John I (bishop of Jerusalem) John I (bishop of Jerusalem) John I of Jerusalem was the seventh Bishop of Jerusalem. He was, according to Eusebius, a Jewish Christian born to Jewish parents who kept the Law of the Torah. According to universal tradition, John I replaced the first bishop of Jerusalem Saint James the Just, the ""brother of the Lord,"" who was appointed bishop by the Apostles Peter, St. James (whom Eusebius identifies as James, son of Zebedee) and John. John was well versed in the Law of Moses and as a young man disputed with Christians until he converted with the instruction of St.
Apostles he had seen and was anointed by Jesus while on the road to Damascus. James, Peter and John in Jerusalem accepted his calling to the apostleship from the Lord to the Gentiles (specifically those not circumcised) as of equal authority as Peter's to the Jews (specifically those circumcised) according to Paul. "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars ... agreed that we [Paul and Barnabas] should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews." Paul, despite his divine calling as an apostle, considered himself perhaps inferior to the other apostles because he had originally persecuted Christ's followers.