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John of Damascus
Texts and Studies
in Eastern Christianity
Chief Editor
Editorial Board
volume 26
Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity is intended to advance the field of Eastern Christian
Studies by publishing translations of ancient texts, individual monographs, thematic collections,
and translations into English of significant volumes in modern languages. It will cover the
Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions from the early through
to the contemporary period. The series will make a valuable contribution to the study of Eastern
Christianity by publishing research by scholars from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.
The different traditions that make up the world of Eastern Christianity have not always received
the attention they deserve, so this series will provide a platform for deepening our knowledge of
them as well as bringing them to a wider audience. The need for such a series has been felt for
sometime by the scholarly community in view of the increasing interest in the Christian East.
Edited by
Scott Ables
leiden | boston
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at https://catalog.loc.gov
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022050940
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∵
Contents
Preface ix
List of Maps and Figures x
Abbreviations xi
Notes on Contributors xiv
Maps xvii
Introduction 1
Scott Ables
part 1
The Damascene’s Sources, Life, & Context
2 New Evidence for the Source of the Arabic Life of John Damascene
and the Arabic Translation of the Expositio fidei 40
Habib Ibrahim
part 2
The Damascene’s Theological Vision
In 2009 I contacted Vassa Kontouma after reading her 1995 article on Ps. Cyril
of Alexandria.1 Leonard Prestige had argued that Ps. Cyril was the 6th century
theologian who migrated the Christological term perichōrēsis into Trinitarian
thought, which was subsequently adopted by John of Damascus.2 However,
Kontouma argued that Ps. Cyril was not a source of John but a compilation of
John, so it was John himself who was responsible for Trinitarian perichōrēsis.3 I
met Kontouma in Paris (2010) and Oxford (2015) to discuss John. Aware of her
interest in nurturing a growing network of scholars on John, despite her long
habit of summering in Greece, in 2018 I persuaded her to participate in a work-
shop on John the following summer. Kontouma won key financial support from
Labex resmed (Religions and Societies of the Mediterranean World). Zachary
Keith, whom I met through Sidney Griffith while at Dumbarton Oaks in spring
2015, agreed to help as well. With their help the John of Damascus: More than
a Compiler workshop met at the xviii International Conference of Patristic
Studies, Oxford, 20–21 August 2019. It only remains for me to thank Ken Parry
and members of the editorial board of Brill’s Texts and Studies in Eastern Chris-
tianity for accepting this volume in the series.
Scott Ables
Portland, Oregon, USA
1 Vassa Conticello (1995) ‘Pseudo-Cyril’s De ss. Trinitate: A Compilation of Joseph the Philoso-
pher’, Orientalia Christiana Periodica 61: 117–129. Republished in Vassa Kontouma (2015): John
of Damascus: New Studies on his Life and Works (Farnham, Surrey/Burlington, VT: Ashgate).
2 G.L. Prestige (1964) God in Patristic Thought (2nd edn.; London: spck): 284, 291, 294–299.
3 Conticello (1995): 125. See also Andrew Louth’s assessment of Kontouma’s analysis, ‘her argu-
ments seem to me absolutely compelling’ in Andrew Louth (2002) St. John Damascene: Tra-
dition and Originality in Byzantine Theology (Oxford: oup), 87.
Maps, Figures, and Tables
Maps
Figures
Tables
John of Damascus, eds. Bonifatius Kotter, Robert. Volk, et al., Die Schriften des
Johannes von Damaskos, 8 Vols. (pts 7; 12; 17; 22; 29; 60–66/1; 68; 74–78; Berlin:
De Gruyter, 7:1969, 12:1973, 17:1975, 22:1981, 29:1988, 60(6/1):2006, 61(6/1):2009,
68:2013, 74–77:2018, 78:2019).
Parall. 4–5 Sacra (spuria) (cpg 8056): Tobias Thum and José Declerck viii/4–8
[pts 74–78]. Parall. or Hiera See also, Sacra parallela. Hiera. (cpg 8056):
pg 95, col. 1040–588, 96 col. 9–442.
Paul Commentarii in epistulas Pauli. Commentary on the Epistles of Paul
(cpg 8079): Volk vii [pts 68], 21–538.
Rect. De recta sententia liber. On Right Thinking (cpg 8046): pg 94, 1421–1432.
[nb: Kotter abbreviates Sentent.]
Sabbat. Homilia in sabbatum sanctum. Homily for Holy Saturday (cpg 8059): Kot-
ter v [pts 29], 121–146.
Sarac. Disputatio Saraceni et Christiani. Dispute between a Saracen and a Chris-
tian (cpg 8075): Kotter iv [pts 22], 427–438.
Transfig. Homilia in transfigurationem domini. Homily on the Transfiguration of the
Lord (cpg 8057): Kotter v [pts 29], 436–459.
Trisag. Epistula de hymno Trisagio. Letter on the Trisagion Hymn (cpg 8049): Kot-
ter iv [pts 22], 304–332.
Volunt. De duabus in Christo voluntatibus. On the Two Wills in Christ (cpg 8052):
Kotter iv [pts 22], 173–231.
