Saint of the Day - John of Damascus (December 4th)
Channel: House of Prayers for Everyone (HOPE)
Date: 2023-12-03

St. John of Damascus was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, apologist, and one of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church best known for his strong defense of icons. His feast day is every 4 December.

Family Background

John was born in Damascus in 676 to a prominent Damascene Christian Arab family. His father served as an official of the early Umayyad Caliphate. His grandfather was a prominent Byzantine official of Damascus who had been responsible for the taxes of the region during the reign of Emperor Heraclius.

His father wanted him to learn the books of Muslims and Greeks, making him knowledgeable of the Quran and becoming bilingual. Under the instruction of Cosmas, John made great advances in music, astronomy, and theology.

Later, John would serve as a senior official in the fiscal administration of the Umayyad Caliphate. He then left Damascus around 706 to go to Jerusalem. There, he became a monk at Mar Saba and was ordained as a priest.

Controversies and Miracle of Theotokos

John of Damascus has composed hymns and perfected the canon which is a structured hymn form used in Byzantine Rite liturgies. He was also one of the first known Christian critics of Islam.

In the early 8th century, a movement called iconoclasm critically opposed to the veneration of icons, has gained acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, Emperor Leo III issued his first edict against the veneration of images and their exhibition in public places.

John defended the holy images in his "Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images". He also adopted a simplified style that was followed by the common people, stirring rebellion among the iconoclasts.

Emperor 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.

Days later, John asked for the restitution of his hand and prayed fervently before the icon of Theotokos (Mary, Mother of God), thereupon, his hand is said to have been miraculously restored.

In gratitude for this miraculous healing, he attached a silver hand to the icon, which thereafter became known as the "Three-handed", or Tricherousa. That icon is currently located in the Hilandar Monastery of the Holy Mountain.

He was later condemned by anathema by the iconoclastic Council of Hieria in 754 due to his commitment to iconodulism (religious service to icons, kissing and veneration, incense, and candlelight).

Death and Veneration

John of Damascus is said to have died on 4 December 749 at the monastery in Mar Saba, Jerusalem, Bilad al-Sham, Umayyad Caliphate, though the cause of his death was never known.

In 1890, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII and was inserted in the General Roman Calendar with 27 March as his initial feast day. Later, it was moved to 4 December, the date of his death, in 1969.

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