St. John the Apostle, also calledSaint John the EvangelistorSaint John the Divine, (flourished 1st centuryCE; Western feast day December 27; Eastern feast days May 8 and September 26), in Christian tradition, anapostleofJesusand the author of threeletters, theFourth Gospel, and possibly theRevelation to Johnin theNew Testament. He played a leading role in the early church atJerusalem.John was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, andSalome. John and his brotherSt. Jameswere among the firstdisciplescalled byJesus. In TheGospel According to Markhe is always mentioned after James and was no doubt the younger brother. His mother was among those women who ministered to the circle of disciples. James and John were called Boanerges, or “sons of thunder,” by Jesus, perhaps because of some character trait such as the zeal exemplified in Mark 9:38 and Luke 9:54, when John and James wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish theSamaritantowns that did not accept Jesus. John and his brother, together withSt. Peter, formed an inner nucleus ofintimatedisciples. In the Fourth Gospel, ascribed by early tradition to John and known formally as The Gospel According to John, the sons of Zebedee are mentioned only once, as being at the shores of the Sea of Tiberias when the risen Lord appeared. Whether the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (who is never named) mentioned in this Gospel is to be identified with John (also not named) is not clear from the text.