Saint John the Evangelist

As for Saint John, who loved his divine Master so tenderly and was so tenderly loved by Him, it may be said, without doing violence to the sacred text, that he drank the Savior's chalice and shared in its bitterness when he witnessed His crucifixion. Indeed, his heart was torn by the feeling of the pains he saw Him suffer; but this was still only a prelude to his own sorrows. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, he saw himself condemned, along with the other Apostles, to prison, to scourging, and to disgrace. Finally, the prediction of Jesus Christ had its full accomplishment when he merited, under Domitian, the crown of martyrdom.

The Emperor Domitian, author of the second general persecution raised against the Church, was universally hated for his cruelty, his pride, and his lewdness. He was, according to Tacitus, even more cruel than Nero, and he took pleasure in feasting his eyes on the spectacle of barbaric executions from which the other, at least, usually averted his gaze. Under his reign, Rome was flooded with the blood of its most illustrious inhabitants. An enemy of all good, he banished those who had the reputation of being virtuous men, among others Dio Chrysostom and the philosopher Epictetus; but it was upon the Christians that his principal blows fell. Besides the fact that he could not endure the holiness of their doctrine and their life, which was a tacit reproach of his crimes, he was also animated against them by that hatred which all pagans bore toward them.

Saint John the Evangelis Saint Jean l’Évangéliste Saint to whom Zita had a great devotion. t was still alive. He was charged with the government of all the churches of Asia, and enjoyed a great reputation, as much for this eminent dignity as for his virtues and his miracles. Having been arrested in Eph esus, Éphèse Principal city of John's apostolate in Asia Minor. he was taken to Rome in the year 95 of Jesus Christ. He appeared before the emperor, who, far from being softened by the sight of this venerable old man, had the barbarity to order that he be thrown into a cauldron filled with boiling oil. It is highly likely that the holy Apostle first suffered a cruel flagellation, in accordance with what was practiced toward criminals who did not have the right of Roman citizenship. Be that as it may, one cannot at least doubt that he was thrown into the boiling oil: Tertullian, Eusebius, and Saint Jerome state it expressly. We do not fear to assert that the Saint burst into great joy when he heard his sentence pronounced; he burned with an ardent desire to go and rejoin his divine Master, to render Him love for love, and to sacrifice himself for Him who had saved us all by the shedding of His blood. But God was content with his dispositions, while granting him the merit and honor of martyrdom: He suspended the activity of the fire, and preserved his life, just as He had preserved it for the three children who were thrown into the furnace of Babylon. The boiling oil changed for him into a refreshing bath, and he emerged from it stronger and more vigorous than he had entered.

The emperor was greatly struck, as were most pagans, by this event; but he attributed it to the power of magic. What was being published about the alleged wonders performed by the famous Apollonius of Tyana, whom he had brought to Rome, contributed not a little to confirming him in this opinion. The miraculous deliverance of the Apostle therefore made no impression on him, or rather, it only served to increase his hardening in crime. He was content, however, to banish the Saint to the island o f Patmos. It w île de Pathmos Place of exile of Saint John where he wrote the Apocalypse. as there that he composed his Apocalyps apocalypse Prophetic book written by John on Patmos. e, of which every word, the Fathers say, is a mystery. Henceforth the word of Jesus Christ: Eum volo manere donec veniam, — "I want him to live until I come," was fulfilled. The apparition of the Savior to Saint John exiled in Patmos realized precisely His promise to let him escape a violent death and to let him die peacefully when He would come to visit him; for such is the interpretation of these words: I want him to live until I come, which the other Apostles had taken for a patent of immortality granted to Saint John.

Domitian having been assassinated the following year, Nerva, filled with good qualities and of a Nerva Roman emperor who succeeded Domitian and liberated Saint John. naturally peaceful character, was raised to the empire. Saint John had the freedom to leave his place of exile and return to Ephesus.

It was near the gate called *Latin* because it led into Latium that he won this glorious triumph. To preserve the memory of the miracle, a church was consecrated in this place under the first Christian emperors. It is said that there was a temple of Diana, the purpose of which was changed to serve the worship of the true God. This church was rebuilt in 772 by Pope Adrian I. One can still vi sit today the c pape Adrien Ier Pope who approved the mission of Hildegrin in Saxony. hapel of Saint-Giovanni-in-oleo on the very site of the martyrdom.

The feast of Saint John before the Latin Gate was long observed as a day of rest in many churches. It was of obligation in England, at least from the 12th century until the so-called Reformation; but it was only placed among the feasts of the second rank, on which all servile work was forbidden, except for the tilling of the land. The Saxons, who settled in Great Britain, had a singular devotion to Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist. In many places, printers honor Saint John before the Latin Gate as their patron; in others, it is the winemakers and coopers, because of the vat; elsewhere, it is the chandlers and lamp-makers, because of the oil and fatty substances. In memory of his martyrdom, he is invoked against burns. As for the choice of the printers, we cannot explain it. Could it be because they began by printing Latin? — The words Latin Gate must probably have determined this choice. It goes without saying that lithographers, bookbinders, rulers, and stationers have adopted the same patronage as the printers.

Drawn from Tertullian, Prescript., c. 36; from Saint Jerome, in Jovin., t. 157, p. 14, and from Tillemont, Hist. ecclés., t. 147, p. 326, and from the Istoria della Chiesa di S. Giovanni avanti Porta Latina scritta, da Gio Moris Crescembini, Roma, 1716, in-4°.