Other Abbreviations
aw Athanasius Werke
bhg Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca, 3rd ed., 3 vols., ed. François Halkin, Sub-
sidia Hagiographica 8a (Brussels: 1957)
bz Byzantinische Zeitschrift (Munich/Leipzig, 1892–)
ccsg Corpus christianorum series graeca
cpg Clavis patrum graecorum, 7 Vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1974–2010)
csco Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium
cshb Corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae (Bonn, 1828–1897)
gcs Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten [drei] Jahrhunderte
gno Gregorii Nysseni opera
jecs Journal of Early Christian Studies
jts Journal of Theological Studies
Lampe Lampe, G.W. H., Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995).
msr Mélanges de science réligieuse
gcs nf Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte,
publ. Berlin—Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin.
Neue Folge 1 (1995)
ocp Orientalia christiana periodica
oup Oxford University Press
abbreviations xiii
Scott Ables
Lecturer, Oregon State University, DPhil (2016, Oxford, ‘The Purpose of Peri-
chōrēsis in the Polemical Works of John of Damascus’). He researches the his-
tory of Christological controversy in Late Antiquity but has interests in post-
modern constructive theology as well.
Vassilis Adrahtas
University of Western Sydney, Australia, teaches Islamic Studies. His special-
ization and research include Early Christianity, Patristics, Byzantine Philoso-
phy, Ancient Greek Religion, and Indigenous Australian Religions. His involve-
ment with the study of John Damascene goes back to his MPhil thesis ‘The
Use of Logic in the Work of John Damascene: Approaches to Fons Scientiae’
(2001).
Habib Ibrahim
PhD (2016, ephe-Paris, ‘Jean Damascène arabe: édition critique des deux traités
Contre les Nestoriens’). He is a research associate at the University St Joseph—
Beirut and Assistant Professor at Lebanese University. He wrote his thesis on
John of Damascus’ two treatises against the Nestorians. He works on different
projects connected to the study of Christian Arabic literature.
Vassa Kontouma
Dean, Religious Studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études, psl, Paris, France,
and Présidente de l’Institut français d’Études byzantines. PhD (1996, Paris-4
Sorbonne) thesis: ‘La “Source de connaissance” de S. Jean Damascène: traduc-
tion annotée des livres i (Dialectica) et iii (Expositio de fide orthodoxa).’ She
researches John of Damascus, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine theology, Ortho-
notes on contributors xv
Smilen Markov
Assistant Professor in Christian Philosophy, University of Veliko Turnovo, Bul-
garia. PhD (University of Cologne, 2010), thesis: ‘The Metaphysical Synthesis
of John Damascene: historical interconnections and structural transforma-
tions’, published as Die metaphysische Synthese des Johannes von Damaskus:
Historische Zusammenhänge und Strukturtransformationen, Brill, 2015. His re-
search interests include Byzantine philosophy, Orthodox theology, dialogue
between Byzantium and Islam, and urbanism.
Theocharis S. Papavissarion
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. PhD (Athens, 2019), thesis: ‘St
John Damascene’s Teaching on Matter. The Ktisiological Foundation of his
Anti-Manichaean Theology’. He is an Orthodox theologian specializing in pa-
tristics. He focuses on John Damascene, the continuity of the ecclesiastic tra-
dition, and Manichaean and Byzantine theology and philosophy. He has pub-
lished articles in encyclopedias and journals examining certain subjects of
patristic literature.
Peter Schadler
Assistant Professor, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA. DPhil (Ox-
ford, 2011), which formed the basis of his recent book: John of Damascus
and Islam: Christian Heresiology and the Intellectual Background to Earliest
Christian-Muslim Relations (Brill, 2018). He is currently researching the narra-
tology in hagiography and storytelling in Byzantium and beyond.
Petros Tsagkaropoulos
Kings College London, England. PhD (King’s, London, 2019), thesis: ‘The Hagio-
graphic Homilies of John of Damascus: A Study in Byzantine Homiletics’. His
xvi notes on contributors
Robert Volk
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich. DrPhil (Munich,
1987), thesis: ‘Der medizinische Inhalt der Schriften des Michael Psellos’, pub-
lished under the same title (Munich: 1990). His research is centered on the
philology and publication of the writings of John of Damascus. He is currently
preparing the publication of several of the many Lives of St John Damascene.
Johannes Zachhuber
Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, University of Oxford. He has
published widely on Eastern patristic thought including Human Nature in Gre-
gory of Nyssa: Philosophical Background and Theological Significance (1999) and
The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysics: Patristic Phi-
losophy from the Cappadocian Fathers to John of Damascus (2020).
Anna Zhyrkova
Jesuit University Ignatianum, Cracow, Poland. PhD (Catholic University, Lub-
lin, 2002), thesis: ‘Philosophy of John Damascene in the Light of the “Pege
Gnoseos”’. Her research interests center on Byzantine philosophy and Patristic
theology.
