Jean Damascène

Jean Mansour or Jean of Damas known as Jean Damascène , born towards 676 and dead on December 5th 749, Christian theologist, Father of the Church and Doctors of the Church. Called in Arabic " Mansour ibn Sarjoun" (Victorious, wire of Serge) . Festival on December 4th.

Resulting from an Arab big family of origin of Damas, it serves the caliph as minister. This last decides to Islamize its administration into 720 and drives out it. Then, renonçant in the world, after its controversy with the Byzantine emperor Leon III who was favorable to the iconoclasts and which wanted to make it condemn by the caliph, he becomes monk with the Laure of Saint-Sabas in Palestine.

He was the author of the Of fide orthodoxa , important doctrinal treaty. He launched out in the controversy with the Islam, which he classified among the Hérésie S. He attentively compared the biblical accounts with their versions included in the Coran. He was one of the principal defenders of the holy images and their veneration by joining together the essence of the theological argumentation against the Byzantine emperors iconoclasts. He is also one of the principal Byzantine hymnographes and the liturgy owes him the texts of crossbred Easter.

The Byzantine iconography represents it with a turban to mean the origins of its family and her knowledge of the Arab language. His/her father, Serge, obtained caliphs ommayades whom they save Damas the basilica Midsummer's Day Baptiste: it was destroyed only 70 years after the Moslem conquest.

It had a particular veneration for the memory of two great holy martyrdoms:

Thècle d' Iconium, with which the tomb is honoured with Maaloula, close to Damas and
Barbara d' Héliopolis, honoured not far from there with Baalbek.

And he died the day of the Holy-Barbara, on December 4th, 749. He was declared Doctors of the Church by the Pope Leon XIII in 1890.

See also: List of the saints of the orthodoxe Church

Texts of Jean Damascène in external Bonds

L '''' Exposed orthodoxe faith ''' (Of fide orthodoxa), followed 3rd ''' Speech for the defense of the icons ''', in French translation
the gun of the crossbred ''' of Easter '''

External bonds

Holy Jean Damascène on Nominis
University of Balamand: St John off Damascus, Life, Writings, Icons
Life of saint Jean Damascène, writings, hymnology

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