(2nd half of the 7th century - before 754)
Little is known for certain about the biographical details of the childhood and youth of St. John of Damascus. There is reason to believe that Saint John was born in Damascus in the second half of the 7th century.
He came from a well-known and very wealthy family. His ancestors were directly related to the highest power structures that ruled in Syria. The monk's grandfather, Mansur ibn Serjun, held the position of head of the apparatus of the tax service of Damascus, and, thanks to his personal qualities, he retained this post even when the rulers changed.
About his son, Serjun ibn Mansur, in one of the chronicles of the end of the 7th century, it is reported both as a Christian and as a keeper of treasures. Judging by the estimates of the researchers, John's ancestors were probably of Syrian rather than Arabic origin.
It is believed that a well-educated monk from Calabria, who was ransomed from captivity by the father of John of Damascus, Sergius (ibn Serjun), played a significant role in the education of the monk. At one time, having seen this slave, shedding bitter tears, and asking him what was the reason for such inconsolable crying, Sergius heard in response that he was sorry that he might have to die, without having time to transfer his spiritual wealth to anyone (accumulated experience).
As it turned out, the monk had extensive knowledge in theology, philosophy, music, dialectics, rhetoric, physics, and astronomy. What exactly he taught his ward is unknown, but based on the subsequently compiled theological and song writing works of John of Damascus, it is not difficult to guess that he managed to put a lot of useful things into his soul. Together with John, the adopted son of Sergius, Cosmas (the future Saint Cosmas of Mayum) also studied with the monk.
Having received a proper education, John, as the son of a high-ranking subject, took a place in the power hierarchy that corresponded to the position of his father. There is no unanimous opinion regarding the type of his professional activity. According to some sources, John served in the leadership of the tax collection service, and according to others, he served as the Damascus mayor, the first minister of the caliph.
Surrounded by privileges and honor, John of Damascus, however, did not consider the path of a secular career and material well-being to be the best path. His heart was already directed towards Christ. It is claimed that already in those days he stood up for the defense of the Orthodox faith from various heretics.
But now, by the Providence of God, he was destined to face the final choice between worldly happiness and complete renunciation of the affairs of this world. When iconoclastic disputes broke out under the emperor Leo the Isaurian, and then, after 728, cruel persecutions of the admirers of Orthodox icons unfolded, John of Damascus directed the power of his talent, his knowledge, his zeal to the fight against iconoclastic heresy.
In the end, the activity of the monk became known and began to irritate even the iconoclast emperor himself. And then the heretics used to fight the fighter for the purity of the faith with their favorite heretical weapon - a lie. Only this time, the lie was not directed at the tenets of faith, but at undermining the reputation of their defender. John of Damascus was slandered before the caliph, accused of conspiracy and treason. Moreover, for this, how sophisticated, so shameful way of slander was chosen. The scribe, forging the saint's handwriting, wrote a letter on his behalf to the emperor promising to surrender the city of Damascus. Then this letter was handed over to the caliph. As a result, John was subjected to disgrace and cruel punishment: cutting off his hand.
But by special Divine intervention, after the tearful, heartfelt prayer of the sufferer before the icon of the Mother of God, the severed hand, leaning against the wound and tied with a scarf, was miraculously healed (at that time he was as if in a dream), the desecrated honor was restored, and the detractors were put to shame. Subsequently, in memory and gratitude for this event, the monk attached to the icon an image of a hand made of silver. In honor of this event, the image of the Virgin "Three Hands" was established in the iconography
John was again offered a place at court, but he refused the post and, having distributed all his property, freeing the slaves, retired from this world, joining the ranks of the monastic brotherhood. It is known that monastic tonsure was carried out in one of the Palestinian monasteries. There is a legend that the Lavra of Savva the Sanctified became this monastery. Together with monasticism, John also adopted a new name, under which he became famous before God and the Church - John (before that, he was called like his grandfather: Mansur).
They say that at first the monks were wary of him, because after all, he was a former nobleman. Many refused to take him under their mentorship. Finally, a stern ascetic was found who agreed to take him into obedience. True, at the same time, a firm condition was set for John, so that he resolutely refused to engage in any literary work. And he refused.
But then it happened that a relative of one monk died, after which he, overcome with grief, began to beg John to write something comforting about this. John refused for a long time, but then he nevertheless decided and composed funerary verses. The verses turned out to be beautiful, but the saint's mentor, the elder, who forbade him to engage in writing, became indignant and even kicked him out of his cell. Then John began to ask him for forgiveness. Other monastic brethren joined this request. Finally, the elder agreed to forgive the monk, but he, according to his word, had to cleanse the monastery of impurities with his own hands.
John, showing sincere humility, fulfilled the assignment, which touched the heart of the stern confessor. Meanwhile, the Mother of God Herself stood up for John, appearing to the elder in a vision. After this incident, the elder blessed John for literary work for the glory of Orthodoxy.
According to some sources, at one time, Patriarch John of Jerusalem summoned John of Damascus to himself and consecrated him to the rank of presbyter. Soon the Patriarch reposed and John returned to his monastery. The year was 735.
After the throne of the autocrat passed to Copronymus, the struggle with icons broke out with even greater ferocity. John of Damascus, arriving in Constantinople, boldly denounced the emperor and the heretic bishops who looked into his mouth. It is alleged that at the Council of 754 (755) an anathematization was pronounced against St. John of Damascus. According to some reports, he was even subjected to imprisonment in prison.
The year of the death of the monk is not precisely established. It is believed that John of Damascus reposed in the Lord around 775-780.
Saint John was an exceptionally talented and prolific church writer. For all the vastness of the topics raised in his writings, it is difficult to find a place in them worthy of negative criticism. In this regard, John of Damascus is rightly recognized as one of the most sober and orthodox exponents of the Holy Tradition of the Church.
Among the most famous fundamental works of this father stands out. A characteristic feature of the named theological treatise, which distinguishes it from many other doctrinal manuals of that time, is a clear, systematic presentation, a brief but capacious explanation of the presented dogmatic truths.
Another, no less remarkable work can be called. Within the framework of this work, a clear explanation is given of the most important theological expressions and terms, including those formally borrowed from philosophy. The work is devoted to the enumeration and exposure of heresies: .
