Evangelist

An evangelist is someone who proclaims good news. This is specifically the 'good news' or gospel of Jesus (gospel being an Old English equivalent of the Greek εὐαγγέλια (euangelia), a neuter plural noun meaning 'good news').

• In its most restricted sense, evangelist means one of the writers of the Four canonical gospels of the New Testament:
  • Matthew.
  • Mark
  • Luke
  • John

Traditional Christian art shows each evangelist with a (winged) symbol.

• • Matthew is traditionally said to be the tax collector in ix: 9 of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. It appears unlikely to biblical scholars that this is true - the date is against it. The symbol of Matthew is an angel.
  • Mark is usually identified as the "John, whose surname was Mark" of Acts xii: 12 and in several of Paul's epistles. It is now generally accepted that 'The Gospel according to Saint Mark' is the earliest of all, and was used as a source by the others. Tradition says that Mark learned much from Saint Peter, rather than being an eye-witness himself to the life of Jesus, and Peake's Commentary rather favours the tradition than otherwise (§ 696b). The symbol of Mark the Evangelist is a winged lion. (The famous animals on the front of the Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice are horses. They are ancient Greek statues, looted from Constantinople during the fourth crusade in 1204.)
  • The Gospel now called 'according to Saint Luke' was said, as early as the late 2nd century, to have been written by an early Christian missionary whom Saint Paul calls "the beloved physician" (Colossians, iv: 14). He is said to have been a native of Antioch and a doctor, to have been a physician, and to be the author of the Acts of the Apostles: it appears fairly likely that the two books had one author, and there are no good grounds to suppose that this was not Paul's companion. His symbol is a winged bull, or ox calf.
  • The identity of John is disputed - see Saint John. This gospel shares less of a common tradition than the other three - the Synoptic gospels. The symbol of John the Evangelist is an eagle.

• In a more general sense, an evangelist can be anyone who seeks to spread the Christian faith by teaching or other missionary work.
  • Even more generally, in the twenty-first century, evangelist can be used figuratively. An evangelist need not be seeking to spread the Christian - or any other - faith. OED (1993) has the additional meaning "[3.] d. transf[erred sense] A zealous advocate of a cause or promulgator of a doctrine" - and the meaning has moved beyond 'doctrine' to include such things as fashions, pop groups and sports.

See also Evangelical - evangelistic - evangelism.