Reverend John of Damascus was born in the capital of Syria, Damascus, from noble and pious parents, whose fiery faith in Christ, tested in sorrows and temptations, appeared stronger and more precious than gold that perishes, although tested by fire. Those were difficult times. The Saracens conquered that country and, having taken this glorious city, caused all sorts of troubles to Christians, killing some, selling others into slavery, and not allowing anyone to openly confess Christ. At this time, John's parents, covered by the Providence of God, were kept safe and healthy with all their property; They also observed the holy faith, for God gave them the opportunity to gain favor from the Saracens, as Joseph once did from the Egyptians and Daniel from the Babylonians, so that the evil Hagarites did not forbid the parents of the saint to believe in Christ and openly glorify His holy Name. In addition, they appointed Father Saint John as city judge and head of public buildings.
Living in such prosperity, he did a lot of good for his fellow believers: he ransomed prisoners, freed those in prison from shackles and delivered them from death, and gave a helping hand to all those who suffered. The saint's parents were in Damascus among the Hagarites, like lamps in the night, like a seed in Israel, like a spark in the ashes. For this reason they were preserved by God, so that through them the lamp of Christ, shining clearly throughout the whole world, would be kindled in the Church - Blessed John of Damascus. Having given birth to him according to the flesh, they hastened to make him a child of light through baptism, which was a very difficult matter at that time. The Hagarians did not allow anyone to be baptized, but the saint’s parents freely revived their child through baptism and gave him a name meaning the grace of God. The boy’s father took great care that he was brought up in good teaching and learned not Saracen customs, not military courage, not animal hunting, not any other worldly art, but meekness, humility, the fear of God and the knowledge of the Divine Scriptures. Therefore, he earnestly asked God to send his son a wise and pious man who would be a good teacher and mentor for the boy in good deeds. The saint’s parent was heard by God and received what he wanted in this way.
The Damascus robbers carried out frequent raids on both land and sea neighboring countries, captured Christians and, bringing them to their city, sold some in the markets, others were put to death. One day they happened to capture a certain monk named Cosmas, handsome in appearance and beautiful in soul, who came from Italy. Together with other captives, they decided to sell him at the market. Those whom the robbers wanted to behead with a sword, falling at the feet of this monk, with tears begged him to pray to God for their souls. Seeing what kind of respect was paid to the monk by those doomed to death, the Saracens asked him what rank and honor he enjoyed in his homeland among Christians. He answered:
I did not have any rank, I was not even awarded the priesthood; I am only a sinful monk, taught philosophy and not only Christian, but also that which the pagan sages invented!
Having said this, the monk wept bitterly. John's parent stood not far away, seeing the weeping old man and recognizing him by his clothes as a monk, he approached him and, wanting to console him in his sorrow, said:
In vain, man of God, do you cry over the loss of the world, which you long ago renounced and for which you died, as I see from your appearance and clothing.
“I cry,” the monk answered, “not for the loss of the world - for him, as you said, I died - and I do not care about anything worldly, knowing that there is another life - a better, immortal and eternal life, prepared for the servants of Christ, which I hope and I receive with the help of God; I cry because I am leaving this world childless, without leaving behind an heir.
John’s parent was amazed at the monk’s words and said:
Father, you are a monk who dedicated yourself to God to preserve purity, and not to give birth to children: why do you grieve for children?
The monk replied:
You do not understand, sir, what I said: I am not talking about a carnal son and not about an earthly inheritance, but about a spiritual one. I, as you can see, am a poor monk and have nothing, but I have a great wealth of wisdom, with which I have been enriched from a young age by working with God’s help. I have studied various human sciences: rhetoric, dialectics, philosophy, taught by the Stagirite and the son of Ariston, I know land surveying and music, I have well studied the movement of celestial bodies and the flow of stars, so that from the beauty of creation and its wise structure I can come to a clearer knowledge of the Creator Himself ; Finally, I have thoroughly studied the teaching on the mysteries of Orthodoxy compiled by Greek and Roman theologians. Having such knowledge myself, I have not taught it to anyone, and what I have learned, I cannot teach anyone now, for I have neither the time nor the student, and I think that here I will die from the sword of the Hagarians and appear before my Lord like a tree, which bears no fruit, like a slave who hid his master's talent in the ground. This is what I cry and sob about. Just as fathers according to the flesh grieve that while they are married they do not have children, so I grieve and grieve that I do not have a single spiritual son who would be the heir after me of my wealth of wisdom.
Hearing such words, the father of Saint John rejoiced that he had found the long-desired treasure, and said to the elder:
Do not be sad, father: God can fulfill the desire of your heart.
Having said this, he hastily went to the Saracen prince and, falling at his feet, earnestly asked to give him the captive monk and did not receive a refusal: the prince gave him this gift, which, indeed, was more precious than many other gifts. With joy, John's parent brought blessed Cosmas into his home and consoled him after long suffering, providing him with comfort and peace.
Father,” he said, “be the master of my house and a sharer in all my joys and sorrows.”
And he also added:
God not only gave you freedom, but also fulfilled your desire. I have two children: one is my son according to the flesh - John, and the other is a youth, adopted by me in place of my son, originally from Jerusalem, an orphan from childhood, he has the same name as you, for he is also called Cosmas. I pray you, father, teach them wisdom and good morals and guide them in every good deed, make them your spiritual sons, revive them and educate them in teaching, and leave them behind you as heirs of that spiritual wealth that no one can steal.
The blessed elder Cosmas rejoiced, glorified God and began to diligently educate and teach both youths. The youths were intelligent, mastered everything taught by the teacher and studied successfully. John, like an eagle soaring through the air, comprehended the lofty secrets of teaching, and his spiritual brother Cosmas, like a ship rushing quickly with a fair wind, soon comprehended the depth of wisdom. Studying diligently and diligently, they acquired wisdom in a short time, studied grammar, philosophy and arithmetic, and became like Pythagoras and Diophanes; They also studied land surveying, so that they could be recognized as new Euclids. The church hymns and poems they composed testify to how they improved in poetry. They did not abandon astronomy, and also studied theological mysteries well. In addition, they learned good morals and a virtuous life and became completely perfect in knowledge, spiritual and worldly wisdom. John was especially successful. The teacher himself was amazed at him, whom he surpassed in some areas of wisdom. And John was a great theologian, as evidenced by his divinely inspired and wise books. But he was not proud of his wisdom. Like a fruitful tree, the more fruit it grows, the lower its branches bow to the ground, so John, the more he advanced in wisdom, the less he thought about himself and knew how to tame the vain dreams of his youth and passionate thoughts, but his soul, like a lamp, filled with oil, kindle with the fire of Divine desire.
And one day the teacher Cosmas said to John’s father: “Your desire, sir, has come true: your youths have learned well, so that they already surpass me in wisdom; it is not enough for such students to be equal to their teacher.” Thanks to their great memory and incessant work, they perfectly comprehended the entire depth of wisdom; God increased their talent. I don’t need to teach them any further: they themselves are already capable of teaching others. Therefore, I beg you, sir, let me go to a monastery, where I myself will be a student and learn the highest wisdom from perfect monks. The worldly philosophy that I have learned sends me to spiritual philosophy, which is more worthy and purer than worldly philosophy, for it is beneficial and saves the soul.
