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“May you live in interesting times,” is
a statement generally held to be a mild curse.
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However, St. John of Damascus lived in such
times.
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He is one of the great Church Fathers and
lived in an era when Orthodox doctrine was
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maturing, even as it confronted challenges
from both inside and outside the Church.
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One external challenge came through the rise
of Islam, with St. John becoming the first
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Christian writer to approach the new faith
from Arabia in a systematic manner.
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He defended the divinity of Christ against
the claims of Islam, and the veneration of
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Holy Icons against attacks both from Islam,
as well as, from within the Christian community.
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Born around AD 675, he came from a long aristocratic
line in Damascus.
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Both his father and grandfather had been protosymbulli,
or “chief financial officers” in the Christian
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Roman administration of this illustrious city,
the jewel of the Eastern part of the Empire.
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In order to understand the importance of St.
John of Damascus, we must go back a couple
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of generations, to mid-April 634.
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The Christian Roman Empire of the East had
been exhausted by a twenty-year long conflict
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with Persia.
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Both sides were severely weakened.
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In the meantime, a new power had arisen in
Arabia, which had racked up a series of rapid
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and impressive victories in the East.
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This was the army of Islam.
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The "prophet" Muhammad had died, but the military
advances continued.
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The Islamic armies set siege to Damascus and
nearly starved the city.
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At the helm of the Muslims was a ferocious
warrior named Khālid ibn al Walīd who had
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gained a reputation as the “Sword of Islam.”
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He had led the armies which unified Arabia
under the banner of the prophet Muhammad,
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and had scored impressive victories in Persia.
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Khālid, a harsh and war-like figure, now
had his sights set on Christian Roman territory
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and the renowned city of Damascus.
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As defeat seemed imminent, a small band of
Damascenes approached a deputy of the feared
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Muslim commander and negotiated fairly generous
terms of surrender.
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Christians would be allowed to worship in
their sacred places, which would not be harmed
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by the victors.
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Those who did not wish to live under Muslim
rule would be allowed three days’ safe passage
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to emigrate to other Christian Roman cities.
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Once the deal was struck, it was brought to
Khālid, who objected at first, because he
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thought the agreement was too lenient.
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But he then relented and accepted the surrender
of the city.
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Once the three days had passed, however, Khalid
changed his mind.
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He could not reconcile with the fact that
so many of the Christians had left the city.
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He ordered his troops to pursue the refugees
into the desert.
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Once they caught up with them on the sixth
day, they surrounded them, defeated the Christian
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soldiers fleeing with them, and slaughtered
indiscriminately, taking loot and prisoners
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back to Khalid.
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Damascus, the most important city in the eastern
part of the Christian Roman Empire was now
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under Muslim rule; an unthinkable disaster.
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But it could have been much worse.
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Among this small band of Damascene diplomats
who cut the deal with the Muslims, was Mansūr
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ibn Sarjūn, St. John’s grandfather.
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September 19th 634, when Damascus officially
fell under Muslim rule, is a crucial date
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in both Christian and Muslim history.
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This was no unimportant city.
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It was a highly cultured and intellectual
center that had an ancient history and an
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urbane citizenry.
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Up to this point, there was absolutely no
other city of its caliber in the nascent Islamic
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empire.
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This was the first real encounter of Muslim
rulers with a highly literate Christian population.
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On the side of the Christians, this was a
major loss.
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As the descendant of a privileged family,
John was given an excellent education.
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His father made sure that he studied not only
major Christian texts, but also those of classical
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Greece, and even those of the Muslims.
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He became fluent in Arabic and also in Greek.
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Reportedly, his education was furthered by
a Nestorian monk named Cosmas who had been
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a prisoner, but who was saved from execution
by John’s father on condition that he would
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tutor the boy.
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John absorbed like a sponge all that was presented
to him, mastering philosophy, religion, astronomy,
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geometry and music.
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He was definitely prepared to assume his father’s
position in the Umayyad court.
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However, John’s administrative career proved
to be short lived.
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He abandoned his prestigious post in the year
725, after only a few years of service in
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the Muslim court, to become a monk at the
monastery of Mar Saba in the desert of Palestine
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not far from Jerusalem.
