Saint John of Damascus spent most of his life in the monastery of
Saint Sabas, near Jerusalem, under Muslim rule, indeed, protected by it. Born in Damascus c. 676, John received a classical and theological education, and followed
his father in a government position under the Muslims. He resigned after a few years so that he could go to the monastery of Saint Sabas. Saint John is considered the last of
the Greek Church Fathers (his writings)Three points to remember about the Damascene:
1. he is known for his opposition
to the iconoclasts, who opposed the veneration of images. Paradoxically, it was
the Eastern Christian emperor Leo who forbade the practice, and it was because
John lived in Muslim territory that his enemies could not silence him.
2. he is famous for his treatise, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, a summary of
the Greek Fathers. It is said that this book is for Eastern equivalent of
Aquinas' Summa.
3. he is known as a poet, one of the two greatest in the
Eastern Church (the other being Romanus the Melodist). His devotion to the Theotokos
(the Blessed Virgin Mary) and his sermons on her feasts are well known.
St. John of Damascus' half-brother, St. Cosmas of Maiouma was a fine poet as well, not to mention St. Gregory of Nazianzus, the Theologian. But none can hold a candle to St. Ephrem the Syrian, the Harp of the Holy Spirit!