Hearing this, John’s father was saddened, not wanting to lose such a worthy and wise mentor. However, he did not dare to restrain the elder, so as not to sadden him, fulfilled his wish and, having generously rewarded him, sent him away in peace. The monk retired to the monastery of St. Sava and, having lived there safely until his death, went to the most perfect Wisdom - God. A few years later, John’s father also died. The Saracen prince, calling upon John, invited him to become his first adviser; John refused, having another desire - to work for God in silence. However, he was forced to obey and against his desire to accept the leadership and he received greater power in the city of Damascus than his father.
At that time, Leo the Isaurian reigned in Greece, who brutally, like a roaring lion, rebelled against the Church of God. Casting out icons from holy churches, he consigned them to flames, and mercilessly tormented Orthodox believers and those who worshiped holy icons with fierce torment. Hearing about this, John was inflamed with the 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 wicked king; he sent out many messages about the veneration of holy icons to those faithful who were known to him. In these messages, based on Holy Scripture and the ancient tradition of the God-bearing fathers, he wisely showed how to pay due veneration to the holy icons. John asked those to whom he wrote to show his message to other brothers of the same faith for their confirmation in Orthodoxy. Thus the saint strove to fill the entire universe with his divinely inspired messages. Spreading throughout the entire Greek kingdom, they confirmed the Orthodox in piety, and struck heretics as if with ashes. Rumors of this reached King Leo himself, who, unable to bear the exposure of his wickedness, called to himself like-minded heretics and commanded them to, having assumed a false form of piety, find among the Orthodox some epistle of John, written by him. with my own hand, and asked to read it as if for their own benefit. After many efforts, the accomplices of this evil plan found somewhere among the believers one letter, written by John’s own hand, and, having flatteringly begged, gave it into the hands of the king. The king instructed skilled scribes to, looking at John’s letter, write in the same letters on behalf of the holy message to him - King Leo, as if written by John’s own hand 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 a strong guard at all, the army in it is weak and small in number. I beg you, be merciful to this city, for God’s sake, send your brave army. Having shown 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 him to write from himself to the Saracen prince like this:
There is nothing better, I think, than to have peace and be in friendship, for keeping peaceful promises is very commendable and kind 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 the one who dares to write to me like that, you will see treason and enmity and you will know how to execute him.
The wicked King Leo sent these two letters with one of his confidants to Damascus to the prince of the Saracens. Having accepted and read them, the prince called John and showed him the false letter that was written to King Leo. John, reading and examining the letter, said:
The letters in this charter are somewhat similar to the writing of my hand, but it was not my hand that wrote this, for it never even occurred to me to write to the king of Greece; it cannot be that I served my master deceitfully.
John realized that this was the work of the enemy, evil, heretical cunning. But the prince, becoming enraged, ordered the right hand of the innocent John to be cut off. John earnestly 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 angry prince ordered the execution to be carried out immediately. And they cut off John’s right hand, the hand that strengthened the faithful in God; this hand, which denounced with its writings those who hated the Lord, 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 hanged in the market, in the middle of the city, and John himself, exhausted from pain and loss of blood, was taken to his home. When evening came, learning that the prince’s anger had already passed, the blessed one sent him the following request:
My illness is increasing and tormenting me inexpressibly; I cannot have any consolation as long as my truncated arm hangs in the air; I pray you, my lord, command that my hand be given to me so that I can bury it in the ground, for I believe that if it is buried, I will receive relief from my illness.
The torturer heeded this request and ordered to remove his hand from public place and give it to John. Taking the truncated hand, John entered his prayer room and, falling to the ground in front of the holy icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, depicted with the Child of God in her arms, he put the severed hand to the joint and began to pray with tears and sighing coming from the depths of his heart:
To the Lady Most Pure Mother, who gave birth to My God, my right hand was cut off for the sake of Divine icons. You know what made Leo angry, so hurry to help and heal my hand. The Right Hand of the Most High, incarnate from You, performs many miracles for the sake of Your prayers, therefore I pray that He will heal my right hand through Your intercession. O Bogomati! 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 about the rest, but work hard with it, as you promised me, make it a cursive 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 over him. Rising and raising his hands to the sky, he offered thanks to God and the Mother of God. And he rejoiced all night with the whole house, singing a new song:
- "Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength"(Ex. 15:6); Thy right hand healed my truncated right hand and will crush the enemies who do not honor Thy Honest and Thy Most Pure Mother image, and will destroy with it, for the exaltation of Thy glory, the enemies who destroy icons.
When John rejoiced in this way with his family and sang songs of thanks, the neighbors heard this and, having learned about the reason for his joy and joy, were very surprised. The Saracen prince soon learned about this and, immediately calling John, ordered to show him the truncated hand. On the joint from which the hand was cut off, a sign remained like a red thread, formed by the will of the Mother of God, as an obvious indication of the former cutting off of the hand. Seeing this, the prince asked:
What doctor and with what medicine connected the hand so well to the joint and so quickly healed and revived it, as if it had not been cut off 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 healthy the hand that you ordered to be cut off.
Then the prince exclaimed:
Woe is me! Without considering the slander, I unjustly condemned and innocently executed you, good man. I ask you, forgive us that we condemned you so quickly and unreasonably, accept from us your former rank and former honor and be our first adviser. From now on, nothing will happen in our state without you and your advice.
But John, falling at the prince’s feet, asked for a long time that he would let him go and not prevent him from following his Lord with those monks who denied themselves and took upon themselves the yoke of the Lord. 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 quickly, he nevertheless begged the prince, and he was given the freedom to do what he pleased.
Returning to his home, John immediately distributed his countless estates to those in need, set his slaves free, and he and his fellow disciple Cosmas went to Jerusalem. There, having bowed to the holy places, he came to the Lavra of St. Sava and began to beg the abbot to accept him, like a lost sheep, and introduce him to his chosen flock. The abbot 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 to humility and poverty and wanted to be a monk. Having received him with love, the abbot called on one of the brethren, the most experienced and one who had labored in ascetic deeds, wanting to entrust John to him as a leader, so that he could teach him both spiritual wisdom and monastic deeds. But he refused, not wanting to be the teacher of such a person, whose learning surpassed many. The abbot called another monk, but this one did not want to, and the third and fourth and all the others refused, each of them admitted that he was unworthy to be the mentor of such a wise man, in addition, everyone was embarrassed by John’s nobility. After all, one simple-minded, but reasonable old man was called; he did not refuse to be John's mentor. Having received John into his cell and wanting to lay in him the foundations of a virtuous life, the elder first of all gave him the following rules: that he should not do anything of his own free will; so that he would offer his labors and fervent prayers to God as a kind of sacrifice; so that he shed tears from his eyes if he wants to cleanse the sins of his past life, for this is more valuable before God than any expensive incense. These rules were the basis for those deeds that are performed by bodily labor. The elder laid down the following rules for what befits the soul: so that John should not have anything worldly in his mind; not only did he not imagine any indecent images in his imagination, but he would keep his mind inviolable and pure from all vain addiction and empty pride; so that he does not boast about his wisdom and what he has learned, and does not think that he can comprehend everything perfectly to the end; so that he does not seek any revelations or knowledge of hidden secrets; I would not have hoped for the rest of my life that his mind was unshakable and could not sin or 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 will be enlightened by God, his soul will be sanctified and his body will be cleansed from all filth; let his body and soul unite with the mind and become three in the image of the Holy Trinity, and man will become neither carnal nor spiritual, but spiritual in everything, changed by good will from the two parts of man - body and soul into the third and most important, that is, into the mind . Such a spiritual father prescribed statutes for his spiritual son and teacher for his disciple, adding the following words:
Not only do not write messages to anyone, but do not even talk about anything from secular sciences. Observe silence with reason, for you know that not only our philosophers teach silence, but Pythagoras also bequeathed long-term silence to his disciples, and do not think that speaking good things prematurely is a good thing. Listen to David who said: " was silent even about good things"(Ps. 39:3). What benefit did he get from this? - listen: " My heart was inflamed within me"(Ps. 38:4), i.e., by the fire of divine love, which was kindled in the prophet by thinking about God.
