Sanctus Philippo, Joannes, Sanctus Jacobus Major

Saint Philip the Apostle

According to Legend, there was a city beset by a dragon. Philip persuaded the people to replace their idol of Mars with a cross, and when they did so he was able to drive the dragon away. Thus, his attributes are a cross and a dragon, , or a cross alone.

St. Philip is not often represented outside of collections of the twelve apostles.

Feast day: May 1

Saint James the Less, Apostle

St. James the Less was the leader of the Christian community in Jerusalem. The traditional account is that he was martyred by being thrown from the parapet of the Temple, stoned, and finally beaten to death with a fuller's club. The club is his attribute, as is shown in the stained glass.

Feast day: May 3

Saint John the Evangelist

St. John was one of the apostles and was traditionally taken to be the author of the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and the Book of Revelation.

In the story that had the greatest influence on the saint's iconography, St. John proves his bona fides by drinking a cup of poison without ill effect. Artists solved the problem of how to represent a poisonous liquid by using snakes as a visual metaphor, as in the image at left. When St. John is portrayed among saints other than the apostles his attribute is often the chalice rather than the eagle

When the Gospels mention St. John along with his brother St. James, they almost list James first. From this the tradition grew that he was younger than James. To indicate this youthfulness, artists usually have him without a beard,.

Feast days: May 6