8 mai. Sf. Ioan a fost singurul Apostol prezent la procesul lui Hristos și la piciorul Crucii, de unde Iisus i-a cerut să aibă grijă de mama sa. În timpul persecuției împotriva creștinilor ordonatǎ de împăratul Domițian, el a trăit în exil pe insula greacă Patmos, unde a scris Cartea Apocalipsei cu viziuni și profeții uluitoare.
8th of May.
St. Ap. and Ev. John was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. James. Jesus called them "sons of thunder". St John was the only Apostle present at Christ's trial and at the foot of the Cross, from which Jesus asked him to take care of his mother. During the persecution against Christians ordered by the emperor Domitian, he lived in exile on the Greek island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation with its astounding visions an prophecies.
The Gospel according to John was written in 90's of the first century and begins with a magnificent prologue, much as an overture does for a musical work.
The gospel narrative contains a series of 'signs' - the gospel's word for the wondrous deeds of Jesus.
The first sign is the transformation of water in wine at Cana (2:1).
The second sign is the cure of the royal official's son (4:46).
The third sign is the cure of the paralytic at the pool with five porticoes (ch. 5).
Chapter 6 contains two signs, multiplication of loaves and the walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee.
The sixth sign is presented in ch.9, the young man born blind. Finally, the senth sign, the raising of Lazarus in ch. 11. St. John takes pains to show that women are not inferior to men in Christian community: the woman at the well in Samaria (ch 4) is presented as a prototype of a missionary, and the first witness of the resurrection is a woman (20:11)