View source for John of Damascus

{{Short description|Christian monk, priest, hymnographer and apologist (675/6–749)}}
{{redirect|Chrysorrhoas|the river in Syria|Barada|the river in Turkey|Pactolus}}
{{Redirect|Damascenus|other uses|Damaskinos (disambiguation){{!}}Damaskinos}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox saint 
|honorific_prefix=[[Saint]]
|name=John of Damascus
|image=Johndamascene.jpg
|caption=
|titles=[[Church Father]], [[Doctor of the Church]],<br>[[Venerable (Orthodox)|Venerable]], Teacher of the Faith
|birth_date={{Circa|AD 675/676}}
|birth_place=[[Damascus]], [[Bilad al-Sham]], [[Umayyad Caliphate]]
|death_date=4 December AD 749 (aged {{Circa|72–74}})
|death_place=[[Mar Saba]], [[Jerusalem]], Bilad al-Sham, Umayyad Caliphate
|feast_day=4 December<br>27 March ([[General Roman Calendar]], 1890–1969)
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=[[Pre-congregation]]
|canonized_place=
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br>[[Anglicanism]]<br>[[Lutheranism]]
|major_shrine=
|attributes=Severed hand, icon 
|patronage=Pharmacists, Iconographers, theology students
|influenced=[[Second Council of Nicaea]]
|module= 
{{Infobox philosopher
|embed             = yes
|region            = 
|era               = [[Medieval philosophy]]<br />[[Byzantine philosophy]]
|notable_ideas     = [[Icon]], [[Dormition of Mary|dormition]]/[[assumption of Mary]], [[Theotokos]], [[perpetual virginity of Mary]], [[mediatrix]]<ref name=Antoine >''Mary's Pope: John Paul II, Mary, and the Church'' by Antoine Nachef (1 September 2000) {{ISBN|1-58051-077-9}} pages 179–180</ref>
|birth_name = 
|main_interests   =  [[Law]], [[Christian theology]], [[Christian philosophy|philosophy]], [[Christian apologetics|apologetics]], [[criticism of Islam]], [[geometry]], [[Mariology]], [[arithmetic]], [[astronomy]], [[music]]
|school_tradition = [[Neoplatonism]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire/The-age-of-Iconoclasm-717-867|title=Byzantine Empire - Iconoclasm, Religion, Empire &#124; Britannica|date=20 November 2024|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>
|notable_works    =''The Fountain of Knowledge''<br />''Philosophical Chapters''<br />''Concerning Heresy''<br /> ''An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith''
}}
}}

'''John of Damascus''' or '''John Damascene''', born '''Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|يوحنا الدمشقي|Yūḥana ad-Dimashqī}}; {{langx|el|Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός|Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós}}, {{IPA|el|ioˈanis o ðamasciˈnos|IPA}}; {{langx|la|Ioannes Damascenus}}; born ''Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn'', {{lang|ar|يوحنا إبن منصور إبن سرجون}}}} was a [[Christian monasticism#Eastern Orthodox tradition|Christian monk]], [[Priesthood (Eastern Orthodox Church)|priest]], [[Hymnwriter|hymnographer]], and [[Christian apologetics|apologist]]. He was born and raised in [[Damascus]] {{Circa|AD 675}} or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not known, though tradition places it at his monastery, [[Mar Saba]], near [[Jerusalem]], on 4 December AD 749.<ref>M. Walsh, ed. ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (HarperCollins Publishers: New York, 1991), p. 403.</ref> A [[polymath]] whose fields of interest and contribution included [[law]], [[Christian theology|theology]], [[Christian philosophy|philosophy]], and [[music]], he was given the by-name of '''Chrysorroas''' (Χρυσορρόας, literally "streaming with gold", i.e. "the golden speaker"). He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used both [[Liturgy|liturgically]] in [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] practice throughout the world as well as in western [[Lutheranism]] at Easter.<ref name=":3">''Lutheran Service Book'' (Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 2006), pp. 478, 487.</ref>

He is one of the Fathers of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and is best known for his strong defence of [[icon]]s.<ref name=Aquilinap222>{{Harvnb|Aquilina|1999|p=222}}</ref> The [[Catholic Church]] regards him as a [[Doctor of the Church]], often referred to as the ''Doctor of the Assumption'' due to his writings on the [[Assumption of Mary]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Rengers |first=Christopher |title=The 33 Doctors of the Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gC_bAAAACAAJ |date=2000 |publisher=Tan Books |isbn=978-0-89555-440-6 |page=200}}</ref> He was also a prominent exponent of ''[[perichoresis]]'', and employed the concept as a technical term to describe both the interpenetration of the divine and human natures of Christ and the relationship between the hypostases of the Trinity.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cross|first=F.L|title="Cicumincession". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.).|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1974}}</ref> John is at the end of the [[Patristic period]] of dogmatic development, and his contributions are the last ones in the series of theological developments before the [[Christianity_in_the_Middle_Ages|medieval period]]. In [[Catholic theology]], he is therefore known as the "last of the Greek Fathers".<ref>O'Connor, J.B. (1910) "John of Damascus was the last of the Greek Fathers. His genius was not for original theological development, but for compilation of an encyclopedic character. In fact, the state of full development to which theological thought had been brought by the great Greek writers and councils left him little else than the work of an encyclopedist; and this work he performed in such manner as to merit the gratitude of all succeeding ages". In Orthodox Christianity, the concept of "fathers of the Church" is used somewhat more loosely, with no exhaustive list or end date, with a [[List of Church Fathers#After John of Damascus|number of theologians]] younger than John Damascene generally included.</ref>