Maps
Acknowledgement
The maps were originally produced by David A. Michelson, map editor, and
Ian Mladjou, cartographer, for The Syriac World, Daniel King, ed. (Routledge,
2019). The five maps presented here are a subset of fourteen maps originally
produced. Michelson provides an excellent discussion of the data as well as
pointers to Internet based resources with bibliography (The Syriac World, xxvii–
xxxiii). Michelson graciously provided our project with the maps under a cre-
ative commons license, and we have chosen to present the five that cover Syria,
Palestine, and the Egyptian territory most germane to the study of John of Dam-
ascus.
Maps 1–5 Copyright cc by-sa
xviii maps
Overview
Born out of a workshop on John of Damascus and expanded with invited essays,
this volume aims to contribute to the research on John that provides evidence
for the originality of his thought, challenging the commonplace that he was no
more than a compiler of tradition. John’s biography suffers from related prob-
lems. So little was known of John that rising interest in his work required the
invention of a life worthy of celebration. I will briefly cover John’s biography
not only to place him in context, but also to prepare the ground for the philo-
logical work of one of John’s current editors, Robert Volk, who will address the
complexity of the many Lives of John of Damascus in our first chapter. After
that I will briefly sketch the background of this still common assessment of
John that considers him no more than a compiler of tradition, an unoriginal
thinker who had nothing of his own to say. Finally, while outlining our method-
ological framework, I will touch on some of the research contributions of our
international contributors that provides clear evidence that John was an origi-
nal thinker who was more than a mere compiler of tradition.
Biography
John of Damascus remains the most significant theologian of the eighth cen-
tury for those churches of both East and West that accepted the Council of
Chalcedon. Although the precise dates of his birth and death are unknown, his
lifespan was roughly contemporaneous with the Umayyad Caliphate (651–750).
Unfortunately, very little is known about him, and what is put forth is compli-
cated by over a dozen late fictional vitae. The most prominent for the tradition
is the Life of our holy Father, John Damascene (bhg 884). Nevertheless, some
details of John’s life are consistent, but a glance at the tradition is important as
it informs the recent debate on John’s originality.
According to the traditional accounts of John’s life, largely based on bhg 884,
he received a classical education from a monk, Kosmas, an Italian prisoner of
war, freed from the Arabs by John’s father. And, although rising to high rank in
the caliphal administration, Arab persecution convinced John to renounce his
position to become a monk of the Monastery of St Sabas sometime between
2 ables
1 pg 94.429–489. For example, see the following brief articles on John of Damascus, which
summarize his life in terms of bhg 884, even while acknowledging its legendary character:
Kazhdan and Talbot (1998), Berardino (2000), Volk (2000), and Döpp and Geerlings (2000).
2 Marie-France Auzépy (2015: 399, 408).
3 Kontouma (2015: I, 2). Kontouma has suggested that on balance John probably left Damascus
and joined in the reestablishment of the patriarchate of Jerusalem in 705. I have written in
support of this view, initially in Ables (2016) and later in Ables (2019).
4 Breydy (1985: 116–117, German trans.).
introduction 3
It has long been a commonplace that John of Damascus was no more than
a compiler of tradition saying nothing original. This perception may stem in
part from John’s own repeated claim to say nothing new.7 Upon closer inspec-
tion, however, we find that John is employing a modesty topos common to the
5 Syriac, of course, remained the literary and liturgical language of those West and East Syrians
who rejected the Council of Chalcedon.
6 A tripartite work comprised of the Dialectica (cpg 8041), De haeresibus (cpg 8044), and the
Expositio fidei (cpg 8043), this last is also known as On the Orthodox Faith.
7 For example, ‘I, sinful and wretched, open my muttering stuttering lips’ John of Damascus,
Instit. 1 (20, 8–9 Kotter 1969): ἀνοίγω τὰ μογγίλαλα καὶ βραδύγλωσσα χείλη ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς καὶ τάλας
ἐγώ, or ‘As I have said I will say nothing, but with great care gathering into one that of the most
eminent teachers, as much as I am able, I will draft a brief treatise yielding to your command
in all things.’Dial. Proem. (53, 60–63 Kotter): Ἐρῶ δὲ ἐμὸν μέν, ὡς ἔφην, οὐδέν, τὰ δὲ τοῖς ἐγκρίτοις
4 ables
τῶν διδασκάλων πεπονημένα εἰς ἓν συλλεξάμενος, ὅση δύναμις, συντετμημένον τὸν λόγον ποιήσομαι
κατὰ πάντα ὑπείκων τῷ ὑμετέρῳ προστάγματι.
8 On John’s use of the topos, see Alexakis (2004), and more generally, see Kazhdan (1991).
9 John of Damascus, Imag. ii, 1 (2.1–31 Kotter). For English translation see Louth (2003: 59–60).
introduction 5
uality. This same feeling also prevented him from being original and made his
work a clever and conscientious compilation.’10 Or, that of J. Lupton (1882), who
wrote, ‘I am not aware of any more serious charge that can be brought against
him than … a tendency to over-credulity and superstition.’11 And, finally, shortly
after the Pope’s elevation of John in 1890, Harnack fires back in his influential
History of Dogma (1894):
10 Perrier (1862: 33). ‘Son respect exagéré pour les écrits et les opinions des auteurs qui l’ont
précédé a étouffé en lui tout germe d’indépendance et d’individualité. Ce même sentiment
l’a aussi empêché d’être original, et a fait de ses ouvrages une savante et consciencieuse
compilation.’ F.A. Perrier, Jean Damascène: Sa vie et ses écrits (Strasbourg: Université of
France, 1862), 33.
