The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
John the Presbyter (“The Elder”)
d. c. 100–110 · Elder of the Ephesian circle · Possibly distinct from the Apostle · Ephesus
The Apostolic Fathers
Who John the Presbyter (“The Elder”) was
“The elder unto the elect lady” — so 2 and 3 John open, with a title, not a name. Papias, listing his authorities, names John twice: among the apostles, and again — “what Aristion and the presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say” — among the living voices; Eusebius pressed the doubling into two Johns and the “two tombs at Ephesus,” and Dionysius of Alexandria had already assigned Revelation to “another John” on grounds of style. Whether the Presbyter is the Apostle grown old, or the Apostle’s disciple and namesake, is among the oldest unresolved questions in Christian literature; the archive gives the title-figure his own record and lets the reader hold the question as the second century held it — open.
Common questions
When did John die?
John the Presbyter (“The Elder”) is dated d. c. 100–110 in the archive, which places John in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did John write?
John the Presbyter (“The Elder”) has 2 catalogued writings in the archive: The Second Epistle of John and The Third Epistle of John.
Which early sources mention John?
John the Presbyter (“The Elder”) is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Papias of Hierapolis, Dionysius of Alexandria and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was John from?
The archive associates John the Presbyter (“The Elder”) with Ephesus.
Writings (2)
The Second Epistle of John
c. 90–100 (trad. dating)And this is love, that we walk after his commandments.Read the full text ↗
The Third Epistle of John
c. 90–100 (trad. dating)Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God.Read the full text ↗
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Papias, via Eusebius III.39
c. AD 130…and what Aristion and the presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I did not think that what was to be gotten from the books would profit me as much as what came from the living and abiding voice.Papias of Hierapolis · III.39 · source text
Dionysius of Alexandria, via Ecclesiastical History VII.25 (the two monuments at Ephesus)
c. AD 260But I think that he was some other one of those in Asia; as they say that there are two monuments in Ephesus, each bearing the name of John.Dionysius of Alexandria · Ecclesiastical History VII.25 · source text
On Illustrious Men 18 (the elder John distinguished from the apostle)
c. AD 392From this catalogue of names it appears that the John who is placed among the disciples is not the same as the elder John whom he places after Aristion.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 18 · source text
Names proposed by later tradition
John the Apostle himself
The traditional identification: one John of Ephesus, apostle and elder, author of Gospel, epistles, and Revelation.
A distinct “Presbyter John,” disciple of the Lord
Eusebius’s reading of Papias’s double mention; adopted by many moderns (Hengel, Bauckham) as author of the epistles and/or Gospel’s final form.
Author of Revelation as “another John”
Dionysius of Alexandria’s stylistic argument (via Eusebius VII.25), antiquity’s finest piece of internal criticism.
Connected in the archive
People
- John the Apostle
- Papias of Hierapolis
- Gaius, Friend of the Elder
- Antipas of Pergamum
- The Elect Lady
- Diotrephes
- Demetrius the Commended
- Aristion
Events in this lifetime
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put John.