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:
- Got Questions: Who was John of Damascus?
- Theopedia: John of Damascus
- Christian History: John of Damascus
Related terms:
1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, Volume 2 by N. R. Needham.
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