All these instructions of the elder went into the heart of John, like a seed on good soil, and having sprouted, it took root, for John, living for a long time with that God-inspired elder, carefully followed all his instructions and listened to his orders, obeying him unfeignedly, without contradiction or any grumbling; Even in his thoughts he never resisted the elder’s orders. This is what he wrote in his heart, as on tablets: “Every commandment of the father, according to the teaching of the apostles, must be fulfilled without anger and doubt” (cf. 1 Tim. 2:8). And what good will it be for someone who is in obedience to have deeds in his hands, and grumbling in his mouth, to carry out orders, but to contradict with his tongue or mind, and when will such a person be perfect? Never. In vain such people work and think that 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 the elder, wanting to test John’s obedience and humility, collected many baskets, the weaving of which was their occupation, and said to John:
I heard, child, that in Damascus baskets are sold more expensive than in Palestine, but we lack many essentials in our cells, as you can see for yourself. So, take these baskets, go quickly to Damascus and sell them there. But be careful not to sell them for less than the stated price.
And the elder set a price for the baskets much higher than they were worth. The true novice did not contradict either in word or in mind, did not say that those baskets were not worth the price assigned and that the road was very long; did not even think that he was ashamed to go to that city where everyone knew him and where he was previously known to everyone for his power; He did not say or think anything like that, showing himself to be an imitator of the Master Christ, submissive to death.
Having said: “Bless, father,” and having accepted the 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 being sold, and, having learned their high price, scolded and laughed, insulted and reproached John. The blessed one’s acquaintances did not recognize him, because he, who had once worn gold-woven clothes, was dressed in the rags of beggars, his face had changed from fasting, his cheeks had dried out and his beauty had faded. But one citizen, who had once been John’s servant, peered carefully 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 assigned to the saints for all the baskets - not because he needed the baskets, but out of pity for such a man, who from great fame and wealth I came, for God’s sake, into such humility and poverty. Having taken payment for the baskets, John returned to the one who had sent him, like some conqueror from a war who, through obedience and humility, had cast down to earth the enemy the devil, and with him pride and vain glory.
After some time, one monk of that monastery died. His brother, left alone after the death, cried inconsolably for him. John consoled him for a long time, but could not console his infinitely distressed and saddened brother. With tears, he began to ask John to write some kind of touching funeral song for him to console and ease his sadness. John refused, fearing to break the commandment of the elder, who ordered him not to do anything without his command. But the lamenting brother did not cease to pray to John, saying:
Why don’t you have mercy on my sorrowful soul and give me at least a small cure for my great heart disease? If you were a physical doctor and some physical illness happened to me, and I asked you to treat me, would you really, having the opportunity to heal, reject me, and I would die from that illness? Would you not give an answer to God for me, because you could have helped me and refused? Now I suffer more from heart disease and seek the least help from you, but you neglect me. And if I die of sadness, won’t you give a big answer to God for me? If you are afraid of the elder’s orders, then I will hide what you wrote in such a way that your elder will not know or hear about it.
John finally bowed to such speeches and wrote the following funeral troparia:
- “What is this worldly sweetness”, “all human vanity”, “people who are troubled in vain”, and others, which to this day are sung in church during funeral services for the dead.
One day, when the elder left his cell somewhere, John, sitting in it, sang the troparia he had composed. After some time, the elder returned and, approaching the cell, heard John singing. Immediately he hurriedly entered the cell and began to say to him with anger:
Why did you so quickly forget your promises and, instead of crying, rejoice and have fun, humming 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, began to ask the elder for forgiveness, falling on his face to the ground. However, the elder, as inexorable as a hard stone, immediately excommunicated the blessed one from his cohabitation and kicked him out of his cell. The expelled John remembered the expulsion of Adam from paradise, which happened for disobedience, and wept bitterly in front of the elder’s cell, as Adam had once done before paradise. After this, he went to other fathers, whom he recognized as perfect in virtue, and prayed for them to go to the elder and beg him to forgive him for 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 penance on the sinner, but do not excommunicate him from cohabitation with you.
The elder said:
This is the penance I impose on him if he wants to receive forgiveness for his disobedience: let him cleanse with his own hands the passages of all the cells 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 unyielding disposition of the elder. Having met them and bowed as usual, John asked what their father had told them. Having told about the elder’s cruelty, they did not dare to say about what the elder had assigned him for testing; they were ashamed to report such commands from the elder. But John persistently asked them to tell him what his father had assigned him, and, having learned, he rejoiced beyond their expectations, willingly accepting the task 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 uncleanness with those hands that he had previously anointed with various aromas, and desecrating with uncleanness that right hand, which was miraculously healed by the Most Pure Mother of God. 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 kind of sufferer for Christ have I made? Here is the true son of blessed obedience!
John, ashamed of the elder’s words, fell prostrate before him as before God, and, not being exalted by his father’s praiseworthy speeches, but even more humbled, 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 Most Blessed Virgin, appeared to the elder in a night vision and said:
Why did you block a spring that could flow sweet and abundant water - water that is better than that flowing from a stone in the desert - the water that David wanted to drink - the water that Christ promised to the Samaritan woman? Do not prevent the source from flowing: it will flow abundantly, and will flow and water the entire universe, cover the seas of heresies and transform them into wonderful sweetness. Let those who are thirsty strive for this water, and let those who do not have the silver of a pure life sell their passions and, by imitation of the virtue of John, let them acquire purity from it in dogmas and in deeds. 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 it are the useless songs of Orpheus, which are narrated in fables; he will sing a spiritual heavenly song and imitate the cherubic chants. He will make all the churches of Jerusalem as if they were young women playing on tympanums, so that they would sing to the Lord, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ; he will write dogmas Orthodox faith and will expose heretical false teachings: " A good word poured out from my heart; I say: my song is about the King" (Ps. 44:2).
The next morning the elder called John and said to him:
O child of the obedience of Christ! Open your mouth to attract the spirit, and what you have perceived in your heart, say with your lips; let them speak of the wisdom which you have learned by meditating on God. Open your mouth not to stories, but to words of truth, and not to fortune-telling, but to dogmas. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, which contemplates God, i.e. to a peaceful church; speak not empty words thrown into the air, but those that the Holy Spirit has written on your heart. Ascend to the high Sinai of the Vision of God and the revelation of Divine mysteries, and for your great humility, through which you have descended to the last depth, now ascend to the church mountain and preach, bringing the good news to Jerusalem. Raise your voice strongly, for the Mother of God told me many wonderful things about you. I pray you forgive me for being 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 chants. He composed an octo of them, with which, like a spiritual flute, he amuses the Church of God to this day. John began his first book with these words: “Your commanding right hand was gloriously glorified in the fortress.”
Regarding the miraculous healing of his right hand, he, in a rapture of joy, cried out to the Mother of God: “Every creature rejoices in you, O Blessed One.”
