JOHN. 



249 



to the assembly, and, as often as he came, addressed 

 them thus: " Children, love one another." Being 

 asked, at length, why he always repeated this exhor- 

 tation, with nothing new, he answered, " Because it 

 is the precept of the Lord ; and if this is fulfilled, it 

 is enough." John was the author of one of the 

 Gospels, of the book of Revelation, and of the three 

 Epistles which bear his name. 



JOHN. Besides the apostle, there are many 

 saints and martyrs of this name : 



1. St John, a warrior in the fourth century, who 

 encouraged Athanasia, with her three daughters to 

 brave martyrdom. He was himself beheaded. 



2. St John of Ntcomedia, who was skinned and 

 tortured with salt and vinegar, by order of Diocle- 

 tian, because he tore down the imperial edict which 

 ordered the imprisonment of all priests, and required 

 them to embrace paganism. 



3. St John the Alms-giver was born in the island 

 of Cyprus in the sixth century. He was made patri- 

 arch of Alexandria, and spent every thing he had for 

 the poor. His day is January 23 ; with the Greeks, 

 November 11. 



4. St John of Damascus, or Johannes Damas- 

 cenus, in the dispute concerning the worship of 

 images, defended the practice, against Leo Isauri- 

 'cus and Constantinus Copronymus. He died in 

 760, in a convent. His day is May 6; with the 

 Greeks, November 29. The most complete edition 

 of his works was published by Le Quien, 2 vols., 

 Paris, 1512, folio. Several of his works have never 

 been printed. 



5. St John of God (Joannes a Deo) ; born at 

 Monte Mayor el Novo, in the province of.Alentejo, 

 in Portugal, in 1495, of poor parents. While keep- 

 ing a shop in Granada, being affected by a sermon 

 of John of Avila, he gave all his property to the 

 poor, and became his pupil. He displayed so much 

 fanaticism, that he was thought to be mad, and car- 

 ried to an hospital; but being soon released, he 

 established an hospital himself, which he maintained 

 by alms. He founded a convent, from which origi- 

 nated the Hospitalers or Brothers of Charity. He 

 practised the greatest severity towards himself. 

 The bishop of Tuy, who came to Granada, gave him 

 the name of John of God, which he retained. He 

 died in 1550, and, in 1680, pope Urban VIII. 

 canonized him. 



6. St John Chrysostomus. See Chrysostom. 



7. St John Nepomuk. See Nepomuk. 



There are, besides, many martyrs and monks bear- 

 ing the name of John and St John. 



JOHN ; the name of twenty-two or twenty-three 

 popes, the last of whom died in 1419. That no sub- 

 sequent pope has called himself John, is probably 

 owing to the polluted character of several of the 

 name, and particularly the public condemnation of 

 the last for atrocious crimes. Among these pontiffs 

 are the following : 



St John (John I.) succeeded Hormisdas in 523, 

 and was a friend of Boethius, who dedicated to him 

 several of his works. Theodoric sent him to Con- 

 stantinople, to induce the emperor Justin to adopt 

 milder measures towards the Arians. Though John 

 vras received with uncommon pomp, his mission was 

 fruitless, and on his return Theodoric threw him and 

 his companions into prison, where he died in 526. 

 His day is May 27. Felix IV. succeeded him. 



John Fill., or Johanna Papissa. See Joan, the 

 papess. 



John XL ; son of Marozia and the pope Sergius 

 III. He ascended the papal chair in 931, though 

 very young, by the influence of his mother, who 

 governed Rome. Marozia, after the death of her 

 husband Guido, married Hugh, king of Lombardy, 



who insulted Alberic, son of Marozia and Guido. 

 Alberic revolted, and imprisoned Marozia and the 

 pope, who died in prison in 936. Leo VII. suc- 

 ceeded him. 



John XII. , son of Alberic and grandson of Ma- 

 rozia, though an ecclesiastic, succeeded to the dig- 

 nity of his lather, a patrician of Rome, and, in 956, 

 after the death of Agapetus II., possessed himself of 

 the tiara, though only eighteen years old. He was 

 the first pope who changed his name on his accession 

 to the papal dignity. He applied to the emperor 

 Otho I. for assistance against Berengarius II., 

 crowned the emperor, 962, and swore allegiance to 

 him, but soon after revolted against Otho, who 

 caused him to be deposed by a council, in 963, and 

 Leo VIII. to be elected. On Otho's death, in 964, 

 John returned, and died in the same year. He pol- 

 luted the papal see by the most revolting licentious- 

 ness. Benedict V. succeeded him. 



John XIII. ; made pope in 965 by the influence 

 of the emperor, for which the nobles of Rome hated 

 and expelled him. Otho II. restored him to Rome, 

 and was crowned by him. He died in 972. Accord- 

 ing to Baronius, he introduced the custom of conse- 

 crating bells. 



John XT.; a Roman, elected in 985. He was 

 the first who solemnized a formal canonization (of 

 Ulric, or Udalric, bishop of Augsburg) in 993. He 

 settled the disputes between king Ethelred of Eng- 

 land and Richard of Normandy. He induced Otho 

 III. to assist him against Crescentius, but died whilst 

 the former was besieging the castle of St Angelo, in 

 996. 



John XVI II.. or XIX. (if John XVI. is counted, 

 which Baronius does not do) ; elevated to the throne 

 in 1004. We mention him merely because a union 

 is said to have been effected between the Eastern 

 and Western churches, under his pontificate ; and, in 

 the mass, besides the name of the pope, that of the 

 patriarch of Constantinople is said to have been men- 

 tioned. 



John XXL, or XXII. (James of Ossa), a native of 

 Cahors, chancellor of Robert, son of Charles II. of 

 Naples, was archbishop of Avignon, and was elected 

 pope at Lyons in 1316, after the death of Clement 

 V. He resided at Avignon, but had many adherents 

 in Italy. He is important in German history, on 

 account of the active part he took in the disputes of 

 the emperors Louis of Bavaria, and Frederic of Aus- 

 tria. He was entirely in the interests of France. 

 He died in 1334, after having been once deposed by 

 Louis, who caused Nicolas V. to be elected in his 

 stead. The Clementines and the Extravagantes (see 

 Canon Law, and Corpus Juris) prove his learning. 

 As a theologian, he held a heretical opinion respect- 

 ing the beatific vision of God, maintaining that Mary 

 and all the blessed could not enjoy it until after 

 the final judgment, and was on the point of being 

 deposed by a general council on that account. He 

 established several bishoprics and archbishoprics in 

 France, which increased his revenues, so that he was 

 enabled to leave immense treasures, which were not 

 all well acquired. He fixed the festival of the Holy 

 Trinity on the Sunday after Whitsuntide. Benedict 



XII. was his successor. 



John XXIL, or XXIII. (Balthasar Cossa), born 

 in Naples, was a pirate in his youth, afterwards 

 became an ecclesiastic, studied at Bologna, was 

 made a doctor juris, and was elected pope in 1410, 

 by the council of Pisa, after the death of Alexander 

 V., on condition that, if Gregory XII. and Benedict 



XIII. would resign, he would also retire, to end the 

 schism. He summoned the council of Constance, 

 demanded by the emperor Sigismund, in 1415, where 

 he appeared in person, and confirmed his resignation 



