John
John names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
John the name of four men men- Testament
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the name of four men men- Testament. tioned in the New Testament. (1) John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, was the son of the priest Zacharias and Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, the mother of our Lord. He was a Nazarite from his birth, and he prepared himself for his mission by years of self discipline in the desert, until at length he appeared to startle his hearers with the preaching of repentance. The rite of baptism which he administered was a token and symbol of repentance and forgiveness of sins, preparatory to that baptism to follow, the distinctive quality of which was to be the gift of regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit. With the baptism of Jesus the more especial office of the forerunner ceased, and soon after his ministry came to a close. He had fearlessly denounced Herod Antipas for taking Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and was accordingly flung into prison, where ere long he was executed at the request of Salome, the daughter of the abandoned Herodias. The Mandæans or Sabæans still claim to be his disciples. (2) John the Apostle. His father was Zebedee (Matt. iv: 21), his mother Salome (Matt. xxvi: 56; Mark xv: 40, xvi: 1). His father was a fisherman who kept hired servants (Mark i: 20), and was therefore of some position. 'John was called with his brother James to follow Jesus (Matt. iv: 21). His nature was of that sensitive kind which is the temperament of genius, eloquence, passion, and love. In the first three Gospels he figures as Boanerges, or Son of Thunder (Mark iii: 17), and in the excess of his zeal he wished to call down fire from heaven on a village of the Samaritans because "they did not receive" Jesus (Luke ix: 54). In the 4th gospel the loving elements of his character alone appear. He was the disciple whom Jesus loved (John xx: 2). He was personally acquainted with Caiaphas, the high priest (John xviii: 15, 16, 19, 28). At the crucifixion the mother of Jesus was intrusted to his care, and he took her to his house (John xix: 27). With Peter he was early at the sepulcher (xx: 2-4). After the resurrection he remained at Jerusalem for at least 15 years (Acts iii., iv:; see xv: 6 and Gal. ii: 9). Tradition asserts that he visited Rome, and was there, before the Latin Gate, plunged into a caldron of boiling oil, from which he was supernaturally delivered, so that he was a martyr in will, though not in deed. The Roman Church commemorates this circumstance on May 6, under the title S. Johannes ante Portam Latinam. At a later period he was banished to Patmos, where he saw the apocalyptic vision (Rev. i: 9) Tradition makes his last sphere Ephesus, where he died at an advanced age. (3) A dignitary mentioned in Acts iv:6. (4) John Mark. Christians of St. John, Disciples of John. - The first name was given by Europeans to, and the second assumed by, a Jewish sect, perhaps descended from the Hemero-baptists mentioned by an early Christian writer. They are followers of John the Baptist rather than of John the Apostle. They live in Persia and Arabia, especially at Bassora, and are called by the Orientals Sabæans. The Epistles General of John. The first epistle: No name indicating authorship appears in the letter itself, but the style is that of the 4th gospel, and 35 assages are nearly the same in each. The external evidence for its genuineness and authenticity is very strong. Evidence in its favor is adducible from Polycarp, Papias as quoted by Eusebius, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. The general opinion of Christians is strongly in its favor. Its date has been fixed between A. D. 70 and 96 or 100, the last being the most probable. The epistle treats of love. The second epistle: It is written by "the elder" to "the elect lady and her children." The external evidence for it is much weaker than that for the 1st epistle. The third epistle: This was addressed by "the elder" to "the well-beloved Gaius." The domineering Diotrephes is censured, Demetrius commended. In point of evidence it stands like the 2d epistle. The Gospel According to John. The 4th Gospel, and distinct from the others in various respects. They record chiefly the ministry of Jesus in Galilee; it treats of His labors in Jerusalem. While they chiefly illustrate His humanity, it gives special prominence to His divinity. The author of the book of John was well acquainted with the topography of Jerusalem (v: 2, ix: 7), and with the Jewish feasts, which he carefully records (ii: 13, vii: 2, x: 22, etc.). His Greek is of a Hebraic type, though not so much so as that of the Apocalypse. The book itself does not name its author; the nearly uniform voice of antiquity assigned it to John. In modern times there has been serious controversy on the subject, rationalists maintaining that it was penned too late in the 2d century to have emanated from John, who, at latest, cannot have lived beyond A. D. 100. The large majority of theologians, however, consider it of earlier date. Hilgenfeld, a rationalistic writer (1875), is willing to grant it as early a date as 132 to 140, and another one, Keim (1875) as Kein (1) skilled in 130 A. D. works.