John, in remembrance of the wondrous miracle of the Most Pure Mother of God, wore the cloth with which his severed hand was entwined on his head. He also wrote the lives of some saints, composed 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 composed other spiritually beneficial works, which to this day the faithful feed on 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 the same teacher. He encouraged him to write Divine books and compose church songs and helped him himself. Subsequently, Cosmas was installed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem as Bishop of Mayum. After this, the same patriarch, calling the Monk John, ordained him as a presbyter. But John did not want to remain in the world for long. Shying 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 salvation. Having collected all the books he had previously written, John read them again 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 labors, useful for himself and important for the Church of Christ, and in monastic exploits, John spent a lot of time and achieved perfect monasticism and holiness. Having pleased God, he went 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 worthy of the same Divine contemplation, through His holy prayers and the grace of Christ, to Him and with His Most Blessed and Most Blessed Mother may there be honor, glory and worship forever. Amen.
Troparion, tone 8:
Teacher of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and purity, lamp of the universe, God-inspired fertilizer for the monastics, John the Wise, with your teachings you have enlightened everything, O spiritual woman. Pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion, tone 4:
Let us sing to the hymn-writer and honest blasphemer, to the church as a punisher and teacher, and to the enemies of the opponent John: for we take up the weapon, the Cross of the Lord, reflect all the charm of heresies, and as a warm intercessor to God, grants forgiveness of sins to all. 
1 Damascus is the main, richest trading city of Syria, one of the oldest in the whole world; lies northeast of Palestine, with the Barada River flowing through it, in a beautiful and fertile plain, at the eastern base of Anti-Lebanon. And now Damascus, part of the Turkish Empire, is one of the richest cities in Asia, with a population of over 150,000 people. residents.
2 St. John of Damascus was born around 680. His family name was Mansur.
3 Gen 41:37.
5 Hagarians or otherwise Saracens are Arabian Bedouins. The name Hagaryans, 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 Hagarians because, according to Jewish tradition, they were descendants of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, Abraham's servant.
6 Father St. John of Damascus, Sergius Mansur, corrected under the caliph of Damascus Abd-Almalik (686-705) the position of chief logothete, i.e. treasury manager, treasurer.
7 John, translated from Hebrew, means: God's grace.
8 Stagira is a city on the Chalcedonian Peninsula, where the Greek philosopher Aristotle (IV century BC) was born, therefore called Stagirite. The Greek philosopher Platanus (IV century BC) is named here as the son of Ariston. Philosophy is a science that studies the highest questions of existence, 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.
9 Gospel expression from the parable of the talents. Matt. 25:16.
10 Pythagoras - famous Greek philosopher of the 6th century. BC; Diophanes - Alexandrian mathematician of the 4th century. according to R.H.
11 Euclid - mathematician of the 3rd century. BC
12 Reverend Savva, so-called. “The Sanctified One,” the great hermit of Palestine (his memory is celebrated on December 5), a disciple and associate of Saints Euthymius and Theodosius the Great, subsequently asceticised in solitude in the desert near Jerusalem, where in 484 he founded a monastery 12 versts from Jerusalem, later known as the Lavra Savva the Sanctified.
13 The highest authority at the court of St. John of Damascus reached under the caliph Velid (705-716), for whom he was the closest adviser and minister. But, having accepted the responsibilities of the new title, 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. Proclaiming the truth of Christ and exposing false teachings became the main work of life for John. And he, from the very first days of his activity, came out to fight the heretics of that time: the Nestorians, who enjoyed patronage in Syria, who separated the 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 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 supposedly absorbed the human nature in Him. Against the latter, John of Damascus wrote a rather lengthy, thorough essay in defense of the pure, Orthodox faith. In addition, he fought against Monothelitism, which had degenerated from Monophysitism, which recognized in Christ only the Divine will, and against the remnants of the ancient Gnostic teachings, combined with the false teachings of the Manichaeans - with the heresy of the so-called. The “Paulicians” recognized, in addition to the good God, who created the pure spirit and was revealed in Christianity, an 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 rituals and external institutions of the church. Finally. John of Damascus also wrote an apologia against Mohammedanism, which at that time dominated in Syria.
14 Leo the Isaurian reigned in Byzantine Empire from 716 to 741
15 St. John of Damascus wrote an essay in defense of St. icons and sent him to Constantinople, where, among other things, he wrote: “Conscious of my unworthiness, without a doubt I should remain silent and only mourn my sins before God, but seeing that the Church of God is agitated by a cruel storm, I think that now is not the time to remain silent “I fear God more than the earthly sovereign, yet the sovereign’s power is so great that it can easily captivate the people.” But what is offensive in this work towards the Emperor Leo is St. John didn't say anything. At the request of his friends, John wrote one after another two letters in defense of St. icons The epistles of John were read with thirst in Constantinople and in other places; the weak were supported by them in Orthodoxy, and the strong were strengthened in strength.
16 Osten, ostna, osn - a pointed cane used to encourage donkeys and oxen to walk faster.
17 Damascene’s fellow student and friend Cosmas, later Bishop of Mayum, one of the greatest hymns of Eastern Orthodox Church. His memory is celebrated by the church on October 12.
18 According to the statute of St. Savva the Sanctified, each newcomer was entrusted for testing, supervision and admonition to an elder experienced in spiritual life. This is what they did with John, despite the fact that his pious life and extensive learning were known throughout the East.
19 Tablets - stone tablets that were used in ancient times for writing; The ten commandments of God's law were inscribed on the tablets at Sinai. In a figurative sense, the tablets mean the human heart.
20 These are, for example, “Where there is worldly passion”, “I have mentioned the prophets crying: I am earth and ashes”, “I weep and weep”, and others, the so-called “self-agreed”. All of them are distinguished by their extraordinary touchingness; naturally and with force, at the grave of the sons of Adam, they depict the fate of the son of dust and the vanity and corruption of everything earthly, 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.
21 Penance, from Greek, means: retribution, punishment, prohibition. Penance was established in the church for penitents in ancient times and is based on the words of St. Paul, who, giving the Corinthians advice or rule (canon) to forgive the sins of a repentant and accept him into their fellowship, says that the prohibition (epitimia) is enough for him - and adds that if they accept him into their love, then he too. In the breviary, penance is called the “canon (rule) of satisfaction.” Thus, according to the instructions of the Apostle, penance consists in prohibiting the sinner from having fellowship with the church for a time, which is why it is a punishment. But at the same time, it does not mean punitive measures, deprivation of the rights of a church member; it is only “spiritual medicine.” In the language of church canons, penance means the voluntary performance by the confessor, as prescribed by the confessor, of certain works of piety (prolonged prayer, alms, intense fasting, pilgrimage, etc.).
22 Number 20:11. It speaks of the water miraculously brought out of the rock by Moses with the blow of his staff.
23 2 Sam. 23:15.
24 Jn. 4:14. The Lord promised the Samaritan woman living water flowing into eternal life, i.e. the grace of the Holy Spirit.
25 Ref. 20. As is known, the hymns of Moses and Miriam after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea were included in many hymns of John of Damascus and, by the way, served as the basis for the 1st song of the canons.
26 Orpheus - singer - hero Greek myths, the power of whose singing was so great that he set trees and rocks in motion and tamed wild animals.