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While the Umayyad Muslims were initially tolerant
of both Christians and Jews within their domains,
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they nonetheless encouraged them to convert
to Islam.
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In this, they were often successful for several
reasons; the most obvious reason was that
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they held power.
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For many, the fact that they ruled was sufficient
reason to believe that they were favored by
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God.
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For the more cynical, conversion was a simple
matter of social advancement; not only could
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one become exempt from the head-tax, the Jizya,
levied on People of the Book, but one could
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possibly get a better social or professional
position, as well.
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There were still more subtle reasons for the
conversion from Christianity to Islam.
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Islam claims to be the “completion” of
God’s revelation, which was first given
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to the Jews and subsequently to the Christians.
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The Qur’an recounts stories of Biblical
prophets like Moses, Jonah, David and others.
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Sometimes it affirms what Christians or Jews
believe, yet at other times it claims to “correct”
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their beliefs.
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From a Christian point of view, the most serious
of these claims was the accusation that Christianity
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exaggerated the importance of Jesus, whom
Islam considers a prophet, by declaring him
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to be God Incarnate.
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To the Muslims, as also to the Jews, this
is a blasphemous concept.
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The idea of the Incarnation of God in Jesus
proved to be a stumbling block for many.
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On the one hand, the Qur’an gave an explanation
for the ministry of Jesus as prophet, which
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Jewish converts could easily accept, while
on the other hand, Christians who were uncomfortable
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with the notion of God becoming man, found
in Islam an understanding, which still honored
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Jesus without declaring him God.
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Hence, the monk John desperately watched from the monastery of his obedience both Christians
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and Jews converting to Islam.
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As an Orthodox Christian, this bothered him
deeply.
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He thought of Islam as a Christian heresy.
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Christology was still debated during his lifetime.
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Even though six Ecumenical Councils had made
public pronouncements on this crucial issue,
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there were still vociferous proponents for
alternative views within the Roman Empire
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and beyond.
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Although the Muslim advocacy of a fully human,
but prophetic Jesus did not seem that far-fetched
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to many people, it greatly offended those
who held to the Orthodox Faith, including
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St. John of Damascus.
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This issue of the Divinity of Christ motivated
St. John to defend the Orthodox faith with
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methodical and literate apologetics aimed
at a learned audience.
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His magnum opus is a defense of the faith
in three parts, called The Fount of Wisdom
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which begins with a philosophical introduction
that defines the terms on which he builds
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his argument.
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Then, he examines Christian heresies to which
he includes Islam.
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Finally, he concludes with an exposition on
the Orthodox Faith, which is encyclopedic
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in scope and stands out as the first systematic
philosophical defense of Christianity.
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His approach to Islam is the first erudite
Christian response to the new faith.
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It is not a mere polemic, since St. John was
steeped in Muslim culture and knew its texts
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well.
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He was fully aware of the criticisms leveled
against Christianity and answered them directly.
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While the fall of Damascus to the Muslims
was a major loss for the Christian Roman Empire
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of the East, St. John’s steadfastness in
the Orthodox Faith and his patient witness
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in the Umayyad Empire, provides something
of a silver lining, since this event created
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the need for a meticulous examination of belief
and a clear definition of Orthodoxy.
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St. John’s erudition in both classical Greek
and Christian texts would have served well
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in any case, however, it was his intimate
familiarity with Islam as a faith and with
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the intricacies of the Muslim Caliphate that
proved both unique and fortuitous in his writings.
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He was able to read the Qur’an from a Christian
perspective in his defense of Christianity.
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He fully understood that the Qur’an acknowledges
the virgin birth (Q 19: 28‒29) and calls
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Christ the “Word of God” and the “spirit
of God” (Q 4:171), yet asserts that God
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is not begotten, nor does he beget (Q 112:
2‒3) and that Jesus is a created “servant”
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of God (Q 43:59).
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He also saw that while the Qur’an holds
Jesus in high esteem as a righteous prophet,
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it claims that the crucifixion never took
place.
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It proposes instead, that a shadow of Jesus
was nailed to the cross in his place (Q 4:157)
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because God loved him and took Him to Himself
(Q 4:158).
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This is based on the Muslim understanding
that the execution of an innocent man is unjust,
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and God would not allow it, because He is
just.