In addition, the monk composed many works of various orientations, including those dedicated to the most important Christian Holidays (see, for example: ; ; ) as well as hymnographic, song-writing nature (see: Paschal Canon).
Teacher of Orthodoxy, / piety to the teacher and purity, / universal lamp, / monastic God-inspired fertilizer, John the Wise, / with your teachings, thou hast enlightened all, spiritual barn, / pray to Christ God to be saved to our souls.
Songwriter and honest theorist, / the Church punisher and teacher / and the enemies of the resistance, John let us sing: we take up arms, the Cross of the Lord, / repel all heresies of charm / and like a warm intercessor to God // grants forgiveness of sins to everyone.
The Monk John of Damascus was born around the year 680 in the capital of Syria, Damascus, into a Christian family. His father, Sergius Mansur, was the treasurer at the court of the caliph. John had an adoptive brother, the orphaned youth Cosmas, whom Sergius took into his house. When the children grew up, Sergius took care of their education. At the Damascus slave market, he ransomed the learned monk Koemu from Calabria from captivity and instructed him to teach children. The boys showed extraordinary abilities and easily mastered the course of secular and spiritual sciences. After the death of his father, John took the post of minister and city governor at court.
At that time, the heresy of iconoclasm arose and quickly spread in Byzantium, supported by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717 - 741). Standing in defense of Orthodox icon veneration, John wrote three treatises Against Those Who Blame Holy Icons. The wise, inspired writings of John infuriated the emperor. But, since their author was not a Byzantine subject, he could neither be imprisoned nor executed. Then the emperor resorted to slander. On his orders, on behalf of John, a forged letter was drawn up in which the Damascus minister supposedly offered the emperor his help in conquering the Syrian capital. This letter and his hypocritically flattering answer to it Leo the Isaurus sent to the caliph. He immediately ordered that John be removed from office, cut off his right hand and hang it in the city square. On the same day, by evening, John's severed hand was returned. The monk began to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos and ask for healing. As he fell asleep, he saw the icon of the Mother of God and heard Her voice informing him that he was healed, and at the same time commanding him to work tirelessly with his healed hand. When he woke up, he saw that his hand was unharmed.
Upon learning of the miracle that testified to John's innocence, the caliph asked his forgiveness and wanted to restore his former position to him, but the monk refused. He distributed his wealth and, together with his adopted brother and fellow student Kosma, went to Jerusalem, where he entered as a simple novice in the monastery of Savva the Sanctified. It was not easy to find a spiritual guide for him. Of the monastic brethren, only one very experienced elder agreed to this, and he skillfully began to cultivate in his disciple the spirit of obedience and humility. First of all, the elder forbade John to write, believing that success in this field would cause pride. Once he sent the monk to Damascus to sell baskets made in the monastery, and instructed them to sell them much more than their real price. And so, having made a painful journey under the hot sun, the former nobleman of Damascus found himself in the market in torn clothes of a simple basket seller. But John was recognized by his former housekeeper and bought up all the baskets at the appointed price.
Once one of the monks died in the monastery, and the brother of the deceased asked John to write something to comfort him. John refused for a long time, but out of mercy, yielding to the requests of the dejected by grief, he wrote his famous funerary troparia. For this disobedience, the elder expelled him from his cell. All the monks began to ask for John. Then the elder entrusted him with one of the most difficult and unpleasant tasks - to remove impurities from the monastery. The monk here showed a model of obedience. After some time, the elder was instructed in a vision by the Most Pure and Most Holy Virgin Theotokos to remove the ban on John's writing. The Jerusalem Patriarch found out about the monk, ordained him a priest and made him a preacher at his cathedra. But St. John soon returned to the Lavra of St. Savva, where until the end of his days he spent time writing spiritual books and church hymns, and left the monastery only to denounce the iconoclasts at the Council of Constantinople in 754. He was subjected to imprisonment and torture, but he endured everything and, by the grace of God, remained alive. He died about 780, at the age of 104.
At that time, Leo the Isaurian reigned in Greece, who brutally, like a roaring lion, rebelled against God. Ejecting icons from holy churches, he betrayed them to flame, and mercilessly tormented the Orthodox believers and worshipers of holy icons with fierce torment. Hearing about this, John was kindled with zeal of piety, imitating Elijah the Thesbite and the Forerunner of Christ of the same name. Taking the sword of the Word of God, he began to cut off, as it were, the head, the heretical wisdom of the impious king; he sent many messages about the veneration of holy icons to those faithful who were known to him. In these epistles, on the basis of Holy Scripture and the ancient tradition of the God-bearing Fathers, he wisely showed how proper worship of holy icons should be rendered. John asked those to whom he wrote to show his message to other brothers of the same faith in order to confirm them in Orthodoxy. Thus the saint strove to fill the whole universe with his divinely inspired messages. Spreading throughout the Greek kingdom, they affirmed the Orthodox in piety, and hit the heretics as if with ostns. The rumor about this reached Tsar Leo himself, who, unable to endure the denunciation of his wickedness, called to himself heretics who were of like mind to him and commanded them that, assuming a false appearance of piety, they should find among the Orthodox some epistle of John, written by his own hand, and asked to read as if for their own benefit. After many efforts, the accomplices of this evil plan found somewhere among the believers one epistle, written by John's own hand, and, flatteringly asking for it, gave it into the hands of the king. The king instructed skillful scribes that, looking at the letter of John, they would write in the same letters on behalf of the holy message to him - King Leo, as if written by John himself and sent from Damascus. The message was this:
- Rejoice, king, and I rejoice in your power in the name of our common faith and render worship and due honor to your royal majesty. I inform you that our city of Damascus, which is in the hands of the Saracens, is poorly guarded and does not have strong guards at all, the army in it is weak and small. I beg you, be merciful to this city, for God's sake, send your courageous army. Showing the appearance that it intends to go to another place, it may accidentally attack Damascus, and then you will easily take the city into your possession, and I will help a lot in this, because the city and the whole country are in my hands.
Having written such a message to himself on behalf of John, the cunning king ordered the Saracen prince to write this on his behalf:
- There is nothing better, I think, than to have peace and be in friendship, for keeping peace promises is very commendable and pleasing to God; therefore, I wish to keep the peace concluded with you honest and faithful to the end. However, a certain Christian living in your state, with his frequent messages to me, encourages me to break the peace and promises me to give the city of Damascus into my hands without difficulty if I unexpectedly send my army. I am sending you one of those messages that this Christian wrote - this will convince you of my friendship, and in someone who dares to write to me like that, you will see treason and enmity and you will know how to execute him.