27 1st Irmos of the 1st tone in the Octoechos. Octoechos was one of the first works of song by St. John of Damascus. According to Patriarch John of Jerusalem, St. Damascene, unshakable confessor and sufferer for the veneration of St. The icon, inspired by the miraculous healing of his hand, cut off by the enemies of the faith, sang this solemn song: “Your commanding right hand was gloriously glorified in the fortress,” which was based on the victorious, grateful song of Moses during the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, after which ranks of others followed sacred songs that made up the octoich, or osmoglasnik (Sunday services divided into 8 voices), the appearance of which produced a change in the entire composition of the church service. Even during the life of St. Damascene's octoi were received throughout the east, and after a while they moved to the west; Subsequently, the octoich was multiplied by the hymns of other Christian hymns, but even in the present form of services on Sundays, the main composition belongs to St. 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, Little Vespers and Midnight Office. The singing of the Octoechos begins on weekdays after the Sunday (week) of All Saints and ends before the Saturday of the Week of the Meat; on Sundays it begins on the Sunday following the week of All Saints and continues until the 6th week of Lent. The octane is not used during worship, except for the indicated intervals, even on the twelfth holidays and on their forefeasts, which occur on weekdays. Octoechos gave the church service greater certainty and uniformity. Having imparted to church singing the correct uniformity and feelings worthy of Christian service, St. Damascene thereby put an obstacle to the disorder that had prevailed in church singing before him with his octoechus. Of the many different melodies, he chose for church hymns mainly those that are capable of expressing feelings suitable for Christians, and did not use those that could arouse feelings incompatible with the importance of Christianity. He limited himself to seven voices so that those praying would not be distracted by the variety and frequent changes of tunes, and so that a certain number of melodies, keeping attention on worthy and collectively understood tunes for each, would arouse certain and worthy qualities and affirm the spirit and content of the chanted prayers in the general attention. The same definiteness of the melodies put an end to the arbitrary inventions of refined, scattered, irreverent art, and the simplicity of the melodies of the osmoglasnik, expressing the humble simplicity of Christian prayer, disposes the soul to the same prayer and, snatching it from the noise of vanity, as if lifts it to the throne of God. At the same time, the eight voices seem to indicate the eight voices of the heavenly hierarchy, constantly glorifying God: the Mother of God, angels, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints and righteous, and therefore the singing of the Octoechos can spiritually and mysteriously signify the "non-silent prayer singing of in the likeness of the saints, eternally rejoicing in heaven before the throne of God.The musical signs of the octoechus of St. John of Damascus were hooked.
28 Subsequently this solemn song in honor and glorification Holy Mother of God became part of the liturgy of Basil the Great as a deserving saint. Among other numerous hymns of St. John of Damascus, in general, he composed especially many hymns in honor of the Mother of God, under whose special grace-filled protection and intercession he was. These are, for example, his canons for the Annunciation, Dormition, Nativity of the Virgin Mary, “Open the doors of Mercy to us,” “Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Thy Son,” “I place all my hope in Thee,” and others. In general, as a church hymnist, Damascene is higher than in all other respects, and is positively inimitable, which is why he was called “Gold-streamed” 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 remarkable animation characteristic of a high singer. Of the 64 canons he compiled, the most sublime, solemn and joyful is the canon on St. Easter. St. John of Damascus composed the entire Easter service, after which in the examples of human creativity it is impossible to find another song more full of feelings that are as alive as they are lofty, with holy and truly unearthly delights. The canons for the Nativity of Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of the Lord with stichera are approaching Easter. His Sunday services are as excellent in poetic power as in their dogmatic content. Damascus wrote a beautiful troparion: “We worship Your Most Pure Image, O Good One.” His antiphons and funeral songs are also remarkable - exemplary and touching songs of a repentant soul. Damascene composed many stichera and other church hymns. In general, Damascene is such a hymn-writer, the greater of whom has never been seen in the church before or since.
29 In addition to his chants, St. John of Damascus became 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 him into a distinct thinker, precise in his concepts and words. St. John was the first of the church fathers to set out in a harmonious, systematic order the theological teaching of the Orthodox Church, which is his inalienable glory. In his writings, Damascene is a dogmatist and polemicist, historian and philosopher, orator and church poet. He gave his three most important works: dialectics, a book on heresies and an exposition of faith, completely different in subject matter, one common name - “The Source of Knowledge.” The most important of them is the “Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” which constitutes a harmoniously and consistently presented systematic teaching about the contemplative truths of Revelation, which served as a model for Eastern and Western theologians. In addition, in the same strict order, St. John wrote “Sacred Parallels” - a comparison of the sayings of Holy Scripture about the rules of faith and piety with the sayings of the fathers and teachers of the church; subjects here are arranged alphabetically in order to be closer to 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 works on dogmatics: “On Correct Thinking” - with an explanation of the teachings of the six ecumenical councils; “On the Holy Trinity”, “On the Image of God in Man”, “On the Nature of Man” and so on. Between the works 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. Next, we should note brief interpretations of the Epistles of St. Paul, an extensive memoir of St. Martyr Artemia and his sermons, for example on the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Nativity and Dormition of the Mother of God, the Word about those who have fallen asleep in the faith, the instruction on the eight evil thoughts, etc. Finally, Damascene rendered an important service to the rite of worship, revising and supplementing the Jerusalem Rule, compiled by the Venerable. Savva the Sanctified, and having compiled the months.
30 Saint John of Damascus died around 777, 104 years old, and was buried in the Lavra of Saint Sava near the shrine of St. founder of the Lavra. Under the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328), St. his relics were transferred to Constantinople.
From the Editor: Unfortunately, many lay people, even churchgoers, still do not know about this wonderful and remarkable fact in the history of the Orthodox Church. We decided to talk about this MIRACLE that happened to St. John of Damascus - Father of the Church - on our website. It was his... GROWTH, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, after being cut off due to libel, that hand became the reason for the appearance of such an icon so revered in our world Mother of God, called “Three-handed”!
The events that laid the foundation for the glorification of the “Three-Handed” icon of the Mother of God date back to the 8th century, to the times of iconoclasm. The warriors of the heretic emperor Leo the Isaurian scoured the houses of Orthodox Christians, looking for icons, took them away and burned them, and handed over the icon worshipers to torture and death.
Only outside the Byzantine lands, in Muslim Damascus, the Orthodox were not constrained in the veneration of icons. The reason was that the first minister of the local caliph was a zealous Christian, theologian and hymnographer John of Damascus (his memory is celebrated by the Church on December 4). John forwarded letters to his many acquaintances in Byzantium, in which, on the basis of Holy Scripture and patristic traditions, he proved the correctness of icon veneration. The inspired letters of John of Damascus were secretly copied and passed from hand to hand, greatly contributing to the assurance of the truth of the Orthodox and the denunciation of the iconoclastic heresy.
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| Damascus. Modern look. |
The enraged emperor, in order to deprive the Church of the invincible defender of Orthodoxy, decided to treacherously exterminate John of Damascus. He ordered skilled scribes to carefully study John's handwriting and write, as if by his hand, a forged letter to the emperor proposing treason. The letter reported that the city of Damascus was carelessly guarded by the Saracens and that the Byzantine army could easily capture it, for which all possible assistance from the first minister was promised.
The emperor sent such a fake letter to the caliph, hypocritically explaining that, despite John’s proposals, he wanted peace and friendship with the caliph, and advised the execution of the traitorous minister.
The caliph fell into a rage and, forgetting about the many years of devoted service of his minister, ordered his right hand, with which he allegedly wrote treasonous lines, to be cut off. The severed hand was hung in plain sight in the market square.
John suffered severely from pain, and even more from undeserved insult. By evening, he asked the caliph to allow him to bury the severed hand of his right hand. The Caliph, remembering the previous zeal of his minister, agreed.
Having locked himself in the house, John of Damascus applied the severed hand to the wound and went deep into prayer. The saint asked the Mother of God to heal the right hand, which wrote in defense of Orthodoxy, and vowed to use this hand to create creations for the glory of the Lady.
At that moment he fell asleep. In a dream vision, the Mother of God appeared to him and said: “You are healed, work diligently with this hand.”
