission in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1, 4:1) and in Samaria (Acts 8:14).

Later tradition attributes five of the New Testament books to Saint John: the Gospel, the Apocalypse and three epistles. John is reported to have lived to a very old age, living in Ephesus in Asia Minor.