These two letters the wicked king Leo sent with one of his close associates to Damascus to the prince of the Saracens. Having accepted and read them, the prince called John and showed him the false letter that had been written to King Leo. John, reading and considering the epistle, said:
- The letters in this charter are somewhat similar to the letter of my hand, but it was not my hand that wrote this, for it never occurred to me to write to the king of Greece, it cannot be that I served my master slyly.
John realized that this was the work of an enemy, evil, heretical cunning. But the prince, having come into a rage, ordered to cut off the innocent John's right hand. John zealously asked the prince to wait and give him some time to clarify his innocence and the hatred that the evil heretical king Leo had for him, but he did not achieve what he asked. The greatly enraged prince ordered the execution to be carried out immediately. And they cut off John's right hand, that hand that strengthened the faithful in God; this hand, which denounced those who hated the Lord with its writings, instead of the ink with which it wrote about the veneration of icons, was dipped in its own blood. After the execution, John's hand was hung in the market, in the middle of the city, and John himself, exhausted from pain and loss of blood, was taken to his house. When evening came, having learned that the prince’s anger had already passed, the blessed one sent the following request to him:
- My illness is increasing, and it torments me inexpressibly, I can’t have consolation until my truncated hand hangs in the air; I beg you, my lord, order me to give my hand so that I can bury it in the ground, for I believe that if it is buried, then I will get relief from my illness.
The tormentor heeded this request and ordered to remove his hand from a public place and give it to John. Taking his truncated hand, John entered his prayer room and, falling to the ground before the holy icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, depicted with the Divine Infant in her arms, put the truncated hand to the joint and began to pray with tears and sighing coming from the depths of his heart:
- To the Lady of the Most Pure Mother, who gave birth to My God, here is my right hand cut off for the sake of Divine icons. You know what made the Lion angry, hurry to the rescue and heal my hand. The right hand of the Most High, incarnated from You, performs many miracles for the sake of Your prayers, therefore I pray that He heals my right hand at Your intercession. Oh Goddess! Let this hand of mine write what You Yourself allow in praise of You and Your Son, and may it help the Orthodox faith with its writings. You can do everything if you want, because You are the Mother of God.
Saying this with tears, John fell asleep and saw in a dream the Most Pure Mother of God, looking at him from the icon with bright and merciful eyes and saying:
“Your hand is now healthy, do not grieve for the rest, but work diligently with it, as you promised me, make it a scribe's cane.
Waking up, John felt his hand and saw it healed. He rejoiced in spirit about God his Savior and His Immaculate Mother, that the Almighty had performed such a miracle on him. Rising and raising his hands to heaven, he gave thanks to God and the Mother of God. And he rejoiced all night with the whole house, singing a new song:
– “Your right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength”(); Your right hand has healed my truncated right hand and will crush enemies who do not honor Your Honorable and Your Most Pure Mother image, and will destroy with it, for the exaltation of Your glory, enemies who destroy icons.
When John thus rejoiced with his family and sang thanksgiving songs, the neighbors heard this and, learning about the reason for his joy and gladness, they were very surprised. Soon the prince of Saracens also found out about this and, immediately calling John, ordered to show him a truncated hand. On the joint from which the hand was cut off, there remained, like a red thread, a sign formed by the will of the Mother of God, for an obvious indication of the former cutting off of the hand. Seeing this, the prince asked:
- What doctor and with what medicine so well connected the hand to the joint and so quickly healed and revived it, as if it were not severed and dead?
John did not hide the miracle and publicly said about it:
- My Lord, the Almighty Physician, having heard my fervent prayer through His Most Pure Mother, healed my wound with His Almighty power and made a healthy hand, which you ordered to cut off.
Then the prince exclaimed:
- Woe to me! Without considering the slander, I unjustly condemned and innocently executed you, good man. I beg you, forgive us that we condemned you so quickly and unreasonably, accept from us your former dignity and former honor and be our first adviser. From now on, without you and your advice, nothing will be done in our state.
But John, falling at the feet of the prince, asked for a long time that he would let him go and not prevent him from following his Lord with those monks who had denied themselves and lifted the yoke of the Lord upon themselves. The prince did not want to let him go, and he tried to convince John to remain the head of his house and the manager of his entire state. And there was a long dispute between them: one asked the other, one tried to defeat the other with a request. With difficulty, John achieved his goal: although not soon, he nevertheless begged the prince, and he was given the freedom to do what he pleases.
Returning to his home, John immediately distributed his countless possessions to the needy, set the slaves free, and he himself went to Jerusalem with his fellow student Cosmas. There, bowing to the holy places, he came to the Lavra of Saint Sava and began to beg the abbot to accept him like a stray sheep and introduce him to his chosen flock. The hegumen and all the brethren recognized Saint John, because he was already in glory and everyone knew him, thanks to his power, honors and great wisdom. And the abbot rejoiced that such a person had come into humility and poverty and wanted to be a monk. Having received him with love, the hegumen called on one of the brothers, the most experienced and labored in ascetic deeds, wishing to entrust him with John under his command, so that he would teach him both spiritual wisdom and monastic deeds. But he refused, not wanting to be the teacher of such a person who surpassed many in his learning. The hegumen called another monk, but this one did not want to, also the third and fourth and all the others refused, each of them confessed that he was unworthy to be the mentor of such a wise man, in addition, everyone was embarrassed by the nobility of John. After all, one simple-minded, but reasonable old man was called; he did not refuse to be John's tutor. Having accepted John into his cell and wishing to lay the foundations of a virtuous life in him, the elder first of all gave him the following rules: that he should not do anything of his own free will; to bring labors and fervent prayers to God as a kind of sacrifice; that he shed tears from his eyes, if he wants to cleanse the sins of the past life, for this is more valuable before God than any dear incense. These rules were the basis for those works that are done by bodily labors. For what befits the soul, the elder laid down the following rules: that John should not have anything worldly in his mind; not only did he not imagine any indecent images, but would keep his mind inviolable and clean from all vain predilection and empty pride; so that he does not boast of his wisdom and what he has learned, and would not think that he can comprehend everything perfectly to the end; not to seek any revelations and knowledge of hidden secrets; he would not hope until the end of his life that his mind is unshakable and cannot sin and fall into error; on the contrary, let him know that his thoughts are weak and his mind can sin, and therefore let him try not to allow his thoughts to be scattered and let him take care to concentrate them together, so that in this way his mind is enlightened by God, his soul is sanctified and his body is cleansed of all filth; let his body and soul be united with the mind and become three in the image of the Holy Trinity, and the person will become neither carnal nor spiritual, but spiritual in everything, changing by good will from two parts of a person - body and soul into the third and most important, that is, into the mind . Such a spiritual father prescribed rules for his spiritual son and a teacher for his disciple, adding the following words:
- Not only do not write messages to anyone, but do not even talk about any of the secular sciences. Keep silence with reason, for you know that not only our philosophers teach silence, but Pythagoras bequeathed to his disciples a long-term silence, and do not think that it is good to speak good things untimely. Listen to David who said: "silent even about the good"(). What benefit did he get from this? - Listen: "My heart is kindled within me"(), i.e. the fire of divine love, which was kindled in the prophet by meditation on God.
