John

John the was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome and his brother James was another of the Twelve Apostles. He was later identified as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Disciple. Early church fathers stated that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes.

John is traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John, and many Christian denominations believe that he authored the three epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. John is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples (the other being Andrew) recounted in John 1:35–39, who upon hearing the Baptist point out Jesus as the "Lamb of God", followed Jesus and spent the day with him. On this basis some traditions believe that John was first a disciple of John the Baptist.

After the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, only Peter and the "other disciple" (according to tradition, John) followed him into the palace of the high-priest. The "beloved disciple" was the on;u apostle who ventured near Jesus at on the cross of Golgotha. Peter and John were also the only two apostles who ran to the empty tomb after Mary Magdalene declared the resurrection of Jesus.

John, together with Peter, took a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the church.

In his 4th century Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius says that the First Epistle of John and the Gospel of John are widely agreed upon as his.

The Bible does not provide information concerning the duration of John's activity in Judea. According to tradition, John and the other Apostles remained there for about 12 years, and then during the persecution of Christians under Herod Agrippa I (r. 41–44 AD) the Apostles scattered through the Roman provinces.

The original messianic community community in Ephesus (before Paul's first labors there) was under the leadership of Apollos. The people were disciples of John the Baptist and were converted by Aquila and Priscilla. According to tradition,  John went to Ephesus. Irenaeus writes of "the church of Ephesus, founded by Paul, with John continuing with them until the times of Trajan."

John was banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek island of Patmos, where, according to tradition, he wrote the Book of Revelation. According to Tertullian John was banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. This event would have occurred in the late 1st century, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, who was known for his persecution of Christians.

When John was aged, he trained Polycarp who later became Bishop of Smyrna. This was important because Polycarp was able to carry John's message to future generations. Polycarp taught Irenaeus, passing on to him stories about John. Similarly, Ignatius of Antioch was a student of John.