Theological Term of the Week: John of Damascus

John of Damascus
“[T]he most outstanding Christian figure who lived and worked under Islamic rule.”1 Sometimes called the last of the Greek church fathers, he lived from 675 to 749. 

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, Volume 2 by N. H. Needham, page 31-33: 

John was a firm adherent of the Creed of Chalcedon., and opposed both Nestorianism and Monophysitism; he based his teaching largely on the Cappadocian fathers … . 

John also wrote a thoughtful and powerful defence of icons in the iconoclastic controversy, and a number of the most beautiful and popular of all Greek hymns.

The live and writings of John of Damascus, then, show us how a great Christian theologian could live and flourish under Islam.

• Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain, a hymn of John of Damascus: 

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain 
of triumphant gladness!
God hath brought forth Israel 
into joy from sadness,
loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
led them with unmoistened foot 
through the Red Sea waters.

’Tis the spring of souls today:
Christ hath burst his prison,
and from three days’ sleep in death 
as a sun hath risen.
Now rejoice, Jerusalem,
and with true affection
welcome in unwearied strains 
Jesus’ resurrection.

Neither shall the gates of death, 
nor the tomb’s dark portal,
nor the watchers, nor the seal 
hold thee as a mortal.
But arisen ’midst thy friends 
thou didst stand, bestowing
thy true peace, which evermore 
passes human knowing.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was John of Damascus?
2. Theopedia: John of Damascus
3. Christian History: John of Damascus

Related terms:

• Cappadocian fathers
• Creed of Chalcedon
• Nestorianism
• monophysitism

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, Volume 2 by N. R. Needham.

---

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.

Theological Term of the Week: Polycarp of Smyrna

Polycarp of Smyrna
“[B]ishop of the church of Smyrna in Asia Minor and one of the most famous martyrs of the 2nd Century.”1 He was also an apostolic father. He lived from 70 to 160 AD. 

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 59: 

[Polycarp’s] Letter to the church in Philippi is, perhaps, the best document from the age of the apostolic fathers for giving us a feeling of what typical, mainstream Christianity was like in this period. Polycarp’s letter was mostly made up of quotations from the New Testament. He warned the Philippians against departing from apostolic doctrine, and especially against the heresy of Docetism. He also exhorted them to live upright Christian lives, admonishing them against the sin of greed and urged on them the duty of submitting to their presbyters.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Polycarp?
2. EarlyChurch.org: Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
3. Christian History: Polycarp
4. 5 Minutes in Church History: Two Disciples of John: Polycarp
5. Christian History Institute: Polycarp’s Martyrdom

Related terms:

• apostolic fathers
• Justin Martyr
• Clement of Rome
• Ignatius of Antioch

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

---

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.

Theological Term of the Week: Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius of Antioch
“[T]he bishop of the church in Antioch at the beginning of the 2nd Century,” and an apostolic father. He died in 110 AD. 

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 59: 

Arrested for being a Christian, [Ignatius] was taken to Rome by a military escort, where the authorities executed him in about AD 110. As Ignatius journeyed to Rome, he wrote seven letters — to the churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Philadelphia and Smyrna (all in Asia Minor), and the church of Rome, and a personal letter to Polycarp, bishop of the church in Smyrna. In these letters Ignatius strongly urged the supreme importance of unity in the local church, arguing that this unity depended on having one bishop in charge of each congregation. Ignatius’s letters reveal a deep spiritual devotion to Christ and an enthusiastic longing to sacrifice his life for Christ’s sake.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Ignatius of Antioch?
2. Michael Haykin: ‘Come to the Father’: Ignatius of Antioch and His Calling to Be a Martyr 
3. EarlyChurch.org: Ignatius of Antioch
4. Chrisitan History: Ignatius of Antioch
5. 5 Minutes in Church History: Two Disciples of John: Ignatius
6. Christian History Institute: I am the wheat of God

Related terms:

• apostolic fathers
• Justin Martyr
• Clement of Rome
• Polycarp of Smyrna

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

---

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.