All these instructions of the elder left in the heart of John, like a seed on good ground, and, giving a sprout, took root, for John, living for a long time with that God-inspired elder, attentively followed all his instructions and listened to his orders, obeying him without hypocrisy, without contradiction and any grumbling; even in his thoughts he never resisted the commands of the elder. This is what he inscribed in his heart, as on the tablets, “Every commandment of the father, according to the teaching of the apostles, must be fulfilled without anger and doubt” (cf.). And what would be the use of one who is in obedience, to have deeds in his hands, and murmuring in his mouth, to carry out an order, but to contradict with his tongue or mind, and when will such a person be perfect? Never. In vain do such people labor and think they live virtuously; combining obedience with murmuring, they carry a serpent in their depths.
Blessed John, as a true novice, was uncomplaining in all the services commanded to him.
One day, wanting to test the obedience and humility of John, the elder gathered many baskets, the weaving of which was their occupation, and said to John:
“I have heard, child, that baskets are sold more expensively in Damascus than in Palestine, but we do not have much of the most necessary things in our cells, as you yourself see. So, take these baskets, go quickly to Damascus and sell them there. But be careful not to sell them below the quoted price.
And the elder set the price for the baskets much higher than they cost. A true novice did not argue with a word or in his mind, did not say that those baskets were not worth the appointed price and that the road was very long; he did not even think that he was ashamed to go to that city where everyone knows him and where he was previously known to everyone by his power; he did not say or think anything of the kind, showing himself to be an imitator of the submissive to death Lord Christ.
Saying: “Bless, Father,” and accepting a blessing from his spiritual father, John immediately took the baskets on his shoulders and hurried to Damascus. Dressed in torn clothes, John walked around the city and sold his baskets in the market. Those who wanted to buy those baskets asked how much they were selling for, and, having learned their high price, they scolded and laughed, insulted and reproached John. The acquaintances of the blessed one did not recognize him, because he, who once wore golden-woven clothes, was dressed in the rags of the poor, his face changed from fasting, his cheeks dried up and his beauty faded. But one citizen, who had once been John's servant, peering attentively into his face, recognized the saint and was surprised at his beggarly appearance. Taking pity and sighing from his heart, he approached John, as if he were a stranger, and gave him the price set for the saints for all the baskets - not because he needed baskets, but out of pity for such a person who from great fame and wealth came, for God's sake, into such humility and poverty. Having taken payment for the baskets, John returned to the one who sent him, as if he were a conqueror from the war, who by obedience and humility had cast down the enemy of the devil, and with him pride with vain glory.
After some time, one monk of that Lavra died. His own brother, left alone after the deceased, wept inconsolably for him. John consoled him for a long time, but he could not console his infinitely distressed and saddened brother. With tears, he began to ask John to write some touching funeral song for him to comfort and ease his sorrow. John refused, fearing to violate the commandment of the elder, who ordered him not to do anything without his command. But the mourning brother did not stop praying to John, saying:
“Why don’t you have mercy on my sorrowful soul and give me at least a small medicine in my great heart disease? If you were a bodily doctor and some bodily illness happened to me, and I asked you to heal me, would you really, having the opportunity to heal, reject me, and I would die from that illness? Would you give an answer to God for me, because you could help me and refused? Now I suffer more from heart disease and seek the smallest help from you, but you neglect me. And if I die of sorrow, won't you give a big answer to God for me? If you are afraid of the orders of the elder, then I will hide what you wrote in me so that your elder will not know and will not hear about it.
John finally bowed to such speeches and wrote the following funerary troparia:
- “What worldly sweetness”, “All human vanity”, “People who are restless in vain”, and others, which to this day are sung in the church at the funeral of the dead.
One day, when the elder left his cell somewhere, John, sitting in it, sang the troparia composed by him. After some time, the elder returned and, approaching the cell, he heard the singing of John. Immediately he hurriedly entered the cell and began to say to him in anger:
- Why did you forget your promises so soon and, instead of crying, rejoice and have fun, singing some songs to yourself?
John told the reason for his singing and, explaining that he was forced by his brother's tears to write songs, he began to ask the elder for forgiveness, falling on his face on the ground. However, the elder, implacable as a hard stone, immediately excommunicated the blessed one from his cohabitation and drove him out of his cell. The exiled John remembered the expulsion of Adam from paradise, which happened for disobedience, and wept bitterly in front of the elder's cell, as once before paradise. After this, he went to other fathers, whom he recognized as perfect in virtue, and begged them to go to the elder and beg him to forgive his sin. They went and prayed to the elder to forgive his disciple and accept him into his cell, but he remained adamant to their requests. One of the fathers told him:
- Impose a penance on the sinner, but do not excommunicate from cohabitation with you.
The old man said:
“This is the kind of penance I impose on him if he wants to be forgiven for his disobedience: let him cleanse the passages of all the cells with his own hands and wash all the stinking places in the laurel.
