Here in Delphos, our Catholic parish community is named in honor of St. John the Evangelist.

 

In Christianity, John the Evangelist is considered to be the Apostle John, one of the original Twelve followers of Jesus. He is believed to be the only apostle to have lived a life of longevity and not be martyred for his faith. He is strongly associated with the city Ephesus: it is claimed that he lived his prominent life there and buried in this city. He is known as the son of Salome, as well as the younger brother of St. James, an original Apostle. Alongside, St. Peter (Simon) and St. James, the three of them are referenced numerous times in the Gospels of the New Testament as close friends of Jesus.

 

St. John is considered as one of the four evangelist authors of the Gospels of the Bible in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, and Luke being the other three authors. Despite the centuries-old debate of St. John’s authorship for the Gospel of John (some scholars do not believe the author may have been a man named John), the three Epistles attributed to John, and the Book of Revelation, he is still considered by many people to be the true author of those works. Throughout the Gospel of John, perhaps in the attempt to provide anonymity to the author, the Apostle John is referred as a nameless man or as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. The Book of Revelation is debated to have been written by St. John when he was exiled to the island of Patmos.

 

The feast day of St. John the Evangelist is December 27th. St. John the Evangelist is known to be a patron saint of a prolific nature, but he is mainly identified as the patron saint of love, loyalty, friendships, and authors.