The main source of information for the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]].<ref name=Sahas32>{{Harvnb|Sahas|1972|p=32}}</ref> This is an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains a prologue not found in most other translations, and was written by an Arab monk, Michael, who explained that he decided to write his biography in 1084 because none was available in his day. However, the main Arabic text seems to have been written by an unknown earlier author sometime between the early 9th and late 10th century.<ref name=Sahas32/> 
Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration and some legendary details, it is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to contain elements of some value.<ref name=Sahas35>{{Harvnb|Sahas|1972|p=35}}</ref> The hagiographic novel ''[[Barlaam and Josaphat]]'' is a work of the 10th century<ref>R. Volk, ed., ''Historiae animae utilis de Barlaam et Ioasaph'' (Berlin, 2006)</ref> attributed to a monk named John. It was only considerably later that the tradition arose that this was John of Damascus, but most scholars no longer accept this attribution. Instead much evidence points to [[Euthymius of Athos]], a Georgian who died in 1028.<ref name=loeb>[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674990388 Barlaam and Ioasaph, John Damascene], Loeb Classical Library 34, at LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY {{ISBN|978-0-674-99038-8}}</ref>

==Family background==
John was born in [[Damascus]], in 675 or 676, to a prominent Damascene [[Arab Christian]] family.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowersock|first=Glen Warren|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA222|title=Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World|date=1999|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-51173-6|pages=222|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Griffith|2001|p=20}}</ref>
His father, [[Sarjun ibn Mansur]], served as an official of the early [[Umayyad Caliphate]]. His grandfather, [[Mansur ibn Sarjun]], was a prominent [[Byzantine]] official of Damascus, who had been responsible for the taxes of the region during the reign of Emperor [[Heraclius]] and also served under Emperor [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]].<ref name="Brownp307"/><ref name="Janosik25">{{harvnb|Janosik|2016|p=25}}</ref> 
Mansur seems to have played a role in the capitulation of Damascus to the troops of [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] in 635 after securing favorable conditions of surrender.<ref name="Brownp307">{{harvnb|Brown|2003|p=307}}</ref><ref name="Janosik25"/> [[Patriarch Eutychius of Alexandria|Eutychius]], a 10th-century [[Melkite]] patriarch, mentions him as one high-ranking official involved in the surrender of the city to the Muslims.<ref name=Sahas17>{{Harvnb|Sahas|1972|p=17}}</ref>
[[File:Icon of Saint John of Damascus - Emmanouel Tzanes.jpg|thumb|Icon of Saint John of Damascus - [[Emmanuel Tzanes]]]]
 