11 Lupton (1882: 199, 209–210). J.H. Lupton (1882), St. John of Damascus (London: spck), 199,
209–210.
12 Harnack (1972: vii–viii).
13 Harnack (1972: 156).
14 Hoeck (1951), Studer (1956), Kotter (1959), Rozemond (1959), Richter (1964).
6 ables
Studer (1956) sums them up when he concludes John is a mere compiler play-
ing only a mediating role between East and West, and thus ‘can be granted no
great place in the development of theology’.15
However, there seems always to have been a minority voice that held John
in high esteem. Frederick Chase published what remains the standard English
translation of the Font of Knowledge, comprised of John’s On Heresies, The Philo-
sophical Chapters, and On the Orthodox Faith. Now dated because it is not based
on the critical texts, yet it remains the best English translation of John’s mag-
num opus. No doubt aware of the consensus position and the early support of
it by the Byzantine Institute, Chase nonetheless was unequivocal in his positive
assessment of John in 1958:
Most authorities are of the opinion that the Damascene succeeded quite
well in keeping his promise to add nothing of his own, but this is not
entirely true. The Fount of Knowledge not only contains much that is orig-
inal and a fresh viewpoint on many things but is in itself something new.
It is the first real Summa Theologica. Even the philosophical introduction
is new, being the first attempt to present a complete manual of philoso-
phy to serve as a basis for the study of Christian theology. The whole work
is not a mere compilation; it is a new synthesis. It may be said, then, that
although John of Damascus was undoubtedly sincere in his promise to
add nothing of his own, he could not help injecting so much of himself as
to be visible on almost every page.16
Perhaps in time Kotter recalled this assessment, but whatever the case, Kotter’s
views softened in time allowing for some nuance. Although initially consistent
with other institute scholars when introducing the Expositio fidei in 1973, by
1981 he was willing to grant that John’s argument in the Contra Manichaeos, for
example, was a masterpiece of theological thinking that exceeded his sources
especially on Providence.17
Melkite theology found its first and most authoritative exponent in the
person of St John of Damascus …. The most instructive feature in this
connection … is the fact that the overall pattern of his interests … demon-
strates that his immediate theological and ecclesiastical near horizon was
very much that of Jerusalem …. He was only tangentially concerned with
the polemical works, especially the Manich. which many think to be among John’s earliest
works.
18 Unfortunately, virtually no monographs on John were published after the Byzantine Insti-
tute grew silent, but there was a ray of hope in Louth (2002), perhaps not quite challenging
the consensus view, his accessibility enabled many to study John for the first time, and
thus Andrew Louth is perhaps arguably responsible more than any other for inspiring
new researchers to enter the field focused on John. Many of us (if not all) owe him a great
debt.
19 Twombly’s research was published later as Twombly (2015) in which he modified his posi-
tion to accept Kontouma’s conclusion that Pseudo-Cyril was in fact a compilation based
on John and not a source of John, evidence of the growing influence her 1995 article has
had over time.
20 See Louth (2002: 112n75).
21 Twombly (2015: volume epigraph).
22 Prestige (1952: 280).
23 Louth (2002: 87).
8 ables
This volume, and the Oxford workshop it is based on, are part of this trend in
positive reassessment of John of Damascus taking his contextualization and
contributions seriously. Yet more work is required if this minority position is to
become the consensus.
Methodology
The recent challenges to John’s biography and the consensus view that he is
theologically derivative and thus uninteresting have invited reconsideration of
John’s work, but the standard biography and the consensus view remain stub-
bornly entrenched. Consequently, the following essays aim to provide further
evidence for John’s creativity, originality, and consequent theological impor-
tance. The essays were not solicited in two groups, but these broad group-
ings emerged as our project took shape. After the workshop, the invited essays
seemed to fit into these two categories as well, providing for a balanced presen-
tation. Unfortunately, the obvious lacuna here remains that of John of Dam-
ascus studies generally—the lack of liturgical analysis—; although John is
reported to have written large portions of the Eastern liturgy, the details remain
obscure.25 Nevertheless, here his sources, vitae, context, and theological vision
at least are considered in part, hopefully inspiring further research.
