Doorway to the Tomb of St. John, Basilica of St. John, Ephesus, Turkey, 2007 (photo)

The apostle and evangelist St. John spent his last years in Ephesus with the Virgin Mary, who was entrusted to him by Jesus. Following the assassination of St. Paul, St. John assumed the authority of all the churches under the Church of Ephesus and wrote his gospel. In his will he asked to be buried in that church, which bore his name. In the 4th century, a basilica with a wooden roof was built over his grave. The ruins we see today are of the Basilica of St. John (St. Jean Aniti), that was constructed by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century on the same spot.