The name John was very common among Christians in Syria, and Eutychius noted that the governor of Damascus, who was likely Mansur ibn Sarjun, was a Syrian.<ref name=Sahas7>{{Harvnb|Sahas|1972|p=7}}</ref> The tribal background of Mansur ibn Sarjun, John's grandfather, is unknown, but biographer Daniel Sahas has speculated that the name Mansur could have implied descent from the [[Arab Christians|Arab Christian tribes]] of [[Banu Kalb|Kalb]] or [[Taghlib]].<ref name=Sahas7>{{Harvnb|Sahas|1972|p=7}}</ref> 
The name was common among Syrian Christians of Arab origins, and Eutychius noted that the governor of Damascus, who was likely Mansur ibn Sarjun, was an Arab Syrian.<ref name=Sahas7/> However, Sahas also asserts that the name does not necessarily imply an Arab background and could have been used by non-Arab, Semitic Syrians.<ref name=Sahas7/> While Sahas and biographers F. H. Chase and Andrew Louth assert that ''Mansūr'' was an Arabic name, Raymond le Coz asserts that the "family was without doubt of Syrian origin";<ref name="Janosik26">{{harvnb|Janosik|2016|p=26}}</ref> indeed, according to historian Daniel J. Janosik, "Both aspects could be true, for if his family ancestry were indeed Syrian, his grandfather [Mansur] could have been given an Arabic name when the Arabs took over the government."<ref>{{harvnb|Janosik|2016|pp=26–27}}</ref> 
When [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Syria was conquered by the Muslim Arab]]s in the 630s, the court at Damascus retained its large complement of Christian civil servants, John's grandfather among them.<ref name="Brownp307"/><ref name=Sahas17/> John's father, [[Sarjun ibn Mansur|Sarjun (Sergius)]], went on to serve the Umayyad [[caliph]]s.<ref name="Brownp307"/> John of Jerusalem claims that he also served as a senior official in the fiscal administration of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] under [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] before leaving [[Damascus]] and his position around 705 to go to [[Jerusalem]] and become a [[monk]]. However, this point is debated within the academic community as there is no trace of him in the Umayyad archives, unlike his father and grandfather. Some researchers, such as [[Robert G. Hoyland]],<ref name="Hoyland 1996 481">{{harvnb|Hoyland|1996|p=481}}</ref> deny such an affiliation, while others, like Daniel Sahas or the Orthodox historian [[John Meyendorff|Jean Meyendorff]], suppose that he might have been a lower-level tax administrator, a local tax collector who would not have needed to be mentioned in the archives, but who might not have necessarily been part of the court either.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Daniel John|isbn=978-90-04-47044-6|last1=Sahas|page=335|publisher=Brill|title=Byzantium and Islam: collected studies on Byzantine-Muslim encounters|date=7 September 2023 }}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyendorff |first=John |date=1964 |title=Byzantine Views of Islam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291209 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=18 |pages=113–132 |doi=10.2307/1291209 |jstor=1291209 |quote=If we are to believe this traditional account, the information that John was in the Arab administration of Damascus under the Umayyads and had, therefore, a first-hand knowledge of the Arab Moslem civilization, would, of course, be very valuable. Unfortunately, the story is mainly based upon an eleventh- century Arabic life, which in other respects is full of incredible legends. Earlier sources are much more reserved.|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref> In addition, John's own writings never refer to any experience in a Muslim court. It is believed that John became a monk at [[Mar Saba]], and that he was ordained as a priest in 735.<ref name="Brownp307"/><ref name="McEnhillNewlandsp154">{{harvnb|McEnhill|Newlands|2004|p=154}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:John Damascus (arabic icon).gif|thumb|19th-century icon (Arabic inscription)]]

[[File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_138r_3.jpg|thumb|Depiction of John Damascene in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' ]]
John was raised in Damascus, and Christian folklore holds that during his adolescence, John associated with the future [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] caliph [[Yazid I]] and the Taghlibi Christian court poet [[al-Akhtal]].<ref>{{harvnb|Griffith|2001|p=21}}</ref>

One of the ''vitae'' describes his father's desire for him to "learn not only the books of the Muslims, but those of the Greeks as well." From this it has been suggested that John may have grown up bilingual.<ref>Valantasis, p. 455</ref> John does indeed show some knowledge of the [[Quran]], which he criticizes harshly.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoyland|1996|pp=487–489}}</ref>

Other sources describe his education in Damascus as having been conducted in accordance with the principles of [[Paideia|Hellenic education]], termed "secular" by one source and "classical Christian" by another.<ref name="Louthp284">{{harvnb|Louth|2002|p=284}}</ref><ref name="Butlerp36">{{harvnb|Butler|Jones|Burns|2000|p=36}}</ref> One account identifies his tutor as a monk by the name of [[Cosmas the Monk|Cosmas]], who had been kidnapped by Arabs from his home in [[Sicily]], and for whom John's father paid a great price. As a refugee from Italy, Cosmas brought with him the scholarly traditions of [[Latin Christianity]]. Cosmas was said to have rivaled  [[Pythagoras]] in arithmetic and [[Euclid]] in [[geometry]].<ref name="Butlerp36"/> He also taught John's orphan friend, [[Cosmas of Maiuma]]. 

John possibly had a career as a civil servant for the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Caliph]] in Damascus before his ordination.<ref>Suzanne Conklin Akbari, ''Idols in the East: European representations of Islam and the Orient, 1100–1450'', Cornell University Press, 2009 p. 204.
David Richard Thomas, ''Syrian Christians under Islam: the first thousand years'', Brill 2001 p. 19.</ref>

He then became a priest and monk at the [[Mar Saba]] monastery near Jerusalem. 
One source suggests John left Damascus to become a monk around 706, when [[al-Walid I]] increased the Islamicisation of the Caliphate's administration.<ref name=Louthp9>{{Harvnb|Louth|2003|p=9}}</ref> 
This is uncertain, as Muslim sources only mention that his father Sarjun (Sergius) left the administration around this time, and fail to name John at all.<ref name="Hoyland 1996 481"/> 
During the next two decades, culminating in the [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)]], the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] progressively occupied the borderlands of the Byzantine Empire. An editor of John's works, Father [[Michel Le Quien|Le Quien]], has shown that John was already a monk at Mar Saba before the dispute over iconoclasm, explained below.<ref name=catholic/>

