# Saint John of Gaza

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/saint-john-of-gaza — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-03)

Saint John of Gaza is a bishop commemorated on 11 Baramudah in the Coptic Encyclopedia’s listing of saints. The encyclopedia’s index explicitly names him as a saint and directs readers to that listing. These brief references establish his episcopal title and feast day, but provide no narrative of his life.

## Overview

**Saint John of Gaza** is identified in the *Coptic Encyclopedia* as a bishop of Gaza whose feast day is **11 Baramudah**. The encyclopedia’s index gives the explicit entry “John of Gaza, Saint” and refers to page 2084, where the episcopal title and commemoration date appear.[^1][^2]

The direct evidence is therefore a brief commemorative notice rather than a narrative biography: it supplies his name, his episcopal association with Gaza, and his feast day, without an account of his life or ministry.[^1][^2]

## Sources and historical identification

The index and the commemorative listing serve complementary purposes. The index supplies the designation “Saint John of Gaza,” while the listing identifies the office associated with that name: “bishop of Gaza.” Read together, they support identifying the subject as a bishop commemorated as a saint, rather than assigning him the biography of another John on the basis of a shared name.[^1][^2]

The listing places him among several saints named John, including John, bishop of Armant, commemorated on 7 Kiyahk, and two bishops of Jerusalem named John, commemorated on 13 Ba’unah and 3 Baramudah respectively. Its use of episcopal locations and separate feast dates provides important distinctions between these entries.[^1]

## Liturgical commemoration

The specific liturgical information supplied for John of Gaza is his feast on **11 Baramudah**. Unlike some neighboring entries, his notice gives neither a historical period nor an explanatory description beyond his episcopal title; it also contains no hymn text or instructions for the observance.[^1]

## Distinguishing other Johns associated with Gaza

### John, the fellow hermit of Barsanuphius

The encyclopedia’s account of Barsanuphius describes another John in a monastic setting near Gaza. Called “the other Old Man” and Barsanuphius’s “alter ego,” this John lived as a hermit in a neighboring cell. Seridos transmitted requests and recorded replies in Greek at the dictation of Barsanuphius or John.[^3]

That account presents John through his role in spiritual correspondence, whereas the commemorative notice presents John of Gaza as a bishop. Neither passage explicitly connects the two descriptions, so the correspondence cannot securely be attributed to the bishop commemorated on 11 Baramudah from this evidence alone.[^1][^3]

### John of Mayuma, also called John Rufus

John of Mayuma is another potentially confusing name. The encyclopedia identifies him as a sixth-century monk from the Monastery of Bayt Rufina, also known as John Rufus, who succeeded Peter the Iberian as bishop of Mayuma near Gaza. It attributes to him the collection of miraculous narratives known as the *Plerophoriae*, composed around 515.[^4]

The index lists “John of Mayuma, Bishop” separately from “John of Gaza, Saint.” This separate indexing does not by itself resolve every possible historical relationship, but the supplied passages do not authorize transferring John of Mayuma’s dates, episcopal succession, or writings to Saint John of Gaza.[^2][^4][^5]

## Frequently asked questions

**Who was Saint John of Gaza?**
The Coptic Encyclopedia identifies him as a bishop of Gaza, and its index names him as Saint John of Gaza. The supplied notices do not provide a detailed biography.

**When is Saint John of Gaza’s feast day?**
His feast day is listed as 11 Baramudah.

**Is Saint John of Gaza the John associated with Barsanuphius?**
The supplied passages do not establish that identification. They describe Barsanuphius’s associate John as a hermit in a neighboring cell, whereas the commemorative listing identifies Saint John of Gaza as a bishop.

**Is Saint John of Gaza another name for John Rufus?**
The supplied sources do not establish this equivalence. They identify John Rufus as John of Mayuma, a sixth-century bishop of Mayuma near Gaza, and index him separately from Saint John of Gaza.

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 127)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia — Index, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 244)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 77)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 34)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia — Index, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 245)