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John of Damascus

Chrysorrhoas redirects here. For the river, see Barada.

Saint John of Damascus (Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي Yuḥannā Al Demashqi; Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος/Iôannês Damaskênos; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker") (c. 676 – December 5, 749) was a Syrian monk and priest. He was born and raised in Damascus, and died (in all probability) at his monastery Mar Saba, southeast of Jerusalem.

He was a polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included Law, Theology, Philosophy and Music. He was the Chief Administrator to the ruler of Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. He is a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.

Biography

Practically all the information concerning the life of John of Damascus available to us today has come through the records of John, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Though these notes have served as the single source of biographical information, dating back to the 10th century, they have been noted by scholars as lacking detail from a historical point of view as well as a bloated writing style. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat was traditionally attributed to John, but is in fact a work of the tenth century.

Childhood

John was brought up in Damascus in an Arab Christian family living under Muslim rule. His father held a high hereditary public office with duties of chief financial officer for the caliph Abd al-Malik, apparently as head of the tax department for Syria.

When John reached the age of 23, his father sought out to find a Christian tutor who could provide the best education for his children. Records show that while spending some time in the marketplace, John's father encountered several captives, imprisoned as a result of a raid for prisoners of war that had taken place in the coasts of Italy. One of these, a Sicilian monk by the name of Cosmas, turned out to be an erudite of great knowledge and wisdom. John's father arranged for the release of this man and appointed him tutor to his son. Under the instruction of Cosmas, John made great advances in music, astronomy and theology. According to his biographer, he soon equaled Diophantus in algebra and Euclid in geometry.

Succession to Chief Councilor

In spite of his Christian background, his family held an important hereditary public office in the court of the Muslim rulers of Damascus, the Umayyads. John of Damascus succeeded his father in his position upon his death: he was appointed protosymbullus, or Chief Councilor of Damascus.

It was during his term in office that iconoclasm, a movement seeking to prohibit the veneration of the icons, first appeared and gained acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, in disregard of the protests of St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, Emperor Leo III issued his first edict against the veneration of images and their exhibition in public places. A talented writer in the secure surroundings of the caliph's court, John of Damascus initiated his defense against the emperor in three "Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images", the earliest of his works, which gained him a reputation. Not only did he attack the emperor, but the use of a simpler literary style brought the controversy to the common people, inciting revolt among those of Christian faith. His writings later played an important role during the Second Council of Nicaea which met to settle the icon dispute.

Unable to punish the writer openly, Leo III managed to acquire a manuscript written and signed by John of Damascus, which he used to forge a letter from John to the Isaurian emperor offering to betray into his hands the city of Damascus. Despite John's earnest advocation to his innocence, the caliph dismissed his plea, discharged him from his post, and ordered his right hand, which he used for writing, to be cut off by the wrist.

According to the 10th-century biography, his hand was miraculously restored after fervent prayer before an icon of the Virgin Mary. At this point the caliph is said to have been convinced of his innocence and inclined to reinstate him in his former office. However, John then retired to the monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, where he continued to produce a series of commentaries, hymns and apologetic writings, including the "Octoechos" (the Church's service book of eight tones) and An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, a summary of the dogmatic writings of the Early Church Fathers.

Last Days

John died in 749 as a revered Father of the Church, and is recognized as a saint. He is sometimes called the last of the Church Fathers by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1883 he was declared a Doctor of the Church by the Holy See.

Veneration

When the name of Saint John of Damascus was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1890, it was assigned to 27 March. This date always falls within Lent, a period during which there are no obligatory Memorials. The feast day was therefore moved in 1969 to the day of the saint's death, 4 December, the day on which his feast day is celebrated also in the Byzantine Rite calendar.

List of Works

Early Works

Three "Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images" – These treatises were among his earliest expositions in response to the edict by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III, banning the worship or exhibition of holy images.

Teachings and Dogmatic Works

"Fountain of Knowledge" or "The Fountain of Wisdom", is divided into three parts:

"Philosophical Chapters" (Kephalaia philosophika) – Commonly called 'Dialectic', deals mostly with logic, its primary purpose being to prepare the reader for a better understanding of the rest of the book.
"Concerning Heresy" (peri haireseon) – The last chapter of this part (Chapter 101) deals with the Heresy of the Ishmaelites. Differently from the previous 'chapters' on other heresies which are usually only a few lines long, this chapter occupies a few pages in his work. It is one of the first Christian polemical writings against Islam, and the first one written by a Greek Orthodox/Melkite.
"An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" (Ekdosis akribes tes orthodoxou pisteos) – This third section of the book is known to be the most important work of John de Damascene, and a treasured antiquity of Christianity.