The Church commemorates the Apostle John the Theologian
John the Theologian is called the Apostle of Love because he taught that without love, a person cannot draw closer to God.
On October 9, the Orthodox Church commemorates the death of Saint Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (early 2nd century).
What is the significance of the special veneration of this apostle by the Orthodox Church?
The Apostle John was the youngest of Christ's disciples. The Savior loved him for his sacrificial love and purity. After his calling, the Apostle never parted from the Lord and was one of the three disciples whom He brought especially close to Himself.
Saint John the Theologian was present at the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus and witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. During the Last Supper, he sat next to the Lord and, at the signal of the Apostle Peter, leaned against the Savior’s chest to ask about the name of the betrayer.
Saint Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian was the son of Zebedee and Salome, the daughter of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Along with his older brother James, he was called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be one of His disciples at the Sea of Galilee.
The Apostle John was particularly loved by the Lord for his humility and purity.
Having been called, Saint John never parted from the Lord.
At the foot of the Cross, he wept alongside the Mother of God and heard the words of the crucified Lord addressed to them from above the Cross. From that time, John, as a loving son, took care of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and served her until her Dormition, never leaving Jerusalem.
After the Dormition of the Mother of God, Apostle John, by the lot that fell to him, went to Ephesus and other cities of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel, taking his disciple Prochorus with him.
During Nero's persecutions, Apostle John was taken in chains to trial in Rome, was sentenced to death but was preserved alive by the power of God: he drank from a cup of deadly poison and emerged unharmed from a cauldron of boiling oil.
The Apostle was exiled to a prison on the island of Patmos, where he lived for many years. The Apostle enlightened a large part of the island's inhabitants with the light of the Gospel, cast out numerous demons from the idolatrous shrines, and healed many sick people.
On the island of Patmos, the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelation.
Around 95 AD, the Apostle John wrote the Gospel in Ephesus. He commanded all Christians to love the Lord and one another, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ.
The Apostle John lived on earth for over 100 years, remaining the only living person who had seen Jesus Christ during His earthly life.
Every year, a fine ash would emerge from the grave of Saint Apostle John in May, which believers collected and were healed from spiritual and bodily ailments.
