John of Damascus

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John of Damascus : biography

676 – 749

List of works

John of Damascus Greek [[icon.]] Besides his purely textual works, many of which are listed below, John of Damascus also composed hymns, perfecting the canon, a structured hymn form used in Eastern Orthodox church services.

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 veneration or exhibition of holy images.St. John Damascene on Holy Images, Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption – Eng. transl. by Mary H. Allies, London, 1899.

Teachings and dogmatic works

  • Fountain of Knowledge or The Fountain of Wisdom, is divided into three parts:
    1. Philosophical Chapters (Kephálaia philosophiká) – 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.
    2. Concerning Heresy (Perì hairéseōn) – The last chapter of this part (Chapter 101) deals with the Heresy of the Ishmaelites. 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.
    3. An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Ékdosis akribès tēs Orthodóxou Písteōs) – a summary of the dogmatic writings of the Early Church Fathers. This writing was the first work of Scholasticism in Eastern Christianity and an important influence on later Scholastic 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 Monothelites)
  • Sacred Parallels (dubious)
  • Octoechos (the Church’s service book of eight tones)
  • On Dragons and Ghosts

The Arabic Translation

It is believed that the homily on the Annunciation was the first work to be translated into Arabic. We can find a big part of the Arabic text in the manuscript 4226 of the Library of Strasbourg (France), a copy achieved in 885 AD.http://www.amazon.fr/Homily-Annunciation-John-Damascus-ebook/dp/B00C1SS0NS/

Later in the 10th century, Antony, superior of the monastery of St. Simon (near Antioch) translated a corpus of saint 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.Nasrallah, Saint Jean de Damas, son époque, sa vie, son oeuvre, Harissa, 1930, p.180

Most manuscripts give the text of the letter to Cosmas,http://www.amazon.fr/letter-Damascus-Cosmas-Arabic-ebook/dp/B00BZVMDTY/ the philosophical chapters,http://www.amazon.fr/Philosophical-chapters-Arabic-ebook/dp/B00BZWCB1I/ the theological chapters and five other small works.Nasrallah, Joseph. Histoire III, 273-281 Since March 2013, a first edition of this translation is available on the web.http://www.amazon.fr/Philosophical-chapters-Arabic-Damascus-ebook/dp/B00BZWCB1I

In 1085, Mikhael, a monk from Antioch wrote the Arabic life of the Chrysorrhoas.http://www.amazon.fr/arabic-life-John-Damascus-ebook/dp/B00BYHJ7UM/ This work was first edited by Bacha in 1912 and then translated in many languages (German, Russian and English).