John ascended the papal chair on the death of ir on the d Hormisdas in 523
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ascended the papal chair on the death of ir on the d Hormisdas in 523. Theodoric, King of in Oxford heodoric, K the Goths, a violent Arian, threw him of Ireland Henry Arian, thre into prison at Ravenna, na, where he died a, where in 526. The Roman Catholic Church sent over, Catholic honors him as a martyr. quest, but JOHN VIII., a Roman, was elected to it was found an, was ele the pontificate on the death of Adrian II., on the eath of Ad in 872. He crowned the Emperor without Charles the Bald in 875, and three years for him , an after went to France, where he held a Lackland. council at Troyes. In his time Italy ing to the was ravaged by the Saracens, who Earldom of obliged the Pope to pay tribute. He died various tri in 882. and married JOHN XI. was made Pope at the age of the Duke Pope at the 25, in 931, through the influence of his ing this e influence mother, Marozia, wife of Guy, Duke of to form of Guy, D Tuscany; but his brother Alberico afterconjunction er Alberico ward threw both him and her into the during his and her in castle of St. Angelo, where John died Richard where Joh in 936. and at his JOHN XII., the son of Alberico, and in preference of Alberic originally called Octavian; born 938. son of his vian; bor He was elected Pope in 956. At that in 956. A of the time Berenger tyrannized over Italy, and volted in ed over Ital the Pope implored the assistance of the mately assistance Emperor Otho I., who delivered the counelivered the was captured try. John crowned Otho at Rome, and of Falaise ho at Ros promised him fidelity, but united with removed to but anited the son of Berenger against his deliverer. more. Being Otho returned to Rome in 963, and called Arthur, the in 968, and a council, in which the Pope was accused John to ope was a of sacrilege and other crimes, which beliege lord, crimes, whi ing proved, he was deposed. On the desed. On t refusal to parture of the emperor, John entered er, Johu e execution Rome and exercised dreadful cruelties on his enemies readful cr against tion from him . He died in 964. ed in 964.
John a name born by 23 Popes who by 23
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a name born by 23 Popes who by 23 Po Neapolitan reigned in the following order: order: and John I John XIV ...983-984 523-526 ohn XIV succeeded John II oan XV or 533-535 John XV or }985-996 factions John III .560-573 XVI...... XVI.... John IV if Gregory John XVI, (anti- .640-642 ohn XVI, John V. .685-686 pope) ...997 Benedict pope)... John VI John XVII .....1003 .701-705 ohn XVII pretensions John VII 705-707 John XVIII 1003-1009 ohn XVII 1 John VIII were 872-882 John XIX 1024-1033 ohn XIX John IX 896-900 John XX.1042-1046 of Constance ohn XX John X. 914-928 John XXI .1276-1277 oba XXI insignia John XI .931-936 John XXII.1316-1334 On XX John XII soon after 956-964 John XXIII 1410-1415 John XIII ...965-972 1418, he The following only have historical impelled to save histori portance: JOHN I. was a native of Tuscany, and e of Tusca
John a familiar name in history
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a familiar name in history. John was the apostle "whom Jesus loved." John the Baptist foretold Christ's coming. There have been twenty-three popes of the name. Although no monarch of the name ranks in the first class, there have been one or more Johns on the thrones of England France, Portugal, and Poland.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 the dating of the Fourth Gospel was still contested, with rationalists pushing it into the second century and Collier's insisting on an earlier date. That argument was effectively settled by a scrap of papyrus, P52, found in Egypt and published in 1935, which carries verses of John and is dated to roughly AD 125, making a composition around AD 90-110 the standard view. Authorship, however, moved the other way: most scholars now doubt that John the son of Zebedee wrote the gospel, the three epistles and Revelation, and treat them as the work of a related "Johannine" circle. The Mandaeans, whom Collier's notes as still claiming John the Baptist, survived at Basra into the twentieth century but were scattered after 2003, and most now live in diaspora in Europe, Australia and North America.
Written for this edition, 2026.