24 Griffith (2006: 191–192). For recent treatment of John in his local context, see Awad (2018).
25 Another lacuna is that of comparative Syriac studies: Was John in dialog with impor-
tant Syrian Orthodox contemporaries, including Severus Sebokht (d. 666/7), Athanasius
of Balad (d. 696), Jacob of Edessa (d. 708), and George, bishop of the Arabs (d. 724), for
example?
introduction 9
bic sources of John both with an essay and with the first English translation of
John’s Expositio et declaratio fidei (cpg 8078).26
With the third and fourth essays (Ables and Adrahtas), we begin looking at
John’s sources and his creative theological appropriation in terms suggestive of
part two but largely focused on the internal development of John’s theological
program touching on implications for the dating of John’s work. Peter Schadler
then explores the possibility of meaning in the ordering of borrowed mate-
rials in the Expositio, while Najib George Awad investigates the source of the
‘Arian Monk’ who is reported to have influenced Muḥammad by recontextual-
izing the figure out of Constantinopolitan sectarian debate into contemporary
interreligious debate in Syro-Palestine once again suggesting that John is bet-
ter understood when interpreted within his local Syro-Palestinian context. The
final essay in Part One (Tsagkaropoulos) turns to John’s sermons as evidence
for the ‘preservation of his theological alertness’ concluding that theology was
not the privileged concern of the elite alone, but that John was ‘an ambitious
preacher’ who shaped his contemporary theological presentation to the needs
of his local audience. Part One is thus focused on capturing John as he was and
not as who he was revered to be by tradition.
Conclusion
I finish this introduction, however, noting that these essays are not the last word
on any of their respective subject matter. Although anchored by senior John
of Damascus scholars like Volk, Kontouma, and Zhyrkova, this volume shines
with future promise featuring recent doctorates on John of Damascus (Ables,
Ibrahim, Markov, Méndez-Gallardo, Papavissarion, Schadler, and Tsagkaropou-
los). John of Damascus studies remain in their adolescence, but each of these
essays not only contribute to his study, but hopefully, will inspire others to
reconsider dismissive assessments that continue to claim that John is merely
derivative with at best a talent for selection. John of Damascus should be recon-
sidered; indeed, hopefully these essays have begun to demonstrate that John is
more than a compiler, that he is actually an original, creative, and innovative
thinker, who no less than systematic theologians today, reappropriated the tra-
dition to meet the challenges faced in his local context with a subtlety that has
been too often missed.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
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enden Kompiliert von saʿid Ibn Baṭrīq um 935a.d. (csco 471, 472; Leuven: Peeters,
1985).
John of Damascus, Capita philosophica (Dialectica), ed. Bonifatius Kotter, Die Schriften
des Johannes von Damaskos, vol. 1 (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1969), 47–146.
John of Damascus, Expositio fidei, ed. Bonifatius Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes von
Damaskos, vol. 2 (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1973), 1–239.
John of Damascus, Liber de haeresibus, ed. Bonifatius Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes
von Damaskos, vol. 4 (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1981), 19–67.
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65–200. English trans. Andrew Louth, Three Treatises on the Divine Images (Crest-
wood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003).
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Series Graeca, ed. Jacques Paul Migne, et al., pg 94, 162 vols. (Paris: 1857–1866): cols.
429–489.
12 ables
Secondary Literature
Ables, Scott (2020): ‘Development in Theological Method and Argument in John of
Damascus’, in: jecs 28/4 (Winter), 625–653.
Ables, Scott (2019): ‘Was the Reestablishment of the Jerusalem Patriarchate A “Proto-
Melkite” Gambit Orchestrated by John of Damascus—Quid pro quo, Cathedral for
Patriarchate?’ in: aram 31 1/2 (Nov), 107–120.
Ables, Scott (2017): ‘The Rhetoric of Persuasion in the Polemic of John of Damascus’, in:
StP 96/22, 457–468.
Ables, Scott (2016): The Purpose of Perichōrēsis in the Works of John of Damascus [PhD
thesis]. University of Oxford.
Ables, Scott (2015): ‘John of Damascus on Genus and Species’, in: Philosophy in Byzan-
tium: The Ways of Byzantine Philosophy, Mikonja Knežević (ed.) (Alhambra, CA:
Sebastian Press), 271–287.
Ables, Scott (2013): ‘Did John of Damascus Modify His Sources in the De fide orthodoxa?’,
in: StP 68/16, 355–361.
Alexakis, Alexander (2004): ‘The Modesty Topos and John of Damascus as a Not-So-
Modest Author’, in: bz 97/2, 521–530.
Auzépy, Marie-France (2015): ‘From Palestine to Constantinople (Eighth-Ninth Cen-
turies): Stephen the Sabaite and John of Damascus’, in: Scott F. Johnson, ed., Lan-
guages and Cultures of Eastern Christianity: Greek (Aldershot: Ashgate Variorum),
399–442.
Awad, Najib George (2018): Umayyad Christianity: John of Damascus as a contextual
example of identity formation in Early Islam (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press).
Berardino, Angelo di, ed. (2000): Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chal-
cedon (451) to John of Damascus (750), trans. Adrian Walford (Institutum Patristicum
Augustinianum: James Clarke).
Chase, Frederic H., Jr. (ed. and trans.) (1958): St. John of Damascus: Writings (The Fathers
of the Church 37; Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press).
Conticello, Vassa S. (1995): ‘Pseudo-Cyril’s De ss. Trinitate: A Compilation of Joseph
the Philosopher’, in: Orientalia Christiana Periodica 61, 117–129. Republished in Kon-
touma (2015).
Kontouma, Vassa (2015): John of Damascus: New Studies on his Life and Works (Farn-
ham, Surrey/Burlington, VT: Ashgate).
Cross, Richard (2000): ‘Perichoresis, Deification, and Christological Predication in John
of Damascus’, in: Medieval Studies 62, 69–124.