The fathers were ashamed of such words and left in embarrassment, marveling at the cruel and inflexible disposition of the old man. Meeting them and bowing as usual, John asked what their father had said to them. Having told about the cruelty of the elder, they did not dare to say that the elder appointed him for testing, they were ashamed to convey about such commands of the elder. But John persistently asked them to tell him what his father had appointed him, and, having learned, he rejoiced beyond their expectations, willingly accepting the work assigned to him, although it aroused shame. Having immediately prepared the vessels and tools for cleaning, he began to fulfill the command with zeal, touching the impurities with those hands that he had previously anointed with various aromas, and defiling with the impurities that right hand, which was miraculously healed by the Most Pure Theotokos. O deep humility of a wonderful husband and true novice! The elder was touched when he saw such humility of John, and, coming to him, embraced him and kissed his head, shoulders and hands, saying:
– Oh, what a sufferer for Christ have I made? Here is a true son of blessed obedience!
John, ashamed of the words of the elder, fell on his face before him, as before God, and, not exalting himself with his father’s laudatory speeches, but humbled himself even more, he prayed that he would forgive his sin. Taking John by the hand, the elder led him into his cell. John was so happy about this, as if paradise had been returned to him, and he lived with the elder in the same harmony.
After a little time, the Lady of the World, the Most Pure and Blessed Virgin, appeared in a night vision to the elder and said:
“Why did you stop the spring that can give forth sweet and abundant water—water better than that which flows out of a stone in the wilderness—the water that David longed to drink—the water that Christ promised the Samaritan woman? Do not prevent the fountain from flowing: it will flow abundantly, and the whole universe will flow and water, cover the seas of heresies and turn them into wonderful sweetness. Let those who are thirsty strive for this water, and those who do not have the money of a pure life, let them sell their addictions and, by imitation of the virtue of John, let them acquire purity in dogma and in deeds from her. He will take the harp of the prophets, the psalter of David, sing new songs to the Lord God, and surpass Moses and the songs of Miriam. Nothing compared to him are the useless songs of Orpheus, which are narrated in fables; he will sing a spiritual heavenly song and will imitate the cherubic hymns. He will make all the churches of Jerusalem like maidens playing tympanums, so that they sing to the Lord, announcing the death and resurrection of Christ; he will write the dogmas of the Orthodox faith and denounce heretical false teachings: “A good word has poured out from my heart; I say: my song is about the King ().
The next morning, the elder, calling John, said to him:
“O child of the obedience of Christ! Open your mouth to attract the spirit, and what you have received with your heart, speak with your mouth; let them speak of the wisdom that you have learned by contemplating God. Open your mouth not to stories, but to words of truth, and not to divination, but to dogmas. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, contemplating God, i.e. to a peaceful church; do not speak empty words thrown into the air, but those that the Holy Spirit has inscribed on your heart. Climb to the high Sinai of the Divine Vision and the revelation of the Divine mysteries, and for your great humility, by which you descended to the last depth, now ascend the church mountain and preach, preaching the gospel to Jerusalem. Strongly raise your voice, for the Mother of God has told me many glorious things about you. But I pray, forgive me for the fact that I was an obstacle to you due to my rudeness and ignorance.
From that time on, blessed John began to write divine books and compose sweet-sounding hymns. He composed an octoich, with which, like a spiritual flute, to this day he amuses God. John began his first book with these words: "Your commanding right hand glorified in the fortress glorified."
Regarding the miraculous healing of his right hand, he, in ecstasy of joy, so appealed to the Mother of God: “Every creature rejoices from you, Blessed One.”
The plat with which his severed hand was entwined, John, in remembrance of the wondrous miracle of the Most Pure Theotokos, wore on his head. He also wrote the lives of some saints, compiled holiday words and various touching prayers, expounded the dogmas of faith and many sacraments of Theology; he also wrote against heretics, especially against iconoclasts; He also compiled other soul-beneficial compositions, which to this day the faithful eat as spiritual food, and from which they drink like from a sweet stream.
St. John was encouraged to such labors by Blessed Cosmas, who grew up with him and studied with one teacher. He encouraged him to write Divine books and compose church songs, and he himself helped him. Subsequently, Cosmas was appointed Bishop of Mayum by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. After this, the same patriarch, having called the Monk John, consecrated him to the presbyter. But John did not want to stay long in the world. Deviating from worldly glory, he returned to the monastery of the Monk Sava and, secluded in his cell, like a bird in a nest, diligently occupied himself with writing Divine books and the work of his own salvation. Having collected all the books he had written before, John again read them and carefully corrected in them what he considered necessary to correct, especially in words and speeches, so that nothing in them remained unclear. In such works, useful for himself and important for the Church of Christ, and in the exploits of the monastics, John spent a lot of time and achieved perfect monasticism and holiness. Having pleased God, he departed to Christ and His Most Pure Mother, and now, worshiping Them not in icons, but contemplating Their Faces in heavenly glory, he prays for us, so that we too may be vouchsafed the same Divine contemplation, by his holy prayers and the grace of Christ, to Him but with Prepet and Blessed by His Mother, let there be honor, glory and worship forever. Amen.
Orthodox mentor, piety to the teacher and purity, universal lamp, monastic divinely inspired fertilizer, John the Wise, with your teachings you have enlightened all, spiritual spring. Pray to Christ God that our souls be saved.
Let us sing of the hymnographer and honest theologian, the punisher and teacher of the church, and the enemies of the resistance fighter John: let us sing a weapon, the Cross of the Lord, repel all heresies of charm, and like a warm intercessor to God, grants forgiveness of sins to everyone.
Damascus is the main, richest trading city of Syria, one of the oldest in the whole world; lies to the northeast of Palestine, by the river Barada which flows through it, in a beautiful and fruitful plain, at the eastern foot of Anti-Lebanon. And at present, Damascus, which is part of the Turkish Empire, is one of the richest cities in Asia, with a population of over 150,000 people. residents.
Agarians or otherwise Saracens are Arabian Bedouins. The name Agarian, which originally meant this nomadic tribe, was subsequently extended by Christian writers to all Arabs, and then began to mean Muslims in general. The Arabian Bedouins were called Agarians because, according to Jewish tradition, they were descendants of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, the slave of Abraham.
Father of St. , Sergius Mansur, under Caliph of Damascus Abd-Almalik (686-705) corrected the position of chief logothete, i.e. manager of the treasury, treasurer.
Stagir is a city on the Chalcedon Peninsula, where the Greek philosopher Aristotle (4th century BC) was born, therefore called Stagirite. The Greek philosopher Plato (4th century BC) is called the son of Ariston. Philosophy is a science that studies the higher questions of being, about God, about the beginning, essence and laws of the world and man, about the purpose of man and the ultimate goals of the existence of the world, etc. Rhetoric and dialectics are sciences that study the laws of thinking and ways of expressing them.
