St. John the Evangelist, our patron, was born in Bethsaida, a village in Galilee. He was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman, and Salome. John and his brother James were mending their nets with their father when Jesus called them to follow him. They immediately left everything behind and became disciples of the Lord.
Among the apostles, John held a special place of closeness to Christ. He was one of the three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, where he beheld the glory of Christ and heard the voice from heaven proclaim, “This is my beloved Son.” At the Last Supper, John rested near the heart of Jesus and is remembered in the Gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” When Jesus was arrested, John followed him into the courtyard of the high priest, and at the Crucifixion he alone remained with the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross. There, Christ entrusted his mother to John’s care, saying, “Behold your mother.”
John was also a witness to the Resurrection. After Mary Magdalene announced that the tomb was empty, John ran with Peter and arrived first, seeing the burial cloths lying there. He later saw the risen Christ and, with the other apostles, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. After the Ascension, John remained in Jerusalem with the Virgin Mary and cared for her until the end of her earthly life.
Tradition tells us that John later preached the Gospel in Asia Minor, especially in and around Ephesus. There he brought many to faith in Christ, confronting the idolatry of the age and proclaiming the living God. During the reign of the Emperor Domitian, John was exiled to the island of Patmos. Even there, his witness continued, and many were converted through his teaching and miracles.
On Patmos, John received the heavenly vision recorded in the Book of Revelation. He saw the risen Christ, who declared, “Fear not; I am the First and the Last.” Tradition also associates John with the Gospel that bears his name, whose opening words proclaim the mystery at the heart of Christian faith: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
After his exile, John returned to Ephesus, where he spent the remainder of his life teaching, preaching, and strengthening the Church. His writings call all Christians to abide in Christ, to walk in the light, and to love one another. As a parish bearing his name, we seek to follow St. John’s example of faithful discipleship, deep prayer, courageous witness, and abiding love for Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
Adapted from The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, Vol. 1, compiled by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra and translated from the French by Christopher Hookway (Chalkidike, Greece: Holy Convent of the Annunciation of Our Lady, 1998) pp. 199-205.
