or Gospel of St. John, a canonical book of the New Testament, containing a recital of the life, actions, doctrine, and death of our Saviour Jesus Christ, written by St. John the apostle and evangelist.

St. John wrote his Gospel at Ephesus, after his return from the isle of Patmos, at the desire of the Christians of Asia. St Jerom says, he would not undertake it, but on condition they shall appoint a public fast, to implore the affiance of God; and that the fast being ended, St. John, filled with the Holy Ghost, broke out into these words, "In the beginning was the word," &c. The ancients assign two reasons for this undertaking: the first is, because, in the other three gospels, there was wanting the history of the beginning of Jesus Christ's preaching, till the imprisonment of John the Baptist; which, therefore, he applied himself particularly to relate. The second reason was, in order to remove the errors of the Cerinthians, Ebionites, and other sects. St. John's Day, the name of two Christian festivals, one observed on June 24, kept in commemoration of the wonderful circumstances attending the birth of St. John the Baptist; and the other on Dec. 27, in honour of St. John the Evangelist.

St. John's Wort. See Hypericum.

St. John's, in geography, one of the Philippine islands, situated in 126° E. lon. and 7° N. lat.

St. John's, is also an island in the bay of St. Lawrence, situated north of New Scotland: W. lon. 65°, N. lat. 47°.