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Having awakened, John of Damascus poured out his gratitude to the wonderful Healer in the wondrous hymn “Every creature rejoices in you, O joyful one...”. The news of the miracle quickly spread throughout the city. The ashamed caliph asked John of Damascus for forgiveness and called on him to return to business government controlled, but from now on John devoted all his strength to serving God alone. He retired to a monastery in the name of Saint Sava the Sanctified, where he took monastic vows. Here the monk brought an icon of the Mother of God, which sent down healing to him. In memory of the miracle, he attached to the lower part of the icon an image of his right hand, cast in silver.
Since then, such a right hand has been depicted on all lists of the miraculous image, called the “Three-Handed One.”
The image remained in the monastery in the name of Saint Sava until the 13th century, when it was presented to another Saint Sava, the Archbishop of Serbia. During the invasion of Serbia by the Hagarians, the Orthodox, wanting to preserve the icon, placed it on a donkey and let it go without an escort. With the precious luggage, he himself reached the Holy Mount Athos and stopped at the gates of the Hilendar monastery. Local monks accepted the icon as a great gift, and began to hold an annual procession of the cross at the place where the donkey stopped.
Once upon a time, the old abbot died in the Hilendar monastery. The election of a new one caused strife and division among the brethren. And then the Mother of God, appearing to one recluse, announced that from now on She herself would be the abbess of the monastery. As a sign of this, the “Three Hands” that had previously stood in the altar of the monastery cathedral miraculously was transported through the air to the middle of the temple, to the abbot’s place. From then to this day, Hilendar is ruled by a priest-vicar who stands during services at the abbot’s place, where the image of the “Three-Handed” - the Abbess of this monastery - is kept. The monks receive a blessing from Her, venerating the icon, as if from an abbot.
During the Greco-Turkish wars, Athos remained outside the power of the Gentiles: the Turks admitted that they often saw the mysterious Woman guarding the walls of the Hilendar monastery and out of reach of human hands.
The “Three-Handed One” has long been revered in Russia, where there are many copies of the first-revealed image, also famous for their miracles. Back in 1661, the Hilendar monks sent one such list as a gift to the New Jerusalem Monastery. Another list was taken from him in 1716, which has since been in the Moscow Church of the Assumption in Gonchary (Bulgarian Compound). The intercession of this shrine is associated with the fact that this temple was never closed, even during times of severe persecution of the faith, and retained all its bells. Nowadays, an akathist is read every Friday in front of this image in the church. In a tiled icon case on the outer western wall of the Church of the Assumption in Gonchary there is another list, and tireless prayers can be heard here before the face of the Mother of God “Three-Handed”.
Miraculous lists from the very first revealed Athos image or from other lists of the “Three-Handed One” were also located in the Moscow Church of the Intercession in Goliki, in the Tula Vladimir Church on Rzhavets, in the Beloberezh Hermitage near Bryansk, in the Voronezh Alekseevsky Akatov Monastery, in the Nile Hermitage on Seliger and in other places.
Nadezhda Dmitrieva
From the book “He Rejoices in You!”
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/050725075420.htm
One day, my father was lucky enough to buy the Italian monk Cosmas, captured by pirates, at the market, thanks to whom John and his brother deeply studied theology and Greek philosophy. The boys discovered extraordinary abilities and easily mastered the course of secular and spiritual sciences. Having later entered the service, Damascene, thanks to his brilliant abilities, quickly rose to the top. After the death of his father, John took the position of minister and city governor at court, and he also became the closest adviser to Caliph Hisham.
Reaction to iconoclasm
During state affairs, he did not lose a keen interest in the affairs of his fellow believers and wrote several letters to Eastern Christians denouncing heretical teachings. Just then the Eastern Church was experiencing another turmoil. It was started in the city by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, who subjected holy icons and relics to persecution. He declared all the emperors and bishops who had preceded him to be idolaters who had violated the main commandment of Moses (who, as is known, strictly forbade the depiction of the Divine). The clergy, and especially the monks, were very hostile to iconoclasm. Over the years, the resistance of admirers of icons became more and more stubborn, and the struggle against them became more and more fierce. Many were punished for their zeal for icons by beheading, lashes, expulsion and deprivation of their estates. Church schools were closed.
The dispute over icons was not just a ritual dispute. It was a dogmatic dispute, and it revealed theological depths. John vividly responded to him in three words, “Against those who reject holy icons” (726-730). Here he wrote that Moses’ prohibition to “make any likeness” of the Deity had a temporary meaning and was an educational measure to curb the Jewish tendency to idolatry. But with the beginning of the Christian era, education ended, and in the kingdom of grace, not all of the Law remained in force. For John, iconoclasm was tantamount to insensibility of the Theanthropic mystery. Of course, God, by the purest spirituality of His nature, is invisible and therefore indescribable - He has no real image in the material world. However, by His goodness, God revealed Himself to people in the Incarnation, thus becoming visible and depictable. “In ancient times, God, incorporeal and without form, was never depicted,” wrote John, “but now that God appeared in the flesh and lived among people, we depict the visible God.” There is and cannot be any idolatry in the veneration of icons, for Christians worship “not the nature of wood and paints,” but “the image of the Incarnate One,” through which they embrace and worship Christ Himself.
Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Three-Handed
Miraculous healing
Being out of reach of the Byzantine authorities, John sent out to various Christian churches many messages in defense of icon veneration. Stung by them, the emperor ordered that one of John's epistles be found written in his own hand, and then ordered experienced scribes to forge his handwriting. They composed a letter, as if on behalf of John, to Emperor Leo, in which he promised, at the right opportunity, to transfer Damascus into the hands of Christians. Leo sent this letter to Damascus to the caliph. He became angry and ordered John's right hand to be cut off. As legend testifies, in the evening John, taking his truncated hand, began to pray in front of the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, and then fell asleep. In a dream, he saw the Mother of God from the icon say to him: “Your hand is now healthy, do not grieve about the rest, but work hard with it - make it a scribbler’s cane.” When John woke up, he saw his hand healed. When the caliph learned about this miracle, he realized that John had become a victim of slander, and invited him to return to his service, but Damascene refused. Around the city, he left his lucrative position, retired to the monastery of Saint Sava near Jerusalem and became a monk there. The icon of the Mother of God, before which he fervently prayed and received healing, John of Damascus took to the monastery, and added a third hand to its lower part.
Life in the monastery and death
According to the rules of this monastery, each newly arrived monk had to come under the supervision of an elder experienced in spiritual life. The abbot began to look for such a mentor for John, but most of the monks refused, not wanting to be the teacher of a man whose learning was known throughout the East. Finally, one of them agreed to instruct John and, first of all, decided to wean him from worldly pride: he forbade him to write epistles and even talk about secular sciences. John obeyed this prohibition and began to conscientiously fulfill all the orders assigned to him. One day the elder ordered him to take the baskets to the Damascus market and sell them there, although he knew that it was difficult for John to engage in such a despicable business in a city where everyone well remembered his greatness. John fulfilled this order unquestioningly. He found relaxation in church poetry and in a short time composed several funeral troparions, distinguished by their exceptional touchingness (many of them are still used during funeral services for the dead). John's mentor saw in this activity another manifestation of pride and imposed strict penance (punishment) on him, ordering him to cleanse all the latrines in the monastery with his own hands. John humbly fulfilled this unheard-of demand with the very hands that he had previously anointed with expensive aromas. After this, the elder forgave him, but still forbade him to write. Seeing his unyielding severity, the Mother of God once appeared to him in a night vision and said: “Why are you blocking a spring that can flow sweet and abundant water? Don't stop the source from flowing. Let those who are thirsty strive for this water.” The elder was embarrassed and no longer forbade John to write.