Pythagoras is a famous Greek philosopher of the 6th century. BC; Diophanes, Alexandrian mathematician of the 4th c. according to R.H.
The highest authority at the court of St. reached under Caliph Velide (705-716), for whom he was the closest adviser and minister. But, having assumed the duties of a new rank, he never forgot his highest service - Jesus Christ, and always tried to be faithful to the truth of Christ and useful to the Holy Church. The proclamation of the truth of Christ and the denunciation of false teachings became for John the main business of life. And he, from the very beginning of his activity, came out to fight against the heretics of that time: with the Nestorians, who enjoyed patronage in Syria, shared human and Divine nature in Jesus Christ and taught that the man Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary, with whom, from the moment of conception Him, God the Word was united by His grace and dwelt in Him, as in a temple, and with the Monophysites or Jacobites, who recognized in Christ one divine nature, which, as it were, swallowed up human nature in Him. Against the latter, he wrote a rather lengthy, thorough essay in defense of the pure, Orthodox faith. In addition, he fought against Monothenitism, degenerated from Monophysitism, which recognized in Christ only the Divine will, and with the remnants of the ancient Gnostic teachings, combined with false Manichaean teachings - with the heresy of the so-called. "Paulicians", who recognized, in addition to the good God, who created the pure spirit and revealed in Christianity, also the evil principle - the dimiurge, who created the visible world and the human body and was revealed in Judaism and paganism. The incarnation of the Son of God, according to the teachings of the Paulicians, was only apparent: they denied all the rites and external institutions of the church. Finally. John of Damascus also wrote an apology against Mohammedanism, which at that time dominated Syria.
St. wrote an essay in defense of St. icons and sent it to Constantinople, where, among other things, he wrote: “Recognizing my unworthiness, no doubt I should be silent and only mourn my sins before God, but seeing that God is agitated by a cruel storm, I think that now is not the time to be silent, I fear God more than the sovereign of the earth, meanwhile the power of the sovereign is so great that it can easily captivate the people. But insulting in this work in relation to the emperor Leo, St. John didn't say anything. At the request of his friends, John wrote two epistles, one after the other, in defense of St. icons. The epistles of John were eagerly read in Constantinople and in other places, the weak were supported by them in Orthodoxy, and the strong were strengthened in strength.
Osten, ostna, osn - a pointed cane used to encourage donkeys and oxen to go faster.
According to the rule of St. Savva the Sanctified, each newcomer was entrusted for testing, supervision and admonishment to an elder experienced in spiritual life. This was done to John, even though his pious life and extensive learning were known throughout the East.
Tablets - stone boards that served in ancient times for writing letters; the ten commandments of the law of God were inscribed on the tablets at Sinai. In a figurative sense, the tablets mean the human heart.
These are, for example, “Where there is worldly passion”, “The prophets are crying out: I am earth and ashes”, “I cry and weep”, and others, the so-called, “self-voiced”. All of them are distinguished by unusual touchingness, naturally and with force at the tomb of the sons of Adam, the fate of the son of dust and the vanity and perishability of everything earthly are depicted in them, and touching prayers are raised to God for the repose of the deceased. All of them were included in the burial of the dead and are used in the Orthodox Church to this day.
Penance, from Greek, means: retribution, punishment, prohibition. Penance was established in the church for the penitents in ancient times and is based on the words of Ap. Paul, who, giving the Corinthians the advice or rule (canon) to forgive the sins of the penitent and to accept him into their fellowship, says that the prohibition (epitimia) is enough, and adds that if they receive him into their love, then he too. In the breviary, penance is called "the canon (rule) of satisfaction." Thus, according to the apostle, penance consists in forbidding the sinner for a time to have fellowship with the church, which is why it is punishment. But at the same time, it does not matter as a punitive measure, deprivation of the rights of a member of the church; it is only "spiritual medicine." In the language of church canons, penance means the voluntary performance by the confessor, by the appointment of the confessor, of certain deeds of piety (prolonged prayer, almsgiving, increased fasting, pilgrimage, etc.).
John of Damascus. The Octoechos contains a service for each day of the week, performed according to one of the eight voices or chants, the rites of Vespers, Compline, Matins and Liturgy for weekdays, and for Sundays, in addition, Small Vespers and Midnight Office. The singing of the octoich begins on weekdays after the Sunday (week) of All Saints and ends before the Saturday of Meat-Feast Week; on Sundays, it begins on the Sunday following the week of All Saints and continues until the 6th week of Great Lent. The octoich is not used during divine services, except for the indicated intervals, even on the twelfth feasts and on their prefeasts, which occur on weekdays. Oktoechos gave the church service greater certainty and uniformity. Having communicated to church singing the correct uniformity and feelings worthy of Christian service, St. Damaskin thereby put a barrier to the disorder that had prevailed in church singing before him with his octoichus. Of the many different melodies, he chose for church hymns mainly those that are capable of expressing feelings decent for Christians, and did not use those that can arouse feelings that are inconsistent with the importance of Christianity. He limited himself to seven voices so that the worshipers would not be entertained by the variety and frequent change of tunes, and so that a certain number of melodies, keeping attention on worthy and together understood for each tune, aroused certain and worthy qualities and affirmed in general attention the spirit and content of the chanted prayers. The same certainty of the chants put an end to the arbitrary inventions of refined, diffused, irreverent art, and the simplicity of the chants of the osmoglasnik, expressing the humble simplicity of Christian prayer, inclines the soul to the same prayer and, tearing it out of the noise of vanity, as it were, elevates it to the throne of God. At the same time, the eight voices, as it were, point to the eight voices of the heavenly hierarchy, incessantly glorifying God: the Mother of God, angels, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints and righteous, and therefore the singing of the octoich can spiritually and mysteriously signify "non-silent prayer singing along the likeness of the saints, forever rejoicing in heaven before the throne of God. Musical signs of the Octoechos of St. John of Damascus were hook.
