Name and Namesake
The legal title of the Cathedral is “the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York.” The adjective “cathedral,” commonly used as a noun, is derived from the Greek word “cathedra” which means “seat.” In the Cathedral is the cathedra of the Bishop of the Diocese of New York. It is not a parish church and has no members in the sense in which a parish church has members; but persons desiring to assist in cathedral work may join the auxiliary organizations mentioned on [page 115] following. The Cathedral is the chief church of the Diocese which embraces 294 different parishes and missions.
The Cathedral is named after the author of the fourth Gospel, the three “epistles general” bearing the name of John, and the book of “The Revelation of St. John the Divine.” The word “Divine” in the title is not an adjective[2] but is a noun in apposition with “St. John” and is rendered in the seal of the Cathedral by the Latin word “theologus,” meaning “theologian.” St. John was one of the twelve Apostles, and a brother of St. James the Great. He was “the Disciple whom Jesus loved” (John xiii. 23), an expression implying exceptional sweetness and lovableness of character. He founded the seven churches in Asia referred to in the Book of Revelation. Toward the end of his ministrations, in which he suffered many persecutions, he was banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. When he returned from this exile, he continued his work until he died at the advanced age of over 90 years. His traditional grave is at Ephesus. The two principal symbols of St. John are the eagle with book, (explained in connection with the symbols of the four Evangelists on [page 44]) and the chalice, the latter sometimes having a serpent issuing from it. The sacramental cup without the serpent is sometimes interpreted to refer to Christ’s reply to James and John: “Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of” (Mark x. 39). The cup with the serpent refers to the tradition related by St. Isidore to the effect that at Rome an attempt was made to poison St. John in the communion wine, but that by a miracle the poison vanished from the chalice in the form of a serpent. The Memorial Day for St. John is kept on December 27.