Peter’s decision to travel to Rome. Undoubtedly, they were briefly reunited
again for the Council of Jerusalem in 49 AD.
The subsequent long history of St. John’s life is shrouded in silence and
mystery. Tradition only provides small insights. Some suggest that he
stayed with the Blessed Virgin Mary until her death in Jerusalem; others
believe they traveled together to Asia and for some time lived in Ephesus²,
before returning to Jerusalem. After the Blessed Mother’s dormition and
assumption into heaven, St. John probably went back to Asia Minor and
spent most of his years in and about Ephesus, working with successive
bishops to strengthen the churches there.
During the persecution of the Emperor Domitian, St. John was arrested and
thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, only to be miraculously preserved
like the three children in the Babylonian furnace (Dan. 3). According to
Tertullian, this occurred in Rome at the Latin Gate. In frustration, Domitian
exiled him to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea “on account of the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” There, he worked among the
local inhabitants making many conversions. He also received the famous
Revelation, prophecies directly from Christ designed to rekindle the
original fervor and virtue of the Asian churches and strengthen them in the
certainly of the triumph of good over evil. These prophecies will come to
pass, but exactly how and when no one can tell. After the death of
Domitian, the new Emperor, Nerva, recalled all exiles, allowing St. John to
return to Ephesus in 97 AD.
There, St. John settled down to write his gospel and canonical letters. He
did not assume the office as bishop of Ephesus³, rather, as the last of the
Apostles, he held a unique status and authority. In his second and third
epistles he simply calls himself “the elder.” Many stories relate his constant
exhortations to love one another: “My little children, love one another.” He
made himself the humblest of men and the servant of all, and even in his
extreme old age would continue to work, pray, fast and travel for the sake
2
The alleged “House of Mary” in what was formally Ephesus in modern-day
Turkey has been a popular pilgrimage destination for Christians and even Moslems
since the late nineteenth century.
3
St. Timothy had been the bishop of Ephesus immediately prior to St. John’s
return, suffering martyrdom in 97 AD. He was replaced by Onesimus, Philemon’s
runaway slave mentioned in St. Paul’s small epistle (Phile. 1, 10).
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