Icons of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, the Beloved Disciple of Christ

In the most famous Icon of the Holy Apostle John, he is represented with a young face. This is the Icon also called “The Beloved Disciple”, in which the Saint rests on the chest of Christ the Savior, during the Last Supper.

However, this is not the only Icon in which Saint John is depicted as a young man of about sixteen years old, without a beard and with brown hair. He is painted with this face in all the scenes of the life of Christ – at the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion of the Lord, but also in those described by the Acts of the Apostles – at the Ascension of the Lord, the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

When he is depicted in portrait, Saint John is depicted as an elderly person – “The Theologian”. He is represented as an old man of about sixty years old, with a high forehead and a long beard, holding in his hands the book of his Gospel, which is often open to reveal certain verses to us.

Saint John is also represented writing the Gospel himself or dictating the Book of Revelation to his disciple, Prochorus, in the Cave of the Apocalypse on the island of Patmos.

He can also be depicted in Icons with an Angel whispering the Book of Revelation in his ear, but also together with an eagle – his symbol and that of his Gospel.

Mihai-Alex Olteanu

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