Subsequently, this solemn song in honor and glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos became part of the liturgy as a merit. Among other numerous hymns, St. in general, he especially composed a lot of hymns in honor of the Mother of God, under whose special patronage and intercession he was. Such, for example, are his canons for the Annunciation, Assumption, Nativity of the Virgin, “Open the doors of Mercy to us”, “Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Your Son”, “I place all my hope in Thee” and others. In general, as a church chanter, Damascene is loftier than in all other respects, and positively inimitable, which is why he is called “Golden-Jet” for his chants, and this name completely belongs to him: all his chants deserve to be called exemplary songs; in all of them one can see the wonderful animation characteristic of a high singer. Of the 64 canons compiled by him, the most exalted, solemn and joyful is the canon on St. Easter. The whole Paschal service was composed by St., after which one cannot find another song in the samples of human creativity, more full of feelings as much alive as high, with holy and truly unearthly delights. The canons for the Nativity of Christ, the Theophany of the Lord, the Ascension of the Lord with stichera are approaching Paschal. His Sunday services are as excellent in poetic force as in dogmatic content. Damascus also wrote a beautiful troparion “We worship Your most pure image, Good One.” His antiphons and funeral songs are also remarkable - exemplary and touching songs of a penitent soul. Damaskin composed many stichera and other church hymns. In general, Damascene is such a hymnographer, higher than whom neither before nor after was there in the church.
In addition to his hymns, St. famous for his theological writings, which give him an honorable place among the great fathers of the church. A thorough study of the philosophy of the Greek scientist Aristotle formed in him a distinct thinker, precise in his concepts and words. St. John was the first of the Church Fathers to expound in a coherent, systematic order the theological teaching of the Orthodox Church, in which his inalienable glory. In his writings, Damaskinus is a dogmatist and polemicist, historian and philosopher, orator and church poet. To his three main works: dialectics, a book on heresies and an exposition of faith, completely different in subject matter, he gave one common name - "The Source of Knowledge". The most important of these is the Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, which constitutes a harmoniously and consistently presented systematic teaching on the contemplative truths of Revelation, which served as a model for the theologians of the East and West. In addition, in the same strict order, St. John wrote "Sacred Parallels" - a comparison of the sayings of Holy Scripture on the rules of faith and piety with the sayings of the fathers and teachers of the church; the subjects here are arranged alphabetically in order to be closer to the general understanding; "Guide" - an explanation of the most important theological expressions, the misunderstanding of which in ancient times was the cause of heresies; several small essays on dogmatics: "On Correct Reflection" - with an explanation of the teachings of the six ecumenical councils; "Oh St. Trinity", "On the Image of God in Man", "On the Nature of Man", etc. Between the writings of St. John against heretics, the first place is occupied by his three words against those who condemn the icon; he also owns an apology against the Mohammedans and writings against the Nestorians, Monophysites, Monothelites and Manichaeans. Further, it should be noted brief interpretations of the epistles of Ap. Paul, an extensive memoir of St. martyr Artemia and his sermons, for example, on the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Nativity and the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Sermon on those who have fallen asleep in the faith, the instruction on the eight evil thoughts, etc. Savva the Sanctified, and having compiled the calendar.
The saint died about the year 777, at the age of 104, and was buried in the Lavra of Savva the Sanctified near the shrine of St. founder of the Lavra. Under the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II Palaiologos (1282–1328), St. his relics were transferred to Constantinople.
The exact years of the saint's life are unknown. Researchers make assumptions only on indirect grounds (with whom the monk met for certain, in what events he took part, which of the historical figures saw him personally), and at the same time they differ greatly in their assessments. It is now generally accepted that the Monk John of Damascus was born around the year 675, and died no later than 754.
The saint was born in Damascus (now the capital of Syria) and lived there for the first, “secular” part of his life. Damascus at that time was the capital of a large caliphate ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. On the one hand, the history of this caliphate is short (it lasted less than 100 years - from 661 to 750), on the other hand, the successful aggressive policy of the authorities led to the fact that the population at some point exceeded 60 million people!
Before being tonsured, his name was Mansur, and he was the son of a treasurer at the court of the caliph, and therefore received a very good education. He quickly moved up the career ladder and was eventually appointed mayor of Damascus. In addition, he was the first minister of the caliph and worked in the tax office.
It is not known exactly when he was baptized (quite possibly at birth), but it is known that a captive Christian monk was his teacher.
Mansur moved to Palestine around 710. This coincided with the period when Arabic became the state language in the caliphate, which means that it had to be used both in communication and in the preparation of documents. The Arabic language was just an excuse to leave. The reasons for the change of residence were, apparently, religious. In addition, his relations with the authorities worsened.
Palestine at that time was the spiritual center of the Christian world, and the saint took tonsure and labored in the most famous Palestinian monastery, Savva the Sanctified, near Jerusalem. (The cell of the monk and the place of burial in this monastery have survived to this day, and thousands of pilgrims gather there in our time).
It is curious that at first none of the elders agreed to take John to be their novices: they experienced too much embarrassment, realizing that in front of them was a man who until recently had been one of the main people of the caliphate. As a result, John, according to his life, was taken in by "a strict and simple monk."
How strict his elder was can be seen from the following story.
Obedience in monastic life is the foundation of everything. Of all the commandments that the elder gave St. John, there was this: from now on, do not write a single line. The monk stopped writing, but one day, at the request of a certain monk, he compiled a short text for the tombstone of his mother.
Upon learning of this, the elder immediately expelled John from his brethren. And when he did let me back, he forced me to clean out all the latrines. Well, after that he allowed the monk to write texts again.
The Monk John of Damascus left behind a very rich literary heritage. Most of his writings are not so well known and were written for a specific event and for a specific audience (this even applies to his treatises on icon veneration, which, although they formed the basis of the future doctrine of icons, were compiled for the iconoclast emperor Leo in order to convince him in his own wrong). And yet one of his books, An Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith, stands apart. In it, the Monk John, as it were, drew a line under several centuries, during which the Orthodox Church gave birth and formulated its teaching on the most complex issues.
“The Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith” is a collection of chapters in which the teaching of the Church is fully revealed about everything that concerns the invisible part of spiritual life: about God, about spiritual laws and energies, about the essence of the Holy Trinity and Angels, about heaven, about man, about sin. It is the first complete system of Orthodox theology that contains clear and concise answers to questions of faith.
Iconoclasm is one of the most tragic periods in the history of the Church, which stretched out for many decades. Its complexity lay in the fact that, like many heresies of that time, iconoclasm arose not because of anyone's pride, but due to a combination of historical circumstances and ignorance.
