Saint John Damascene, Confessor & Doctor
S. Ioannis Damasceni Confessoris et Ecclesiae Doctoris
Saint John Damascene (c. 676–c. 749), a monk and priest of the East, was the last of the great Greek Fathers and a Doctor of the Church, renowned for his defence of the holy images and his ordered exposition of the faith. His feast is kept on 27 March.
Saint John was born at Damascus around the year 676, into a distinguished Christian family that served in the administration of the city. After a time in public office he renounced the world and entered the monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, where he was ordained priest and gave himself to prayer, study, and writing. He lived under conditions far from the centres of imperial power, and from this monastic peace he laboured for the whole Church by his learning and his pen.
Defender of the Holy Images
Saint John is best remembered for his defence of the veneration of sacred images during the controversy over iconoclasm, when the holy pictures of Christ and the saints were attacked and destroyed. In a series of treatises he set forth the Church’s teaching with clarity: that the honour given to an image passes to the one it represents, and that since the Son of God truly took flesh, He may rightly be depicted. His writings did much to uphold the faithful in a time of great trial, and the teaching he defended was confirmed by the Church.
He was also a master of doctrine more broadly. His great work, known in the West as An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, gathered the teaching of the earlier Fathers into an ordered whole and became a treasury for theologians of both East and West for centuries afterward. He composed hymns and sacred poetry as well, and is honoured among the Eastern churches as a great singer of the Resurrection.
Doctor of the Church
Saint John died at the monastery of Saint Sabas around the year 749. Long venerated as the last of the Greek Fathers, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1890. His feast was thereafter kept in the universal calendar of the Roman Church.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we may be aided by the merits and teaching of blessed John, Thy Confessor and Doctor; and that, defended by his patronage, we may follow his life and doctrine. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut beati Ioannis Confessoris tui atque Doctoris nos et merita adiuvent et doctrina illuminet. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint John Damascene is venerated as a patron of sacred artists and iconographers, and is invoked by those who labour in theology and the defence of the faith.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, this feast is observed as an optional memorial on 4 December.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint John Damascene?
In the traditional calendar of the 1962 Missal, his feast is kept on 27 March. In the modern calendar it is observed as an optional memorial on 4 December.
Why is Saint John Damascene important?
He was the last of the great Greek Fathers and a Doctor of the Church. He is especially remembered for defending the veneration of sacred images and for gathering the teaching of the Fathers into an ordered exposition of the faith.
What did he teach about sacred images?
He taught that the honour shown to a holy image is directed not to the wood or paint but to the person it represents, and that since the Son of God truly became man, it is right to depict Him. This teaching was upheld by the Church.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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