The Syrian theologian St. John of Damascus (ca. 680-ca. 750) opposed the Byzantine emperor in the controversy over religious images. He is considered the greatest medieval theologian of the Eastern Church. Little is known of the early life of St. John...

JOHN OF DAMASCUS, also known as John Damascene, was an eighth-century Christian saint, church father, monastic, theologian, author, and poet. Little is known with certitude about John's life. The dates of both his birth and his death are...

John of Damascus(C. 675–C. 750) John, whose secular name was Mansur, was born in Damascus probably in the third quarter of the seventh century. His father and grandfather had been prominent in the fiscal administration of Syria, and it is...

John of Damascus, from the house of Mansur, is one of the most respected theologians in the Eastern tradition, one of only three people to share the official title ‘the Theologian’. John’s influence is hard to establish directly, but...

Saint John of Damascus (Arabic: يحيى ابن منصور Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr; Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος/Iôannês Damaskênos; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene,...

CHORAL AND SONG RACHMANINOFF:The Bells/ TANEYEV: John of Damascus [ ] Mescheriakova; La?in, Chernov; Moscow State Chamber Choir, Russian National Orchestra, Pletnev. Transliterated texts and translations. DG 289 471 029-2 Though Rachmaninoff's lush, mellifluous style seems at odds with the obsessively...

Damascus's Splendid Umayyad Mosque Set to Welcome Pope John Paul II Habeeb Salloum is a Toronto-based free-lance writer specializing in food and travel. From the dawn of Islam, Damascus has been synonymous with its Umayyad mosque, one of the most sacred structures...

In the following essay, Sahas examines John of Damascus's criticisms of Islam as an idolatrous and superstitious heresy, and contends that he had an extensive knowledge of early Islamic theology.

In the following essay, originally delivered as a lecture in 1963, Meyendorff contends that although there was some sophisticated understanding on each side of the Christian-Moslem confrontation, the two realms generally "remained impenetrable" in terms of real influence. The critic also discusses the superficiality of the interpretations of Islam that were instituted largely by John of Damascus.

In the essay below, originally published in 1932, McGiffert locates the theological work of John of Damascus within the broader context of the early Christian church. In particular, the critic focuses on the third book of the Sources of Knowledge—the Exposition of the Orthodox Faith—finding that it provided no new or profound insights, but acknowledging that it significantly influenced the theology of the Eastern church for many ensuing decades.