Erismann, Christoph (2011): ‘A World of Hypostases: John of Damascus’ Rethinking of
Aristotle’s Categorical Ontology’, in: StP 50, 269–287.
Griffith, Sidney H. (2006): ‘The Church of Jerusalem and the “Melkites”: The Making
of an “Arab Orthodx” Christian Identity in the World of Islam (750–1050CE)’, in:
Ora Limor and Guy G. Stroumsa (eds.), Christians and Christianity in the Holy Land
(Turnhout: Brepols), 175–204.
introduction 13
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(Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, original German 1894).
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17: 5–60.
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phy Database (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks).
Kazhdan, Alexander P. (1991): ‘s.v. Modesty, Topos of’, in: Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
(New York: oup).
Kontouma, Vassa (2015): ‘John of Damascus (c. 655–c. 745)’ in: John of Damascus: New
Studies on his Life and Works (Ashgate: UK), i, 1–43.
Kotter, Bonifatius (1959): Die Überlieferung der Pege Gnoseos des hl. Johannes von Da-
maskos, in: spb 5.
Kotter, Bonifatius, ed. (1973–1981): Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos, 4 vols.
(Berlin/New York: de Gruyter).
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des Textes nach seinen Quellen und seiner Bedeutung, in: spb 10.
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2.
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Twombly, Charles Craig (1992): Perichōrēsis and Personhood in the Thought of John of
Damascus [PhD diss.]. Emery University.
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Dictionary of Early Christian Literature (New York: Crossroad), 338–339.
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part 1
The Damascene’s Sources, Life, and Context
∵
chapter 1
Robert Volk
Introduction
Around the year 670—more likely earlier than later—John of Damascus was
born, and he probably passed away between 745 and 750, speaking conser-
vatively. As it is generally known, there has been little biographical evidence
preserved for him written during his lifetime. The meagre information in the
Syrian apologetic letter of a monophysite named Elias to a friend, the ortho-
dox Synkellos Leon of Harran, is such a rarity—and perhaps even the only one:
Not later than 743 John Damascene is mentioned as egregius in parte vestra (i.e.
‘outstanding on your orthodox side’).2
Before a real Life was created, there existed some scattered information about
John: The Life of Saint Stephen the Younger [bhg 1666], written ca. 809, treats St
John as a defender of the holy icons. This text is even cited in the Arabic Life.4
In [bhg 884], having as source this Arabic Life, the material from [bhg 1666]
has been shortened very much.5
The Byzantine chronicle of Theophanes, written ca. 815, is an early source,
too; there we find material linked directly to the caliphate—for the first time
John appears with the byname Χρυσορρόας, i.e. ‘the man who exudes gold’, and
he is described as a priest, monk, and excellent teacher.6 Further information
given by Theophanes is about the activities of John’s father in the service for
the caliph7 and about the anathemata of the synod at Hiereia (754).8
Even a little earlier, around 800, a certain Stephanus Sabaites (perhaps a
nephew of John), wrote a canon for December the 4th, common for Barbara
and John of Damascus. This text frequently came down to us in the Menaea,9 it
mentions some of his writings against different heresies, but it does not support
the theory that John became a monk of the Sabas monastery.
Already an entry in the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca—[bhg 885g]—
bears the quite modest article on John of Damascus, present in the Suda-
Lexicon from the 10th century10—its length is nine printed lines. It is based
on the epitome of the Onomatologos of Hesychius from Miletus (6th century),
expanded in the 9th century by Christian biographies. We learn John’s byname
Mansur, and after some phrases praising his erudition some of his works are
enumerated—various canons and especially the Sacra Parallela (εἴς τε τὴν θείαν
γραφὴν Παράλληλοι κατ᾽ ἐκλογήν). The latter, a very extensive florilegium in
several volumes, is—as we know today—a work compiled long before John
Damascene’s heyday, namely in the first quarter of the seventh century, by a
monk John from a monastery near Jerusalem, perhaps even from the Sabas
monastery.11 Together with John, as the Suda says, flourished a certain musi-
cally gifted Kosmas from Jerusalem; no information is given that could identify
this person with John’s adopted brother; the private tutor called Kosmas is not
mentioned either in this Suda article.
With his feast day on the 4th of December, John of Damascus mostly is over-
shadowed by Saint Barbara the martyr. But there are exceptions, too. Between
979 and 989 the Menologium for Emperor Basileios ii († 1025) was composed,
today’s Cod. Vat. gr. 161312 (containing the months September till February);
John of Damascus appears under November 29th, detached from Barbara—she
receives there a single text for the 4th of December. With over 430 miniatures
of prime quality on a gold background, Vat. gr. 1613 is one of the most splendid
Byzantine manuscripts; it came to Italy ca. 1365/66.13 On page 213 we find the
aforementioned text and a miniature showing John and Kosmas, his brother
by adoption, as monks;14 according to the Menologium Basilii, they went to
a monastery—this is a peculiarity—still in the lifetime of John’s father. This
text has no bhg number and needs a new edition, as the printed version from
pg 117, 184, 20–40 does not fully correspond with the scan from the Vatican
Library.