In the early 8th century, [[Iconoclasm (Byzantine)|iconoclasm]], a movement opposed to the veneration of icons, gained acceptance in the [[Byzantine]] court. In 726, despite the protests of [[Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople|Germanus]], [[List of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]], Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] (who had forced his predecessor, [[Theodosius III]], to abdicate and himself assumed the throne in 717 immediately before the great siege) issued his first edict against the [[veneration]] of images and their exhibition in public places.<ref name=cathen>O'Connor, J.B. (1910), "St. John Damascene", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. New York: Robert Appleton Company ([http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm]).</ref>

All agree that John of Damascus undertook a spirited defence of holy images in three separate publications. The earliest of these works, his ''Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images'', secured his reputation. He not only attacked the Byzantine emperor, but adopted a simplified style that allowed the controversy to be followed by the common people, stirring rebellion among the iconoclasts. Decades after his death, John's writings would play an important role during the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] (787), which convened to settle the icon dispute.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology|last=Cunningham|first=M. B. |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|editor-last=Farland|editor-first=I. A.|location=Cambridge, UK|display-editors=etal|editor-last2=Fergusson|editor-first2=D. A. S.|editor-last3=Kilby|editor-first3=K. |via=Credo Reference}}</ref>

Leo III reportedly sent forged documents to the caliph which implicated John in a plot to attack [[Damascus]]. The caliph then ordered John's right hand be cut off and hung up in public view. Some days afterwards, John asked for the restitution of his hand, and prayed fervently to the ''[[Theotokos]]'' before her icon: thereupon, his hand is said to have been miraculously restored.<ref name=catholic>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=66|title=St. John of Damascus|author=Catholic Online|website=catholic.org}}</ref> In gratitude for this miraculous healing, he attached a silver hand to the icon, which thereafter became known as the "Three-handed", or [[Trojeručica|''Tricherousa'']].<ref>{{harvnb|Louth|2002|pp=17, 19}}</ref> That icon is now located in the [[Hilandar]] monastery of the [[Mount Athos|Holy Mountain]].

Due to his commitment to [[iconodulism]], he was condemned by [[anathema]] by the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclastic]] [[Council of Hieria]] in 754.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=John of Damascus: Johannes von Damaskus |url=https://patristik.badw.de/en/john-of-damascus.html |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=patristik.badw.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chrysostomides |first=Anna |date=2021 |title=John of Damascus's Theology of Icons in the Context of Eighth-Century Palestinian Iconoclasm |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27107158 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=75 |pages=263–296 |jstor=27107158 |issn=0070-7546}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rhodes |first=Michael Craig |title=Handmade: A Critical Analysis of John of Damascus's Reasoning for Making Icons |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2265.2009.00549.x |journal=The Heythrop Journal |date=2011 |language=en |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=14–26 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2265.2009.00549.x|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He was later rehabilitated by the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787.<ref name=":1" />

==Veneration==
When the name of John of Damascus was inserted in the [[General Roman Calendar]] in 1890, it was assigned to 27 March. The feast day was moved in 1969 to the day of John's death, 4 December, the day on which his feast day is celebrated also in the [[Byzantine Rite]] calendar,<ref>Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), pp. 109, 119; cf. [http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=393924 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia]
</ref> Lutheran Commemorations,<ref>Kinnaman, Scot A. ''Lutheranism 101'' (Concordia Publish House, St. Louis, 2010) p. 278.</ref> and the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church.<ref>Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006 (Church Publishing, 2006), pp. 92–93.</ref>

John of Damascus is honored in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on 4 December.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=8 April 2021|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=2019-12-17 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1890, he was declared a [[Doctor of the Church]] by [[Pope Leo XIII]].

==List of works==
[[File:Ioannis Damasceni Opera.tif|thumb|upright|''Ioannis Damasceni Opera'' (1603)]]
Besides his purely textual works, many of which are listed below, John of Damascus also composed hymns, perfecting the [[Canon (hymnography)|canon]], a structured hymn form used in [[Byzantine Rite]] liturgies.<ref name="Shahidp195">{{Harvnb|Shahîd|2009|p=195}}</ref>

===Early works===
* ''[[Three Treatises on the Divine Images|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 the Isaurian|Leo III]], banning the veneration or exhibition of holy images.<ref>''St. John Damascene on Holy Images, Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption'' – Eng. transl. by Mary H. Allies, London, 1899.</ref>