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The crux of the matter is the Incarnation.
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This is a serious stumbling block for Islam.
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The Christian claims that Jesus is God and
part of the Holy Trinity leads Muslims to
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call them “associators,” which is a form
of idolatry that “associates” anything
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else with God.
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St. John uses the Qur’an itself in the defense
of Christianity and turns the argument around
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accusing Muslims of being “mutilators”
of the Godhead:
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‘As long as you say that Christ is the Word
of God and Spirit, why do you accuse us of
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being Associators?
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For the word, and the spirit, is inseparable
from that in which it naturally has existence.
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Therefore, if the Word of God is in God, then
it is obvious that He is God.
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If, however, He is outside of God, then, according
to you, God is without word and without spirit.
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Consequently, by avoiding the introduction
of an associate with God you have mutilated
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Him.
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It would be far better for you to say that
He has an associate than to mutilate Him,
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as if you were dealing with a stone or a piece
of wood or some other inanimate object.
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Thus, you speak untruly when you call us Associators;
we retort by calling you Mutilators of God.’
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This was far more useful than a mere refutation
of anti-Christian claims drawing from Biblical
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texts or appeals to classical philosophy.
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He based his arguments on Qura’nic thought
and turned the argument in on itself.
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There is no doubt that this has been an effective
witness, for St. John’s apologetics have
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survived the test of time and have been consulted
for centuries by students of theology.
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While St. John was involved in doctrinal discussions
with the Muslims, the official church in the
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Christian Roman Empire was embroiled in another
controversy regarding the use of icons.
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In the years leading up to 717 AD when Leo
the Third, the Isaurian, became Emperor, the
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Empire had suffered a long period of unstable
rule, owing largely to the constant encroachment
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of Muslim invasions into Christian territory.
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Leo III was a clever and authoritative man
who managed to deceive and defeat the powerful
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armies under Maslamah ibn Abd al Malik who
had hitherto seemed invincible.
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This stopped their inexorable advance towards
Constantinople and forced them into negotiations
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with the Romans.
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Leo proved to be an adept diplomat as well,
keeping them in a constant state of check.
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This allowed the brilliant and powerful emperor
to turn his attention towards the inner unity
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of his domains.
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Emperor Leo, as sovereign of the Christian
Empire and encouraged by the support of the
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nobility and the military, sought to impose
his ideology on the Church as well.
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He was genuinely interested in ecclesial affairs
and was aware of the controversies of the
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Faith.
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He also believed that the recent misfortunes
of the Empire, including Muslim advances,
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as well as several earthquakes, were a result
of God’s judgment for the sin of worshipping
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graven images.
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His views, however, were not shared by the
majority of the clergy and the Christians
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of the Empire.
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The veneration of Icons was prevalent everywhere.
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Undeterred by the opposition to his views,
the Emperor forbade the veneration of Icons
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by royal edict in 726.
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This was followed, four years later, by a
complete ban on public display of religious
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images, ordering that relics and images be
destroyed, beginning with the golden image
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of Christ at the entrance of the Royal Palace.
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Iconoclasm was now imperial law, and Leo enforced
his policies with a vengeance.
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He dismissed the Patriarch of Constantinople
and replaced him with one who supported his
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policies.
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This was followed by the dismissal of dissident
clergy.
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He then closed the ecclesial academy in Constantinople
temporarily, because of their reluctance to
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accept his decree.
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He even sent a task force to Rome to put pressure
on the Pope, who also favored icons.
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As fortune had it, his legates never arrived
in Rome because of bad weather.
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This only strengthened the Bishop of Rome’s
conviction, who decreed that iconoclasts should
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be excommunicated from churches in his jurisdiction.
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St. John of Damascus, living in the monastery
of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, which was now
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under the Muslim Umayyad rule, remained out
of Leo’s reach.
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He was able to write freely and proceeded
to produce three powerful theological treatises
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in defense of the veneration of Holy Icons.
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He centered his argument against the charge
that veneration of images is idolatry, on
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the idea that they provide affirmation of
the Incarnation of God:
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“Of old God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed
was not depicted at all.
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But now that God has appeared in the flesh
and lived among men, I make an image of God
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that can be seen.
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I do not worship matter.