By that time, the Church had not yet formulated its official attitude towards icons. In part, there was no need for this, since all the holy fathers had previously seen in icons one of the forms of prayer and deeply revered them. On the other hand, a large number of people, due to their own ignorance, reduced icons to the category of superstitious fetishes. Iconoclasts, protesting against any images of Christ, fought, first of all, with such distortions and did not know (or did not want to know) about the true meaning of icon veneration.
Most often, discussions on such complex issues were conducted at that time on an emotional level. The works of St. John are very thoughtful. It is not possible to retell the content of his works within the framework of the article. Let's just say that for the first time they distinguish between such concepts as “worship”, which is appropriate only for God, and “veneration”, which turns out to be created things (in this case, icons).
Apparently, the monk was not heard. Moreover, because of his intransigent position, he fell into disfavor with the emperor. At the same time, the emperor could not influence the saint in any way, since he was a subject of the caliphate, which means that he had immunity.
As a result, a forged letter was compiled, which the monk allegedly wrote to the emperor, with an offer to help him capture Syria. The letter was planted with the caliph, who immediately ordered the execution of the monk: cut off his right hand.
According to legend, after some time, John received the severed brush back, put it on his hand and began to pray in front of the icon of the Virgin. The next morning, he discovered that the hand was miraculously healed.
In gratitude, John put a hand made of silver to the icon, and it is now reproduced on the lists of the icon, which are called "Three-Handed". It is also believed that it was in memory of this healing that the monk composed the hymn “Every creature rejoices in You, the Angelic Council and the human race ...”, which was later included in the rite of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
The Monk John of Damascus wrote a number of canons and hymns, which from the ninth century came into use in the Eastern Church. He wrote the Canon of Easter, Christmas and other church holidays. In addition, it is believed that the Monk John compiled the "Octoich".
The icon of St. John of Damascus is very easy to distinguish from others. On it, he is depicted not in a classical doll, like most of the saints, but in an Arab turban. This emphasizes its origin. Arab monks then often wore a turban, and not a cockle (and the monks of the Coptic Church in Egypt still do this). And in general, the form of a monastic headdress is a matter exclusively of tradition, and not of canon or dogma.
Mentor, piety to the teacher and purity, universal lamp, monastic divinely inspired fertilizer, John the Wise, with your teachings you enlightened all, spiritual barn, pray to Christ God to be saved to our souls.
Songwriter and honest theologian, the Church punisher and teacher and enemies of the resistance, John let us sing: we take up arms, the Cross of the Lord, repel all heresies of charm and like a warm intercessor to God grants forgiveness of sins to everyone.
John of Damascus$ (675 - 753 (780)) $ - saint, reverend father of the Church, theologian, philosopher.
John's family served the Umayyad caliphate for many years and held important positions, and he continued this tradition. After the service, he went to Palestine, where he took the monastic vows, taking the now famous name.
In line with Palestinian monasticism, he carried out his activities as a theologian, polemicist, and preacher. All his activities were traced back to the apostolic tradition.
Remark 1
John is known for his work Three protective words in support of icon veneration ". He considered it his duty to oppose the process of iconoclasm in favor of the veneration of icons. In his work, he reflected the purpose of his activity, in which he saw the iconoclastic movement as a heresy.
He also shared the concepts of worship and veneration, where the first corresponded only to God, and the second to all created things, as well as icons. The Council, held on issues of iconoclasm, four times anathematized John four times, only at the $7 Ecumenical Council did the church justify and confirm the correctness of his teaching.
Not much has been preserved in the historical chronicle about the life of John of Damascus. All his life and work was spent in Syria and Palestine
John of Jerusalem in the $7th century compiled his first biography, and in the $9th century a monk Michael wrote the life of John of Damascus in Arabic.
There is an opinion that John was the creator of one of the images of the Virgin in the process of protecting icon veneration. He compiled three treatises in defense of icons and presented before the emperor Leo 3 the Isaurian, who supported the heresy of iconoclasm. To thwart John, the emperor compromised him before the caliph, whose subject was John. This led to the removal of John from office and a severe punishment in the form of cutting off the right hand for slandering Leo 3. After cutting off his hand, he received it back and prayed to the Mother of God for a long time. This fact is associated with the miraculous healing of John, which was accompanied by the return of the severed hand, as a sign of the sincerity of his faith. In gratitude for this miracle, John put a silver hand to the image of the icon of the Virgin, since then this symbol has been attributed to many icons with her image, they bore the name "three-handed".
Remark 2
In addition to his deeds in defense of the true religion, he received the status of a systematizer of Christian doctrine.
His seminal work is The Source of Knowledge.
It included:
This body of writings includes a significant number of sermons on the Mother of God, as well as "Three words in defense of icon veneration."
IN "Dialectics" John turns to his brother Saint Cosmas, expounding what is best in the teachings of the Hellenes, that is, among the ancient philosophers, presenting the history of heresies, as well as the true Orthodox teaching.
"About Heresy" their systematic description is presented on the eve of Orthodoxy.
“In an accurate exposition of the Christian faith” a tradition is presented that corresponds to the Nicene Creed, the doctrine of the trinity, the invisible and visible created world, the doctrine of Christ.
In his exegetical activity, he left few works, which include interpretations of the epistles of the Apostle Paul. The lives of Barlaam and Joasaph are attributed to his pen. But this fact is being questioned.
John was famous for his hymnographic work. He created the canons of the Palestinian type of chants, which came into use in the Eastern Church in the $9th century. His canons:
The writings and theological methods of John of Damascus had an enormous influence on Medieval Scholasticism. As a forerunner of this protoscholastic tradition, he is conceived as a systematizer of Greek patristics. He accumulated the works of previous theologians and presented them in an accessible form for his followers. This is not his exclusive task, but rather the mission that fell to the performance of a certain type of people of his era. He played an important role in the development of religion in the process of correlation of philosophy and theology. Theology is aimed at the study of incorporeal things, primarily God. Philosophy, following Clement of Alexandria, believed as a servant of theology.
The doctrine of the unknowability of God is presented in the "accurate exposition of the Orthodox faith." In it, he presents his thesis about the inexpressibility of the deity, saying, however, that God can know himself, and no one knows the father except the Son.