Works and labors of the saint
Damascene is credited with the authorship of many chants in the famous “Octoechos” - an octagonal system for Sunday services, which during his lifetime was adopted throughout the East, and after his death also in the West. Damascene carefully edited it and developed a number of holiday canons (Easter, Nativity, Epiphany, Preobrazhensky, Ascension, etc.). His "Octoechus" made a change in church services, giving it greater certainty and uniformity. In general, Damascene’s creativity was very multifaceted. He wrote lives, composed festive words and touching prayers, expounded the dogmas of faith and many sacraments of theology. He continued to write against heretics, especially iconoclasts. He compiled a “Manual” - an explanation of the most important theological expressions, the misunderstanding of which in ancient times was the cause of heresies, as well as several small works on dogmatics (among them: “On the Holy Trinity”, “On the Image of God in Man”, “On the Nature of Man” and others"). The sermons of Damascus were very famous. He did a lot to correct the divine service, reviewing and supplementing the Jerusalem charter of Sava the Sanctified. Finally, he was the first to set out the theological teaching of the Orthodox Church in a harmonious, systematic order.
Angels and demons, visible nature and heaven, about man, his properties and God's providence. To this day, the “accurate exposition” is the main symbolic book of Orthodoxy; and it is hardly possible to indicate another that is equal to it in objectivity, completeness and concentration.
Memory in the Orthodox Church
Day of Remembrance:
- December 4 (December 17)
Troparion, tone 8:
Teacher of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and purity, lamp of the universe, God-inspired fertilizer for the monastics, John the Wise, with your teachings you have enlightened everything, spiritual priest, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion, tone 4:
Let us sing to the hymn-writer and honorable God-spreader, to the Church of the punisher and teacher and the enemies of the opponent John: for we take up the weapon - the Cross of the Lord, repelling all the charm of heresies and as a warm intercessor to God grants forgiveness of sins to all.
Bibliography
- Ryzhov K.V. 100 great prophets and religious teachers. Moscow: “Veche”, 2002. Pp. 267-272.
- Minea service. December. Part 1.- Publication of the Moscow Patriarchate, 1982, p. 144–145.
Arab. يوحنا الدمشقي Yuhanna ad-Dimashki; Greek Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός; lat. Johannes Damascenus- John from Damascus; also known as Greek. ὁ Χρυσορρόας, that is, “golden stream”; born (Arabic: منصور بن سرجون التغلبي)
Christian saint, revered among the saints, one of the Church Fathers, theologian, philosopher and hymnographer
OK. 675 - approx. 753 (or 780)
short biography
(name given at birth - Mansur ibn Serjun At-Taghlibi) - the most famous Byzantine theologian, one of the Fathers of the Church, Christian saint, philosopher, poet, hymnographer - was born in the Arab Caliphate, Damascus, around 675. He was the scion of an Arab Christian noble and a wealthy family. His father served as a minister under the Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and this position was later taken by his son John. The education that the children in this family received was diverse, truly encyclopedic for that time, including the study of mathematics, philosophy, music, astronomy, etc.
Absent from the biography of John of Damascus exact date his tonsure as a monk may have been around 706 or in the 10s; it is possible that he was ordained a priest. Since then, his life has been connected with the monastery of St. Sava, located near Jerusalem.
John of Damascus was not just an extraordinary person - his talents were distinguished by their versatility. He is credited with creating the foundations of scholastic methodology, which was later developed by Western medieval theologians. But his scientific and spiritual heritage does not end there. Being a great poet not only of Byzantium, but also of the rest of the Christian world, he acted as the author of the most famous church hymns, which have not lost their beauty, wisdom, and soul-saving power to this day. His pen includes canons on Easter, Christmas, some other holidays, and sermons about the Virgin Mary. The first church musical system was also created by John of Damascus, who was not devoid of musical abilities.
His main theological work is “The Source of Knowledge,” consisting of three sections - philosophical, accusatory and dogmatic. The significance of this fundamental work, systematizing Christian teaching, for future theologians is difficult to overestimate. It has still not lost its relevance and is one of the main sources of the foundations of the Christian faith for the Orthodox Church.
John of Damascus was a staunch opponent of iconoclasm; The theory of the Sacred Image he created formed the basis for the subsequent canonization of icon painting. A dramatic episode of his life is associated with one of the icons. By order of the caliph, who suspected that John was a spy for Byzantium, his right hand was cut off. Having applied it to the bleeding wound, the theologian prayed all night long to the icon of the Mother of God, and by the morning the hand had fused with the rest of the arm. As a sign of great gratitude and in memory of the miracle shown to him, he put his hand cast from pure silver to the silver frame of the icon. This is the story of the appearance of the iconographic image of the Mother of God of the Three Hands, which is now kept in one of the Moscow monasteries.
By the Iconoclastic Council of 754, John of Damascus was anathematized four times as a man who distorted Scripture, slandered Christ, and preached wicked ideas. His good name was restored to him by the VII Ecumenical Council, which recognized that the teachings of Damascus were correct.
The famous theologian and philosopher died in the monastery around 753, and after his death he was numbered among the saints.
Biography from Wikipedia
John of Damascus(Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي Yuhanna ad-Dimashki; Greek Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός; lat. Johannes Damascenus - John of Damascus; OK. 675, Damascus, Arab Caliphate - ca. 753 (780), Lavra of Saint Sava), also known as Greek. ὁ Χρυσορρόας, that is, “golden stream”; born Mansur ibn Serjun at-Taghlibi(Arabic: منصور بن سرجون التغلبي) - Christian saint, revered among the saints, one of the Church Fathers, theologian, philosopher and hymnographer.
The memory in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on December 4 (according to the Julian calendar), on Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969 it took place on March 27, after 1969 it took place on December 4 (Gregorian calendar).
The medieval method of calculating Paschalia (Easter date) is known as “the hand of John of Damascus” (“the hand of Damascus”).
His namesake grandfather and his father Serjun ibn Mansur served in Damascus with the rank of “great logothete,” that is, tax farmer, both under Roman (Byzantine) rule and during the Persian occupation, his grandfather participated in the transfer of power to the Arabs, and his father served at the court of the caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He was subsequently replaced by John himself.
According to legend, John studied exact sciences and music together with his brother Cosmas (later Bishop of Mayum) from a certain captive monk from Calabria (also named Cosmas). After the introduction of Arabic (instead of Greek) as the only state language, including tax administration, around 706 or in the 710s, he took monastic vows at the monastery of St. Sava near Jerusalem and was probably ordained as a priest.
During the period of iconoclasm, he defended the veneration of icons, the author of “Three words of defense in support of icon veneration,” in which iconoclasm is understood as a Christological heresy, and also for the first time distinguished between “worship” due only to God and “veneration” provided to created things, including number and icons. The Iconoclastic Council of 754 anathematized John four times, but the VII Ecumenical Council confirmed the correctness of his teaching.
He died around 753 (according to other sources around 780) and was buried in the Lavra of Savva the Consecrated near the shrine containing the relics of St. Savva. During the reign of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328), his relics were transferred to Constantinople. Currently, it is known that the relics of St. John are found in the Lavra of Saint Sava, the Monastery of George Alamana (near the village of Pendacomo, Cyprus), the Monastery of St. John the Theologian on Patmos (Greece) and in the Church of San Giorgio dei Greci (Venice).