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I worship the God of matter, who became matter
for my sake and deigned to inhabit matter,
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who worked out my salvation through matter.
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I will not cease from honoring that matter
which works for my salvation.
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I venerate it, though not as God.”
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Emperor Leo’s rejection of icons came against
the larger backdrop of iconoclastic sentiment
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among both Jews and Muslims, who were also
opposed to any depiction of God.
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St. John, however, focuses on icons as a reminder
of Christ’s divinity, which is the central
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teaching of Orthodox Christianity.
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He notes that veneration of holy images is
a long-standing part of Christian tradition
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and that the honor paid to icons is reverence
offered to the prototype of the image, rather
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than the image itself.
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He also points out that,
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“Often, when we do not have the passion
of Our Lord in mind, a picture brings it to
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mind and we fall down in worship of Him.”
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His major contribution to Christian theological
thought is his differentiation between “Veneration”
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(proskynesis-προσκύνησις) and “Worship”
(latreia-λατρεία), which were used
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interchangeably until this point.
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He points out that although both Veneration
and Worship are offered to God, only Veneration
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is offered to the saints and the Holy Icons.
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St. John’s defense was brilliant, but it
fanned the flames of the controversy in the
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Christian Empire.
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Intellectually, he won the day, and the advocates
of iconoclasm had to seek other arguments.
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Yet, the Emperor was not easily deterred,
so he aimed his vitriol at St. John against
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all logic.
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In an act of revenge against the saint, the
Emperor had a letter forged in St. John’s
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hand, in which he was supposedly offering
his help, betraying the Caliphate in favor
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of the Christian Empire.
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The saint’s biographers tell us that the
ruse worked and that the angry Muslim potentate
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threw his former trusted councilor into a
dungeon, and had his right hand severed so
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that he may not be able to use it to write
such letters again.
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Tradition has it, that the Theotokos quickly
restored the saint’s hand, a miracle which
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caused the Caliph to repent and release the
saint from prison.
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This story is the origin of the Holy Icon
of the three-handed Theotokos, as the grateful
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saint attached a silver image of his restored
hand to his icon of the Virgin.
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Besides his theological prowess, St. John
of Damascus is also reputed to have had a
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beautiful singing voice as well as the ability
to compose music and write poetry.
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He composed hundreds of liturgical hymns,
including the paschal canon which is still
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widely used today.
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St. John of Damascus lived in the proverbial
“interesting times,” but he is certainly
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one of the reasons which made those times
so interesting.
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The Christian Church had flourished in the
Roman Empire for three centuries by the time
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of the saint’s birth, but it continued to
be beset by doctrinal debates and disagreements.
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Although the Ecumenical Councils had made
many definitive statements on belief, it was
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St. John of Damascus who wrote the first truly
systematic philosophical treatise exposing
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the Orthodox Christian Faith.
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St. John’s excellent education and remarkable
intelligence were tried and tested by the
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serious challenges of Islamic claims.
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As the successes of the Muslim armies and
the rapid expansion of the Umayyad Empire,
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even into Damascus, proved to be far more
dangerous to Christian fidelity than just
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as a mere heresy, St. John’s theological
prowess showed him to be uniquely qualified
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to speak and write in defense of the faith
in Christ as God, utilizing his knowledge
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of both Islamic and Christian beliefs and
practices.
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He thus defended the Orthodox Christian faith
heroically in the land of the Caliph.
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Likewise, St. John of Damascus stood up to
the Iconoclast Emperor Leo III, defending
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the veneration of Holy Images as an affirmation
of the Incarnation of God in Jesus, the central
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doctrine of the Church, which distinguishes
Christianity and sets it apart from the other
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monotheistic religions of this time.
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St. John of Damascus feared neither Caliph
nor Emperor in his devotion to Christ and
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the Orthodox Faith.
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Continuing to write hymns and treatises, he
spent the remaining years of his life in the
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Monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, where
he surrendered his sanctified soul to the
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Lord on December 4th, in the year 749 AD.
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His monastic cell, where he wrote his treatises,
along with his grave, have been points of
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veneration for pilgrims visiting the monastery
of Mar Saba since that time.
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St. John of Damascus, please pray for us that
we may remain faithful to Christ, as you did.
