St John the Evangelist

John the Evangelist  is the name given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, or John the Presbyter. The Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved," who "bore witness to and wrote" the Gospel's message. The feast day of Saint John in the Catholic Church, which refers to him as Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist is on December 27th, the third day of Christmastide. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated also on each of the following days up to and including January 3rd, the Octave of the December 27th feast. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955. The traditional liturgical color is white. Justin Martyr referred to John as an apostle of Jesus who lived in Ephesus. St. Irenaes, Eusebius and still others all agree that John left the isle of Patmos where he was banished for preaching the gospel (Revelation 1: 9). The last living apostle then spent his remaining days in Ephesus until he died somewhere around the close of the first century. A well-known reference book on New Testament Martyrs, written by John Foxe (1515 - 1587), states that the apostle, as punishment for being a believer in Christ, was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil.