Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian

John, a Galilean fisherman and son of Zebedee, left his nets with his brother James to follow Jesus, and the Gospel calls him the disciple whom Jesus loved. He stood at the cross, and Jesus entrusted his mother to him. Tradition holds that he later lived at Ephesus, was exiled for a time to the island of Patmos, and died at Ephesus at a great age, about the year 100; the Gospel, three letters and the Revelation bear his name.

His main feast is on 26 September. On 8 May the Church recalls an old tradition of Ephesus, told by Dimitry of Rostov: every year on this day a fine dust rose from the apostle's grave, and the faithful gathered it as a remedy for the sick.