The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions are consistent in upholding the John's identity, authorship (of at least the Gospel of John and the first Epistle) and relation to Christ; he is Saint John the Apostle. Outside those traditions, however, whether such a man existed, which works he wrote, whether this figure has been confused or conflated with a second John, and whether he is identical with John son of Zebedee or any other John in the New Testament are all matters of intense controversy.
