Ephesus Guide - About Ephesus - Basilica of St. John:
The Basilica of
St. John
Basilical of St. John
It is believed that the evangelist St. John
had spent his last years in the region
around Ephesus and buri
ed
in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill.
Three hundred years after the death of St.
John, a small chapel was constructed over
the grave in the 4th century. The church of
St John was changed into a marvelous
basilica during the region of Emperor
Justinian (527 -565 AD).
St John or the Apostle John was the writer
of the Fourth Gospel and the book of
Revelation. The accounts of the Gospels
agree that he is the son of Zebedee;
together with his brother James, began to
follow Jesus while fishing in the Lake
Galilee. He became one of the Christs
closest disciples and was with him on
various significant events such as the
Transfiguration and the Crucifixion. At his
writings when Jesus was on his torture stake
he said that : Mother, this is your Son.
And to his beloved disciple, this is Your
Mother(John 19:26-27).The beloved disciple
is thought to have been St John.
The second half of the first century was
full of persecution for the early
Christians.Apostle James and Stephen were
killed in Jerusalem.Paul was sent to Rome
and executed. According to tradition John
took The Mother Mary and came to Ephesus.He
wrote his Gospel in Ephesus and the
Revelation in Greece Island, Patmos in 96AD.
The monumental basilica was in the shape of
a cross and was covered with six domes. Its
construction, being of stone and brick, is
an extremely rare find amongst the
architecture of its time. Raised by two
steps and covered with marble, the tomb of
St John was under the central dome, that was
once carried by the four columns at the
corners.
The columns in the courtyard reveals the
monograms of Emperor Justinian and his wife
Theodora. Con
structed
in the 5th century AD, the baptistery is
north of the nave, with its key hole shape.
Rampart walls around the church were
constructed for protection from the Arabian
attracts in the 7th - 8th centuries AD.
The impressive 10th century AD frescoes
representing St John, Jesus and a Saint,
ornament the chapel. With the invasion of
Turks, the chapel was used as a mosque in
the 14th century; unfortunately Basilica of
Saint John became unusable due to the
serious earthquake in the same century.