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Alatarpiece of
Saint John the Evangelist &
Saint John the Baptist
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John, Apostle and Evangelist was born inBethsaida
in Judea. He is the son of
Zebedee and the brother of James.
Christian tradition identifies him with
the authors of the Gospel of John.
He was called the eagle of Patmos
(name of the Greek island) because,
it is said that only the eagle can look at
the sun facing it.
There, being in exile, he wrote
the Book of Revelation.
His writings reveal a power of contemplation
and a vision of the mystery of God.
He dies very old in Ephesus (in Turkey)
in 104.
John the Baptist, son of Zachariah and Elizabeth,
was born in Ein Karem in Judea.
He is called the Precursor because Christians
consider him the forerunner of Jesus that
he recognize as the Messiah or Christ.
He is called the Baptist because he baptized
in the Jordan.
Imprisoned because he reproached
Herod his bad behaviour, he dies
beheaded in the fortress of Machaerus.
His feast day was fixed at the summer solstice,
on June the 24th.
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diagram of the altarpiece
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