Catholic Fire

December 4th is the feast of St. John Damascene, Patristic Father and Doctor of the Church. St. John Damascene is the illustrious champion of sacred images. Saint John Damascene (also known as St. John of Damascus) was born In Damascus, Syria around 676 AD into a rich family and spent the early years of his adult life serving as the official representative of the Christian community to the Muslim Caliph. He later abandoned this political task to join the monastery of St. Sabas near Jerusalem where he became a priest and ultimately a bishop. St. John was such a great orator that he was known as Chrysorrhoas ("golden-stream"). St. John Damascene is known as the last of the Greek Fathers of the Church. He was a strong defender of the use of images (icons) in Christian worship against the iconoclasts and is famous for his treatise  Exposition of the Orthodox Faith  that sums up the doctrinal heritage of the earlier Greek Fathers. In this great synthesis, we find a sy...

December 4th is the feast of St. John Damascene, Doctor of the Church. Saint John Damascene (also known as St. John of Damscus) was born In Damascus, Syria around 676 AD into a rich family and spent the early years of his adult life serving as the official representative of the Christian community to the Muslim Caliph. He later abandoned this political task to join the monastery of St. Sabas near Jerusalem where he became a priest and ultimately bishop. St. John Damascene is known as one of the last of the Fathers of the Church. He was a strong defender of the use of images (icons) in Christian worship against the iconoclasts and wrote a book "On the Orthodox Faith" that sums up the doctrinal heritage of the earlier Greek Fathers. In this great synthesis we find a systematic treatment of the central Christian doctrines, especially the Trinity, Creation, and the Incarnation. St. John Damascene's treatment of the Sacraments is also extensive, and his emphasis on the ...