From the longer Lives, [bhg 885b]—sometimes called epitome in the sec-
ondary literature—seems to be the earliest, originating probably from the early
tenth century. In my opinion [bhg 885b] is a very informative text of high
literary quality. It should have fulfilled the wishes of the monk Michael from
Antioch,15 if he would have had the chance to consult it. From [bhg 885b] we
learn the following: The name of John’s family was Mansur, they were ortho-
dox Christians in Damascus for generations and the Muslims could not convert
them to Islam. John’s father was wealthy and renowned; the caliph held him in
high esteem and entrusted him with the public administration. He was owner
of vast portions of land in Arabia, Damascus, Palestine and other places. Many
prisoners of war, released by him, settled on his estates. Among them was a very
educated man, who was said to have been an asekretis, i.e. a private secretary,
and John’s father took him at his home for the instruction of his children (writ-
ten τέκνα, which refers to John and Kosmas, as we soon learn; however, we do
not know the name of their teacher). After a broad education by this anony-
mous tutor, John abandoned his father’s wealth and became a monk. He had a
companion called Kosmas, who was an orphan raised by John’s father. Similarly
to John, Kosmas, also capable of learning, strived for virtue and the monastic
life, and later became bishop of Maiuma. Both excelled in composing troparia
and canons, which are sung in the church to this day. At the beginning of the
reign of Emperor Leo, as orthodoxy persisted, John traveled to Constantinople
and met patriarch Germanos—this is special information from [bhg 885b];
after his return John busied himself with the study of holy texts. He produced
many lives of saints and holy martyrs. After iconoclasm ensued, he was per-
plexed about the expulsion of patriarch Germanos. He wrote documents about
this heresy and also letters defending the truth. Konstantinos Kopronymos
came into possession of such letters; he held the outrageous synod at Blacher-
nai, read out these letters and cursed both them as well as their author. As the
impious emperor would pronounce those curses, they would however return
upon himself and the orthodox faith would eventually prevail. Saint John was
praised as defender of the truth and piety. Thus, he lived many years in asceti-
cism and study of the divine law; he reached a ripe old age and passed away at
the place of his birth on the 4th of December, praised now and till the end of
times.
The peculiarities of [bhg 885b] are, therefore, the following: Still during the
lifetime of his father we do not learn of any mundane activity of John, before his
retreat to a monastery in Damascus. John embarks on a historically unproven
journey to Constantinople, where he meets Patriarch Germanos. In this ver-
sion of the Vita, the Byzantine iconoclastic emperor does not use John for a
conspiracy against the caliph; hence, the miracle of the amputated hand and
its healing does not occur. He dies in Damascus and is buried in his birth town.
A severely shortened descendant of [bhg 885b] seems to be the text on John
of Damascus in the Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum [bhg 885e].16
Not all this information can be taken at face value. More trustworthy are the
titles of several homilies by John Damascene himself: The first oration about
the Koimesis of the Theotokos [cpg 8061]17 calls John in its title—taken by the
editor, Bonifatius Kotter, from an old witness, Cod. Vat. gr. 2081 (10th century),
fol. 88r—a monk of the Old Laura (‘Ἰωάννου, ταπεινοῦ καὶ ἁμαρτωλοῦ μοναχοῦ,
δούλου τῶν δούλων τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς παλαιᾶς λαύρας’), which
should not be identified with the Sabas Monastery, but with the elder Laura of
St Chariton in the district of Jerusalem.18 The title of the homily In ficum arefac-
tam [cpg 8058]19—taken by Kotter from Cod. Paris. gr. 1476 (a. 890), fol. 62r—
speaks about John as a priest from the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem (‘Ἰωάν-
νου, μοναχοῦ καὶ πρεσβυτέρου τῆς ἁγίας Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἀναστάσεως’). John
adds autobiographical information in a letter—the so-called De hymno trisagio
[cpg 8049]—sent to an archimandrite Iordanes; in a very personal, vivacious
and self-confident sentence he speaks about the trusting relationship with his
tutor, the late patriarch John v (706–735) of Jerusalem: ‘Who knew the thought
of the blessed patriarch John better than me? Nobody. To tell the truth, he never
made a dogmatic remark without referring it to me as his pupil (Τίς γὰρ οἶδε τοῦ
μακαριωτάτου Ἰωάννου τοῦ πατριάρχου νόημα ἐμοῦ πλέον; Οὐδείς. Ὅς, ἵνα τἀληθὲς
εἴπω, οὐκ ἀνέπνευσε πνοὴν δογματικὴν πώποτε, ἣν ἐμοὶ ὡς μαθητῇ οὐκ ἀνέθετο).’20
Many problems—above all chronological ones—are connected with the
Arabic Life,21 which became the framework for the widespread Greek Life
[bhg 884]. Its creation seems very plausible. A certain monk Michael from the
monastery of St Symeon Stylites near Antioch (Miḫāʾīl as-Simʿānī l-Anṭākī in
Arabic) explains it in his preface, written in 1085. He reports about the con-
quest of his hometown by the Seljuks under sultan Sulaimān b. Quṭulmiš in
the first three days of December 1084, of which he was witness. This date is a
historical fact; Michael informs us with great accuracy, being the most impor-
tant source for this incident.22 On December 4th, Michael was—together with
many inhabitants of Antioch—driven out of the citadel, their place of refuge.