===Teachings and dogmatic works===
* ''The Fountain of Knowledge,'' also known by other titles such as: ''The Fountain of Wisdom'' or ''The Fount of Knowledge'' ([[Koinē Greek language|Koinē Greek]]: Πηγή Γνώσεως, Pēgē gnōseōs, literally meaning “The Source of Knowledge”), is described as a synthesis and unification of Christian philosophy, ideas and doctrine that was influential in directing the course of medieval Latin thought and that became the principal textbook of Greek Orthodox theology. Divided into three parts the chapters are:
*# ''Philosophical Chapters'' (Koinē Greek: Κεφάλαια φιλοσοφικά'', Kefálea filosofiká'') – commonly called "Dialectic", it deals mostly with logic, its primary purpose being to prepare the reader for a better understanding of the rest of the book. Based on the previous work of the late-3rd-century Neoplatonist [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]]’s [[Isagoge]], an introduction to the logic of Aristotle. The work was notable in that it allowed John of Damascus with information to explain the basic concepts of logic and the rationalisation of God.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Saint John of Damascus {{!}} Biography, Writings, Legacy, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-of-Damascus |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
*# ''Concerning Heresy'' (Koinē Greek: Περὶ αἱρέσεων, ''Perì eréseon'',  literally meaning “About Heresies”) – Based on the previous work of the Panarion (Koinē Greek: Πανάριον, derived from [[Latin]] ''panarium'', meaning "bread basket") by [[Epiphanius of Salamis]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Epiphanius of Salamis |url=https://gnosis.study/library/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0/ENG/Epiphanius%20of%20Salamis%20-%20The%20Panarion,%20Book%20I%20(Sects%201-46).pdf |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Book 1 |last2=Williams |first2=Frank |date=2008 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-4198-4 |edition=2nd. ed., rev. and expanded |series=Nag Hammadi and Manichaean studies |volume=63 |location=Leiden}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Epiphanius of Salamis |url=https://ia801202.us.archive.org/21/items/EpiphaniusPanarionBksIIIII1/Epiphanius%20-%20_Panarion_%20-%20Bks%20II%20%26%20III%20-%201.pdf |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III. de Fide |last2=Williams |first2=Frank |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-23312-6 |edition=2nd |series=Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies |volume=79 |location=Leiden}}</ref> was 4th-century heresiology that provided John with a structural model and descriptions of 80 earlier heresies.<ref name=":3" /> Through Epiphanius, John likely drew indirectly on earlier works by St. Irenaeus (Against Heresies) and Justin Martyr, whose anti-heretical writings influenced Patristic heresiology. The 20 heresies John added, numbered 81 through 100, address theological developments from the mid-5th century onward, including Nestorianism, Monophysitism, and other Christological disputes that emerged after Epiphanius’s time. Unlike the first 80 heresies, which are directly sourced from the Panarion, the origins of these additional entries are less certain. Scholars propose that John likely drew on a variety of contemporary or near-contemporary materials, such as ecclesiastical histories, synodal records, or other heresiological texts available in the 8th century.<ref name=":4" /> Some scholars suggest that the 20 heresies John added may have been influenced by works such as Sophronius of Jerusalem’s Synodic Letter and Leontius of Byzantium’s On Sects, a claim rooted in a manuscript note referenced by 18th-century editor Michel Lequien. Lequien posited that John drew from authors including Theodoret, Timothy of Constantinople, Sophronius, and Leontius.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Chase |first=Frederic H |url= |title=Jr. |publisher=Fathers of the Church, Inc. |publication-date=1958 |pages=xxix |language=en |trans-title=Saint John of Damascus: Writings}} | url= www.slideshare.net/orthodoxonline/saint-john-damascene-fount-of-knowledg-on-heresies </ref> However, this remains uncertain, as modern scholarship, including the 1958 introduction to John’s translated works, finds no concrete evidence to substantiate these influences, stating that “there is apparently no foundation for it.”Thus, while the idea of such contributions persists, it lacks definitive support and remains speculative.<ref name=":4" /> Regardless, the work was notable it allowed John with information about different heresies as well as a model for how to organize a catalogue of heresies. In original 80 religious [[Sect|sects]] which either classed as organized groups or philosophies, from the time of [[Adam]] to the latter part of the fourth century according to Epiphanius. John added twenty heresies that had occurred during his time.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Saint John Damascene |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The last chapter of ''Concerning Heresy'' (Chapter 101) deals with the ''Heresy of the Ishmaelites''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx|title=St. John of Damascus: Critique of Islam|website=orthodoxinfo.com}}</ref> Unlike earlier sections devoted to other heresies, which are disposed of succinctly in just a few lines, this chapter runs into several pages. It constitutes one of the first Christian refutations of [[Islam]].  In treating of ''Heresy of the Ishmaelites'' he vigorously assails the immoral practices of [[Muhammad]] and the corrupt teachings inserted in the [[Quran]] to legalize the delinquencies of the prophet.<ref name=":2" /> ''Concerning Heresy'' was frequently translated from Greek into Latin. His manuscript is one of the first Orthodox Christian refutations of Islam which has influenced the Western Catholic Church's attitude on Islam. It was among the first sources representing Muhammad to the West as a "false prophet" and "Antichrist".<ref>Sbaihat, Ahlam (2015), "Stereotypes associated with real prototypes of the prophet of Islam's name till the 19th century". Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature Vol. 7, No. 1, 2015, pp. 21–38. http://journals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/Issues/vol7no12015/Nom2.pdf</ref>
*# {{Anchor|An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith}}''An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith'' (Koinē Greek: Ἔκδοσις Ἀκριβὴς τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Πίστεως'',  Ékdosis akribès tēs Orthodóxou Písteōs'') – a summary of the teachings and dogmatic writings of the [[early Church Fathers]] and more specifically the [[Cappadocian Fathers]] ([[Basil of Caesarea|Saint Basil]], [[Gregory of Nazianzus|Saint Gregory of Nazianzus]] and [[Gregory of Nyssa|Saint Gregory of Nyssa]]) from the 4th century. It incorporates Aristotelian language and demonstrates originality through John's selection of texts and annotations influenced by Antiochene analytical theology. This work, when translated into Oriental languages and Latin, became a valuable resource for both Eastern and Western thinkers, offering logical and theological concepts. Additionally, its systematic style served as a model for subsequent theological syntheses composed by medieval Scholastics. The "Exposition" delves into speculations about the nature and existence of God, giving rise to points of debate among later theologians. This writing was the first work of [[systematic theology]] in [[Eastern Christianity]] and an important influence on later Scholastic works.<ref name="retrome">{{cite book|last=Ines |first=Angeli Murzaku |title=Returning home to Rome: the Basilian monks of Grottaferrata in Albania |date=2009 |publisher=Analekta Kryptoferri |publication-place=Grottaferrata (Roma) – Italy |isbn=978-88-89345-04-7 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2EPFRL-XJQC}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

