The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1177 page)

 
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J
do-shu
:

see
PURE LAND SCHOOLS
.

 
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Joel, Book of
.

One of the books of
minor prophets
of the Hebrew scriptures and Christian Old Testament.

 
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(1st cent. CE).
Leading Jewish sage (
akham
) after the destruction of the second
Temple
. As a teacher, Johanan is remembered for his precise examination of biblical texts and as the first sage known to have been engaged in
merkabah mysticism
. During the siege of
Jerusalem
, he managed to leave the city and was given permission by the Romans to join the sages of the
bet din
at
Jabneh
. Although he was not officially named
nasi
, he raised the status of the Jabneh group. Thus despite the catastrophic loss of the Temple, the institutions of the Jewish faith continued to exist.

 
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John, St
.

One of the twelve
Apostles
and traditionally author of the fourth gospel, three epistles, and the book of
Revelation
(attributions increasingly questioned). John was the son of Zebedee (Matthew 4. 21), one of Jesus' inner circle of disciples (Matthew 17. 1), and one of the ‘pillar’ apostles (Galatians 2. 9). Traditionally, he settled at Ephesus, whence he was temporarily exiled to Patmos under Domitian, and died a natural death as an old man. Feast day in the E., 26 Sept. (also 8 May); in the W., 27 Dec.
The Acts of John
belongs to the New Testament
Apocrypha
. It is a 3rd-cent. work notable for the ‘Hymn of Jesus’ (set to music by Gustav Holst) and for colourful stories of John's later life in Ephesus.

 
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(
c.
579–
c.
649).
Abbot of Sinai and Christian spiritual writer. The surname
(Gk.,
klimax
, ‘ladder’) comes from the work of his old age, the
Ladder of Divine Ascent
. The ladder has thirty ‘steps’ (chapters), leading to a God-centred life. The work has been very influential in E. Christian spirituality, e.g. among the
Hesychasts
, and is prescribed for reading in Lent in
Orthodox
monasteries.