![]() ![]() St John’s Gospel was therefore particularly relevant to Celtic Christian monks – like those on Iona. That may have been another reason why the fourth gospel had such a special place in the hearts of Celtic Christians. Again the Irish church’s view on that issue had been partly based on information specifically from John’s Gospel. What’s more, back in the third to seventh centuries, there had been, throughout the Christian world, ferocious disagreements as to the best way of calculating the correct date for Easter, for the anniversary date of Jesus’ resurrection. ![]() Traditionally, he was said to be the disciple Jesus was closest to.īecause they were less impressed by Rome’s glorious past, they were therefore more inclined to privilege John – a disciple who was not in any way associated with it. What’s more, according to tradition, John emigrated from Palestine to Ephesus (in what is now Turkey) around a decade after Jesus’ crucifixion. His gospel was therefore privileged by some above the others in the very early Christian church. Of the four Christian gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) only the fourth (John) was, and still is, traditionally believed to have been written by somebody who actually knew Jesus – namely, John, one of Jesus twelve most senior disciples. He had resigned as head of the community 30 years earlier.īut why did that stylistically very traditional scribe decide to produce the fourth Gospel - that of St John - first rather than last? That decision potentially helps shed important light on the early history of Christianity in Ireland and Scotland. It could also be the former abbot, Suibne who died in 801. ![]() He may well have been one of the three very senior monks who died on Iona in 801 and 802 – either the newly appointed abbot, Bresal mac Ségéni, who died 801, or his successor Connachtach who died 802. ![]()
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