Holidays of the day:
Orthodox
St. Ap. and Evangelist John; St. Cuv. Arsenius the Great
Greek Catholic
St. ap. and ev. John; Blessed Jeremiah the Wallachian
Roman Catholic
Fer. Ieremia Valahul, monk.; St. Victor, m.
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist is celebrated by the Church on September 26, and on May 8 the wonderful event that took place every year in Ephesus is celebrated.
Here, from the tomb of Saint John the Evangelist, with the gift of Christ, a white powder like dust, which the Christians of those places called manna, sprang up. The powder had a healing effect for all the sufferings and passions of the sick.
The miracle happened at the tomb of Saint John the Evangelist in all the years, until the occupation of Ephesus by the Turks.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John was the son of Zebedee and Salome, the daughter of Saint and Righteous Joseph, the one who under the guise of engagement took the Mother of God into his care.
Saint Joseph had four sons: Jacob, Simeon, Judas and Joseph, and three daughters: Estir, Martha and Salomi, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of Saint John the Evangelist.
At the time when Christ the Savior was sold and was crucified, everyone fled, only Saint John, the one who loved Jesus so much, was present at His crucifixion and came to the tomb with Saint Peter the Apostle. Then, Saint John the Evangelist took the Mother of God into his care.
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist spent the last years of his life in Ephesus, where he wrote the Gospel.
“When he was over a hundred years old, Saint John took seven disciples outside Ephesus and had them dig a grave in the shape of a cross. Then Saint John sat down in the tomb and the disciples buried him there alive. Later , when his tomb was opened, the body of Saint John was no longer there”. (Synaxar)
On the site of the tomb of Saint John the Theologian, a church was built in the 4th-5th centuries, this being replaced in the 6th century by another, much larger building, built by the emperor Justinian (527-565). (sources: vol. “Lives of the Saints”)
