St. John Damascene
Doctor of Christian Art 676 - 749
Also known as the Doctor of the Assumption, St. John Damascene is known as the Doctor of Christian Art because of his astounding work throughout his life in the preservation and promotion of sacred images. He was the father of the religious medal, crucifixes, religious pictures, stained-glass windows, statues and all of these devotional objects which became such a huge part of the Catholic tradition until today. He was responsible for championing the line of the Apostles Creed which states ‘I believe in the Communion of Saints.’ In his work, The Fount of Knowledge, St. John Damascene travels deeply into the Incarnation, and it is this work which earned him the title also as Doctor of the Assumption.
St. John Damascene’s Mohammedan Roots
Probably the only Doctor of the Church to spend his entire life under the rule of Islam, St. John Damascene was born to Christian parents in Damascus and educated under Cosmas. He was captured in an Islamic raid and was purchased by Mansur, John’s father. When his father passed away, he took over his position as chief revenue officer and counselor of the Caliph Abdul Malek.
St. John Damascene Becomes a Fighter for the Church
Emperor Leo the Isaurian in 726 A.D. issued an edict causing the prohibition of image veneration. It was at this point that St. John Damascene found his calling. Staunchly defending the Catholic position, many people from various empires wanted to hurt or kill him, but could not because he was under the protection of the Caliph.
St. John Damascene Resigns and Becomes a Monk
After his difficulties, he felt that his calling lay elsewhere. He resigned his post and joined the monastery St. Sabas Laura near Jerusalem. Denounced a few times, his reputation was eventually restored and he was ordained a priest. He spent much of his time in the monastery writing to defend the true Christian positions. He wrote the first summa, which would become a Catholic tradition with other fathers.
Pope Loe XIII made him a doctor of the Church in 1890.
St. John Damascene’s Written Works
The First Summa, Sacred Parallels, De Fida Orthodoxa, The Fount of Knowledge or Fount of Wisdom, Dialectica, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Many Byzantine Liturgical Hymns, Innumerable Sermons
The Sixteenth Doctor of the Catholic Church
The Eighteenth Doctor of the Catholic Church
Sources: The 33 Doctors of the Church – By Fr. Christopher Rengers, A Catholic Dictionary – By William Addis, The Writings of the Early Church Fathers (Thirty Eight Volumes): Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene – Hendrickson Publishers, A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham – Edited by Eugene R. Fairweather, A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present – By Bernhard Lohse
St. John Damascene
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