The whole way down he prayed to Barbara the martyr and to the second saint
of this day, to John the priest from Damascus with the byname ‘the man who
exudes gold’. As he arrived down from the citadel, the enormous crowd was
sitting on a meadow and soon got the information that Sulaimān will give free-
dom to all of them and that they can all return relieved to their homes.
One year later, that is in 1085, Michael recollects these events and wishes to
learn more about John of Damascus, but was quickly faced with limiting fac-
tors. Initially, he heard that no complete biography existed, neither in Greek
nor in Arabic.
Here I am citing the English translation by Rocío Daga Portillo:
I had heard some disconnected biographical news and I found some very
cut down written memories in a summary of biographies of the Fathers of
this time, in addition to some incomplete fragments. I gathered all of this,
omitting some of them, because I did not find these sections correspond-
ing to the original.23 In that way I have composed only one continuous
biography.24
The monk Michael thus claims to have written in 1085, in Arabic, the first com-
plete Life of John Damascene. There is, however, a severe obstacle hindering
the acceptance of this theory. For decades the oldest witness of the Greek
Life [bhg 884], depending on an Arabic source, raised serious doubts; it is the
lower writing on the palimpsest leaves 109r, 108vr, 110vr und 107vr of the codex
rescriptus Vindob. phil. gr. 158,25 containing title and the first nine chapters
of [bhg 884]. Of course this writing is not from the 10th century,26 but on
no account from 1085 or later: ‘My first impression of the script in the Vien-
naMS is that it is earlier than 1085.’27 We have to look for its origin in the years
around 1040 (oral information by Erich Lamberz [Munich], December 2019).
Grusková’s attempt of a new date to the second half of the 11th century respec-
tively around the year 110028 has hitherto not succeeded. It is therefore possible
that Michael committed a fraud—benevolently spoken a pia fraus29—by writ-
ing only his preface and his epilogue and connecting them with the already
existing, but maybe not easily accessible Arabic Life. We should not condemn
him, because by doing this Michael probably rescued this text from threatened
oblivion. It will be the task of an Arabist to resolve by a stylistic and linguis-
tic examination, if Michael’s preface and epilogue and the nucleus of the Life
could have been written by two different authors. Peter Kawerau (1915–1988)
was not acquainted with this problem and believed in Michael’s authorship for
the preface and the whole Life. However, he makes an interesting observation:
The entire Life, not the preface, he says, is written in an Arabic characterized
by sentences long as tape-worms and totally un-Arabic constructions.30 In the
Vienna palimpsest not only the writing, but also the text itself makes the user
suspicious: being doubtless the oldest witness of [bhg 884], one would expect
on these leaves an excellent text close to the archetype. Unfortunately, this is
not the case. The Vienna palimpsest, bearing in the new edition the gramma-
logue ‘H’, is pretty far away from the group with the best text (grammalogues
A to F), and these manuscripts without exception are from the 14th or 15th
centuries; the plain, but beautifully written codex Athen. bn gr. 230 (14th cen-
tury), fol. 383r–409r, is the leader of this group (grammalogue ‘A’). Moreover,
the Vienna palimpsest is a solitary example in its details, without any close rel-
ative. Several lone variants of low quality, omissions and dittographies lead us
to the conclusion that the creation of [bhg 884] took place some, maybe many
years before the writing of the Vienna palimpsest.
A small table should illustrate the special cases:
Lem lifted his head and stared at Hashknife, who was smiling, as
he copied the telegram on the back of an envelope.
‘What in hell does that mean?’ demanded Lem anxiously.
‘Looks as though young Morgan was Peter’s son, don’t it?’
‘By golly, it shore does, Hashknife! What made yuh think to come
here and look for a telegram?’
‘A hunch.’
‘I’ll be darned. Hunch, eh? Wish I had hunches.’
‘What is it all about?’ asked Horton wonderingly.
‘Didn’t you do any wonderin’ when yuh got that telegram?’ asked
Lem.
‘I guess I didn’t. You see, I don’t know anything about Morgan.’
‘You didn’t know he was a bachelor?’
‘No. I’ve heard of him, but I never knew he didn’t have a family;
so the telegram didn’t mean anything to me.’
‘Well, he never had any wife or a son that we ever heard about.
The telegram says that his son was headed this way.’
‘Did he ever get here, sheriff?’
Lem scratched his head foolishly.
‘Well, we dunno yet, Jim. Don’t tell anybody about it.’
‘Is that all I can do for yuh, gents?’ asked Horton.
‘Yeah, that’s all, I reckon. Thank yuh, Horton.’
‘You’re welcome.’
They walked out of the depot and mounted their horses.
‘We’ll just keep this information under our hat, Lem,’ said
Hashknife as they road away.
‘Oh, shore. I may not be worth a damn to find out anythin’ but I
can keep still about it when somebody else tells me about it.’