Commemorated on September 26
John was the son of Zebedee the fisherman and Salome the daughter of Joseph, the betrothed of the Holy Theotokos. Called by the Lord Jesus, John immediately left his father and his fishermen’s nets and, with his brother James, followed Christ. From then on , he was not separated from his Lord until the end.
With Peter and James, he was present at the raising of Jairus’s daughter and the Transfiguration of the Lord. At the Last Supper, he inclined his head on Jesus’s breast. When all the other apostles had abandoned the crucified Lord, John and the Holy Mother of God remained beneath the Cross.
In obedience to the Lord, he was as a son to the Holy Virgin Mary, and carefully served and watched over her until her Dormition. After her Dormition, John took his disciple to Prochorus to preach the Gospel in Asia minor. He lived and labored mostly in Ephesus. By his inspired preaching and miracles he converted many to Christianity and shook paganism to its foundation.
The embittered pagan bound him and send him to Rome, to face Emperor Dometian. Dometian had him tortured and flogged, but neither the bitterest poison he was given to drink, nor the boiling oil which he was thrown, did him any harm.
This terrified the emperor and, thinking him immortal, Dometian sent him into exile to the island of Patmos. There St. John converted many to Christianity by his words and miracles, and confirmed well the Church of God. He also wrote his Gospel and Revelation on Patmos. In the time of Emperor Nero, who granted him freedom to all prisoners, John returned to Ephesus, where he lived for some time, confirming the work he had begun earlier.
He was over one hundred years old when he went to the Lord. When his disciples later opened his grave, they did not find his body. On May 8, every year, a fine dust, fragrant and healing rose from his grave. After a long laborious and fruitful life on earth, this beloved disciples of Christ, a true pillar of the Church, took up his habitation in the joy of His Lord.
Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion β Tone 2
Beloved apostle of Christ our God, / hasten to deliver a defenseless people. / He who allowed you to recline on His breast, / receives you as you bow before Him. / Implore Him, John the Theologian, / to disperse the persistent threat from the heathens, / entreating for us peace and great mercy.
Kontakion β Tone 2
Who shall declare your greatness, / O virgin disciple, / for you pour forth wonders and are a source of healings, / and pray for our souls as Theologian and friend of Christ.