====Views on Islam====
Near the final chapters (Chapter 101) of ''Concerning Heresy'', John mentions Islam as ''the Heresy of the Ishmaelites''. He is one of the first known Christian critics of Islam. John claims that Muslims were once worshipers of Aphrodite who followed after Muhammad because of his "seeming show of piety," and that Muhammad himself read the Bible and, "likewise, it seems," spoke to an Arian monk that taught him [[Arianism]] instead of Christianity. John also had read the Quran, as he criticizes it for saying that the Virgin Mary was the sister of Moses and Aaron, according to Surah Maryam (Chapter 19), Verse 28 where it reads: “O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste!” and that Jesus was not crucified but brought alive into heaven according to Surah An-Nisa (Chapter 4), Verse 157–158 where it reads: “And [for] their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’

But they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him — but [it was] made to appear to them.

And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption.

And they did not kill him, for certain.

Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise."

John further states to have spoken to Muslims about Muhammad. He uses the [[Nosism|plural "we"]], whether in reference to himself, or to a group of Christians that he belonged to who spoke to the Muslims, or in reference to Christians in general.<ref name="orthodoxinfo.com">{{Cite web|title=St. John of Damascus: Critique of Islam|url=http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx|access-date=21 July 2020|website=orthodoxinfo.com}}</ref>

Regardless, John claims that he asked the Muslims what witnesses can testify that Muhammad received the Quran from God – since, John says, Moses received the Torah from God in the presence of the Israelites, and since Islamic law mandates that a Muslim can only marry and do trade in the presence of witnesses – and what biblical prophets and verses foretold Muhammad's coming – since, John says, Jesus was foretold by the prophets and whole Old Testament. John claims that the Muslims answered that Muhammad received the Quran in his sleep. John replied "Then we jokingly say to them that, as long as he  received the book in his sleep and did not actually sense the operation" <ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Johannes |title=Writings |last2=Chase |first2=Frederic H. |date=1999 |publisher=Catholic Univ. of America Pr |isbn=978-0-8132-0968-5 |edition=1. short-run repr |series=The fathers of the church |location=Washington, DC |pages=155}}</ref>claims that he jokingly answered, "You're spinning me dreams."<ref name="orthodoxinfo.com"/><ref name=":5" />

Some of the Muslims, John says, claimed that the Old Testament that Christians believe foretells Jesus' coming is misinterpreted, while other Muslims claimed that the Jews edited the Old Testament so as to deceive Christians (possibly into believing Jesus is God, but John does not say).<ref name="orthodoxinfo.com"/>

While recounting his dialogue with Muslims, John claims that they have accused him of idol worship for venerating the Cross and worshipping Jesus. John claims that he told the Muslims that the black stone in Mecca was the head of a statue of Aphrodite. Moreover, he claims, the Muslims would be better off to associate Jesus with God if they say Jesus is the Word of God and Spirit. John claims that the word and the spirit are inseparable from that in which they exist and if the Word of God has always existed in God, then the Word must be God.<ref name="orthodoxinfo.com"/>

