Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online

The Acts of John, like most of the apocryphal acts of the apostles (Apostles, Apocryphal Acts of the), is fragmentary and has a complicated text history. For the most part, the “early” or “primitive” Acts of John – to the extent that an “early” text can be reconstructed – is preserved only in sections that were incorporated into later compositions, above all the Acts of John by Pseudo-Prochorus.Only two sections of the Acts of John are extant independently:1. The “metastasis” (i.e. the description of John’s notably peaceful death) is preserved in multiple Greek manuscr…

John Arkaph (fl. 330s CE) was the bishop of Memphis in early 4th-century CE Egypt and the successor of Meletius of Lycopolis as the head of the schismatic (Schism/Schismatics) Meletian church. A shadowy and controversial figure, John is remembered primarily as a leading opponent of Athanasius of Alexandria in the years culminating in the latter’s condemnation at the Council of Tyre in 335 CE.Nothing is known of John’s early life, and none of his own writings survive. The name John of Memphis is first attested in the Breviarium Melitii, the catalogue of Meletian clergy that Meletiu…

John Cassian (c. 360–c. 435 CE) is a central architect of Christian monasticism in southern Gaul, notable for his translation of Egyptian desert asceticism into western milieus. He stands distinctly at the crossroads between eastern and western Christianity, training in ascetic practices of Palestine and Egypt (mostly notably with Evagrius of Pontus) and founding monasteries in the seaport of Massilia (modern Marseilles). His friendships and political associations include John Chrysostom,…

John Chrysostom (b. 349/50–407 CE) was one of the most prolific Greek authors of the patristic period (Patrology/Patristics), and best known as a pulpit orator and expositor of Scripture. His eloquence was renowned even after his death, earning him the nickname “the golden mouthed.”LifeJohn was born in Syrian Antioch to a wealthy, albeit not illustrious, family. His father, Secundus, was an influential civil servant in the bureau of the military commander of the Oriens, but died when John was young. John was raised by his Christian mother, Athusa, who paid for him t…

Since antiquity, three letters attributed to John have belonged to the canon of the New Testament. Among these letters, the first one is better attested than the second and the third. First witnesses of the First Letter of John are Papias (in Eus. Hist. eccl. 3.39.17, see Aland, 2001, 547), where “the earlier letter” should be 1 John, and Polycarp in his (Second) Letter to the Philippians (7:1), where 1 John 4:2 (see 2 John 7) is quoted, besides possible allusions to 1 John 3:8 (see 1 John 2:18.22). Although 1 John does not bear the …

The Gospel according to John has been beloved of countless Christians from at least the mid-2nd century CE to the present day. The Fourth Gospel (so-called due to its place in the Christian canon) is the source of such famous phrases as “ye must be born again” (John 3:7; KJV), “the truth shall set you free (John 8:32), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). It is also the source, however, of problematic images of Jews as the devil’s children (John 8:44), and their …

In the book of Acts (Acts, Book of), the John (Ἰοαννες/ Ioannes) who was also called Mark (Μαρκος/ Markos) is introduced as a traveling companion of Barnabas and Paul (Acts 12:12; 25–13:5). The name “John” (יוחנן/ Yoḥanan) was a Hebrew name meaning “YHWH has been gracious,” whereas “Mark” ( Marcus) was a Latin praenomen, of unknown origin (possibly originally associated with the month of March, named after the god Mars), in common use among the Romans. While he is commonly referred to as “John Mark,” the name of Mark was not akin to a modern s…

The Secret Revelation of John (also known as Apocryphon of John or Secret Book of John) was first recovered in Egypt in 1896 (Berlin Codex). Three additional copies were discovered in 1945 among the Nag Hammadi Codices. The Secret Revelation of John is the first Christian writing to formulate a comprehensive narrative of theogony, cosmogony, and salvation. In it, the Savior reveals to John the nature of the divine realm above, the origin of evil and death, and humanity’s ultimate salvation through knowledge of God, moral perfection, and baptism with anointing.Manuscript Tradition and…

John the Baptist (d. c. 28 CE) was a Jewish prophet. In early Christian tradition, he is mainly remembered as the baptizer of Jesus (Christ, Jesus, 01: Survey).The Historical John: Methodological ConsiderationsResearch on John the Baptist has traditionally focused on finding the historical John. This is not unproblematic, however. Only few historical sources have survived: the canonical Gospels and a brief passage in Flavius Josephus ( Ant. 18.116–119). Moreover, the interest of these sources is not in the Baptist himself (see Reumann, 1972). Josephus focuse…

The story of Jonah (Heb. yôn āh, “dove” or “oppressed”) looms large in early Christian literature and iconography. In Matt 12:38–42 and Luke 11:29–32, Jesus calls attention to Jonah in response to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who ask for a sign. The two canonical gospels, however, show a somewhat different approach to the topic. In Matthew, Jonah’s fish is compared to the tomb, and just as the prophet spends three days and nights in the belly of the fish, so Jesus will be “in the heart of the earth” f…