Already at the end of the 8th century, John the Jerusalemite compiled his first biography. In the 11th century, when Antioch was conquered by the Seljuks, a monk of the monastery of St. Simeon in the vicinity of Antioch, Michael, familiar with Greek and Arabic, wrote in Arabic the life of John of Damascus, based on various useful stories, as he himself says in the introduction.
Icon "Three-handed"
According to legend, the appearance of one of the images of the Virgin Mary is associated with the name of John. When the heresy of iconoclasm arose in Byzantium, supported by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, John wrote three treatises in defense of icon veneration and sent them to the emperor. Leo the Isaurian was furious, but could not do anything, since John was a subject of the caliph. To prevent John from writing works in defense of icons, the emperor resorted to slander. A forged letter was drawn up on behalf of John, in which the Damascus minister allegedly offered the emperor his assistance in the conquest of the Syrian capital. This letter and the emperor's response to it were sent to the caliph. John was removed from office and punished by cutting off his right hand, which was hanged in the city square. After some time, John received the cut off hand back and, shutting himself up, put his hand to his hand and began to pray in front of the icon of the Mother of God. After some time, he fell asleep, and when he woke up, he discovered that his arm had miraculously grown back. In gratitude for the healing, John put a hand made of silver to the icon, which is reproduced on many copies of the icon, which received the name “Three-Handed”. In gratitude for the healing, they also wrote the song “He rejoices in You...”.
Essays
John of Damascus is known as the largest systematizer of Christian doctrine; he owns the fundamental work “The Source of Knowledge,” which includes philosophical (“Dialectics”), accusatory (“On Heresies”) and dogmatic (“Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith”) sections.
Polemical works include “Three Words in Defense of the Veneration of Icons” (against the Iconoclasts), words against the Nestorians, Monophysites (Acephalians, Jacobites), Monothelites, Manichaeans, and possibly “Conversation between a Saracen and a Christian” (against Islam).
In addition, John wrote a number of sermons about the Mother of God.
John of Damascus dealt relatively little with exegesis; he compiled independent interpretations of the epistles of the Apostle Paul, which Bishop Icumenius and Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria may have used.
The life of Varlaam and Joasaph is attributed to John, but, according to Archpriest George Florovsky, it was compiled in the middle of the 7th century in the monastery of St. Sava by another John.
John wrote a number of canons, special hymns of the Palestinian type, which came into use in the Eastern Church from the 9th century. He wrote the Canons for Easter, Christmas and a number of other Christian holidays. In addition, it is believed that John composed the Sunday “Oktoich” (Osmoglasnik, Oktay). Some prayers included in the sequence of evening prayers and for Holy Communion are inscribed in the name of John of Damascus.
In art
Cantata for choir and orchestra “John of Damascus”, written by the Russian composer Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev to the words of A. K. Tolstoy (op. 1) in 1884.
Memory Saint John of Damascus takes place in the Orthodox Church on December 17 according to the new style.
Biography of Saint John of Damascus
The Monk John of Damascus was born around 675 in the city of Damascus. He came from a noble and wealthy family. His father held the honorary position of treasurer at the court of the caliph, and thanks to this, John received an excellent education, studying the exact sciences and arts and subsequently took over his father's post under the caliph Abd al-Malik. This ruler was distinguished by great enlightenment and interest in the sciences and arts and therefore gathered educated people around him. The Monk John, thanks to his talent and knowledge, became one of the caliph's closest assistants.
Although John was born in an Islamic country, Christianity was not persecuted in the Arab Caliphate: his family freely professed the faith of Christ. John himself took monastic vows around 706 and may have been ordained a hieromonk. Possessing a literary gift, John of Damascus worked hard to create theological works. A special place in his literary work is occupied by writings devoted to the defense of icon veneration. In the second half of the 8th century, the heresy of iconoclasm flourished in Byzantium, whose adherents argued that turning to icons in prayer constituted idolatry. However, John of Damascus argued that veneration of an icon is possible due to the fact that the believer, turning to the image, transfers his worship to the prototype, thereby honoring God and the saints. The following episode, described in the life of the saint, is associated with Saint John’s defense of icons. The Byzantine iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian wanted to get rid of the talented and eloquent defender of icons, but since John was not his subject, he resorted to a trick. The emperor composed a slanderous letter, which spoke of the alleged betrayal of the Caliph by Damascus. This message fell into the hands of the ruler of the Arab Caliphate, and he, believing the slander, ordered John’s hand to be cut off. According to legend, John began to pray in front of the icon of the Mother of God, and his hand miraculously grew together. In gratitude for the mercy shown by the Queen of Heaven, Saint John of Damascus painted an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called the “Three-Handed One.”
The exact time of the death of St. John of Damascus is unknown. This probably happened in 753 and he was buried near Jerusalem. Subsequently, his holy relics were transferred to Constantinople.
Literary heritage of St. John of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus became famous primarily as a theologian, philosopher and church poet. During his life, he wrote a large number of fundamental works devoted to various theological issues. The great merit of the saint is to compile a systematic exposition of Christian doctrine. Great importance for Christian art was his already mentioned polemic with the iconoclasts. In addition to these works, the Monk John of Damascus created a number of church liturgical hymns, the main of which are the Easter and Christmas canons, as well as canons dedicated to other great Christian holidays. Another important work of liturgical literature created by Saint John is the Octoechos. This book includes the rites of the main Christian services. Although some researchers dispute the authorship of St. John of Damascus, even if he did not create all parts
"Octoeche", then his great contribution to the writing of the main parts of this book, as well as the great editorial work carried out by the monk, is undoubted.
Troparion, tone 8:
Teacher of Orthodoxy, / teacher of piety and purity, / lamp of the universe, / God-inspired fertilizer for monastics, John the Wise, / with your teachings you have enlightened everything, O spiritual priest, / pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion, tone 4:
Let us sing to the hymn-writer and honest blabbermouth of the Church, punisher and teacher, and adversary’s enemies:/ for we lift up the weapon, the Cross of the Lord,/ repulse all the charm of heresies/ and as a warm intercessor to God// grants forgiveness of sins to all.
Magnification:
We bless you, Reverend Father John, and honor your holy memory, teacher of monks and interlocutor of Angels.
Prayer:
Reverend Father John! Look upon us mercifully and lead those who are devoted to the earth to the heights of heaven. You are a mountain in heaven, we are on earth below, removed from you, not only by place, but by our sins and iniquities, but we run to you and cry: teach us to walk in your way, enlighten us and guide us. Your entire holy life has been a mirror of every virtue. Do not stop, servant of God, crying to the Lord for us. By your intercession, ask from our All-Merciful God the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, agreement in faith and unity of wisdom, destruction of vanity and schism, affirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, consolation for the sad, intercession for the offended, help for the needy. Do not disgrace us, who come to you with faith. All Orthodox Christians, having performed your miracles and beneficent mercies, confess you to be their patron and intercessor. Reveal your ancient mercies, and to whom you helped the Father, do not reject us, their children, who are marching towards you in their footsteps. Standing before your most honorable icon, as I live for you, we fall down and pray: accept our prayers and offer them up on the altar of God’s mercy, so that we may receive your grace and timely help in our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, so that we undoubtedly hope to receive all the good things from the mercy of the Master through your prayers. Oh, great servant of God! Help all of us who flow to you with faith through your intercession to the Lord, and guide us all in peace and repentance, end our lives and move with hope into the blessed bosom of Abraham, where you now rest joyfully in your labors and struggles, glorifying God with all the saints , in the Trinity glorified, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