John ends the chapter by claiming that Islam permits [[polygamy]], that Muhammad committed adultery with a companion's wife before outlawing adultery, and that the Quran is filled with stories, such as the [[She-Camel of God]] and God giving Jesus an "incorruptible table."<ref name="orthodoxinfo.com"/>

==== Other works ====

* ''Against the Jacobites''
* ''Against the Nestorians''
* ''Dialogue against the Manichees''
* ''Elementary Introduction into Dogmas''
* ''Letter on the Thrice-Holy Hymn''
* ''On Right Thinking''
* ''On the Faith, Against the Nestorians''
* ''On the Two Wills in Christ (Against the [[Monothelite]]s)''
* ''[[Sacra Parallela|Sacred Parallels]]'' (dubious)
* ''[[Octoechos (liturgy)|Octoechos]]'' (the church's liturgical book of eight tones)
* ''On Dragons and Ghosts''

==Arabic translation==
[[File:John of Damascus.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Icon by Michael Anagnostou Chomatzas  (1734)]]
It is believed that the homily on the Annunciation was the first work to be translated into Arabic. Much of this text is found in Manuscript 4226 of the Library of Strasbourg (France), dating to AD 885.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.amazon.fr/Homily-Annunciation-John-Damascus-ebook/dp/B00C1SS0NS/ |title=Homily on the Annunciation – John of Damascus eBook: John of Damascus… |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701151409/http://www.amazon.fr/Homily-Annunciation-John-Damascus-ebook/dp/B00C1SS0NS/ |archive-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Later in the 10th century, Antony, superior of the monastery of St. Simon (near Antioch) translated a corpus of John Damascene. In his introduction to John's work, Sylvestre patriarch of Antioch (1724–1766) said that Antony was monk at Saint Saba. This could be a misunderstanding of the title Superior of Saint Simon probably because Saint Simon's monastery was in ruins in the 18th century.<ref>Nasrallah, Saint Jean de Damas, son époque, sa vie, son oeuvre, Harissa, 1930, p. 180</ref>

Most manuscripts give the text of the letter to Cosmas,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/8841458|title=Letter to Cosmas – Lettre à Cosmas de Jean Damascène (Arabe)|author=Habib Ibrahim|website=academia.edu}}</ref> the philosophical chapters,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.amazon.fr/Philosophical-chapters-Arabic-ebook/dp/B00BZWCB1I/ |title = Philosophical chapters (Arabic) eBook: John of Damascus, Ibrahim Habi… |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701144259/http://www.amazon.fr/Philosophical-chapters-Arabic-ebook/dp/B00BZWCB1I/ |archive-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the theological chapters and five other small works.<ref>Nasrallah, Joseph. Histoire III, pp. 273–281</ref>

In 1085, Mikhael, a monk from Antioch, wrote the Arabic life of the Chrysorrhoas.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/4252728|title=Arabic life of John Damascene – Vie arabe de Jean Damascène|author=Habib Ibrahim|website=academia.edu}}</ref> This work was first edited by Bacha in 1912 and then translated into many languages (German, Russian and English).

==Modern English translations==
* ''On holy images; followed by three sermons on the Assumption'', translated by Mary H. Allies, (London: Thomas Baker, 1898)
* ''Exposition of the Orthodox faith'', translated by the Reverend SDF Salmond, in Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. 2nd Series vol 9. (Oxford: Parker, 1899) [reprint Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1963.]
* ''Writings'', translated by Frederic H. Chase. Fathers of the Church vol 37, (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1958) [ET of ''The fount of knowledge''; ''On heresies''; ''The orthodox faith'']
* Daniel J. Sahas (ed.), ''John of Damascus on Islam: The "Heresy of the Ishmaelites"'', (Leiden: Brill, 1972)
* ''On the divine images: the apologies against those who attack the divine images'', translated by David Anderson, (New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980)
* {{cite book |title=Three Treatises on the Divine Images |translator-first=Andrew |translator-last=Louth |publication-place=Crestwood, NY |publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-88141-245-1 |series=Popular Patristics}} Louth, who also wrote the introduction, was at the [[University of Durham]] as Professor of Patristics and Byzantine Studies.

Two translations exist of the 10th-century hagiographic novel ''[[Barlaam and Josaphat]]'', traditionally attributed to John:
* ''Barlaam and Ioasaph'', with an English translation by G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly, (London: Heinemann, 1914)
* ''The precious pearl: the lives of Saints Barlaam and Ioasaph, ''notes and comments by Augoustinos N Kantiotes; preface, introduction, and new translation by Asterios Gerostergios, et al., (Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1997)

==See also==
{{Eastern Orthodox sidebar}}
{{Catholic philosophy}}
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/March 27|Saint John of Damascus, patron saint archive]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Aquilina |first=Mike |title=The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hb-S41iWo7oC&pg=PT235  |edition=illustrated |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-87973-689-7 }}
* Michiel Op de Coul en Marcel Poorthuis, 2011. {{Not a typo|De eerste christelijke polemiek met de islam}} {{ISBN|978-90-211-4282-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter Robert Lamont |title=The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200–1000 |edition=2nd, illustrated |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-631-22138-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i7lcmtHQOLIC&pg=PA307 }}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOVkcqmS_okC&pg=PA36|title=Butler's lives of the saints: Volume 12 of Butler's Lives of the Saints Series|first1=Alban|last1=Butler|first2=Kathleen|last2=Jones|first3=Paul|last3=Burns|edition=Revised|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2000|isbn=978-0-86012-261-6 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Griffith|first1=Sidney|editor1-last=Thomas|editor1-first=David|title=Syrian Christians Under Islam: The First Thousand Years|date=2001|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-12055-6|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E51_-Js-bZwC&pg=PA19|chapter='Melkites', 'Jacobites', and the Christological Controversies in Arabic in Third/Ninth-Century Syria}}
* {{cite book |last=Hoyland |first=Robert G. |title=Seeing Islam as Others Saw It: A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocv-SQAACAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Darwin Press |isbn=978-0-87850-125-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Jameson |title=Legends of the Madonna |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-554-33413-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPdIuT4BvsEC&pg=PA24 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Janosik|first1=Daniel J.|title=John of Damascus: First Apologist to the Muslims|date=2016|publisher=Pickwick Publications|location=Eugene, Oregon|isbn=978-1-4982-8984-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCN8DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA25}}
* [[Vassa Kontouma|Kontouma, Vassa]] (2015). ''John of Damascus. New Studies on his Life and Works''. Ashgate. {{ISBN|978-0-367-59921-8}}
* {{cite book|title=St. John Damascene: tradition and originality in Byzantine theology|first1=Andrew|last1=Louth|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-19-925238-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhoYQTwcqrEC&pg=PA284}}
* {{cite book |last1=Louth |first1=Andrew |title=Three Treatises on the Divine Images |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_U1mtafEPMC&pg=PA9 |publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-88141-245-1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Louth|first=Andrew|title=St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-927527-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=McEnhill |first1=Peter |last2=Newlands |first2=G. M. |title=Fifty Key Christian Thinkers |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-415-17049-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1jhun5szTUC&pg=PA154 }}
* {{cite book |last=Schadler |first=Peter |year=2017 |title=John of Damascus and Islam: Christian Heresiology and the Intellectual Background to Earliest Christian-Muslim Relations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NBCDwAAQBAJ |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=The History of Christian-Muslim Relations |volume=34 |doi=10.1163/9789004356054 |isbn=978-90-04-34965-0 |lccn=2017044207 |s2cid=165610770}}
* {{cite book |last=Shahîd |first=Irfan |title=Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century: Economic, Social, and Cultural History, Volume 2, Part 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=js30HODt2aYC&pg=PA195 |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-88402-347-0 }}
* {{cite book|title=John of Damascus on Islam|first1=Daniel J.|last1=Sahas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYSl_cyYHssC&pg=PA17|publisher=BRILL|year=1972|isbn=978-90-04-03495-2}}
* {{cite book|title=Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice|editor=Richard Valantasis|first1=David|last1=Vila|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-691-05751-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-N6u74StgmUC&pg=PA454}}
* {{cite book|title=The Works of St. John Damascene|publisher=Martis Publishing House|location= Moscow|year=1997}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Author:John of Damascus|John of Damascus}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/131christians/johndamascus.html 131 Christians Everyone Should Know- John of Damascus]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': St. John Damascene]
* [http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=393924 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=66 Catholic Online Saints]
* [http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc06/htm/iii.lvii.lxii.htm Details of his work]
{{Gutenberg|no= 49917|name=St John Damascene on Holy Images (πρὸς τοὺς διαβάλλοντας τᾶς ἁγίας εἰκόνας). Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption (κοίμησις)}}; also available through the [https://archive.org/details/stjohndamasceneo00alliuoft Internet Archive].
* {{Gutenberg author |id=385| name=John of Damascus}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=John of Damascus}}
* {{Librivox author |id=6022}}
* [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx "St. John of Damascus' Critique of Islam"] at the Orthodox Christian Information Center
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/20_30_0675-0749-_Iohannes_Damascenus,_Sanctus.html Greek ''Opera Omnia'' by Migne, ''Patrologia Graeca'' with Analytical Indexes]
* [http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103473 St John of Damascus] Orthodox Icon and Synaxarion (4 December)
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4169 ''Five Doctrinal Works''] is a 17th-century manuscript including three works by John of Damascus
* [https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2025/03/17/life-of-john-damascene-by-john-patriarch-of-jerusalem-bhg-884/ English translation of the "Jerusalem Life" (BHG 884) of John Damascene.]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:John Of Damascus}}
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