Venerable John of Damascus

John was born in Damascus about 675 into the Christian Mansur family, which served the Umayyad caliphs as financial officials, and he himself held office at court. Later he left for the monastery of St Sabbas near Jerusalem and was ordained a priest. When Emperor Leo III began the Iconoclast policy, John wrote three treatises in defense of icons, the first full theological case for them.

His “Fount of Knowledge”, with its “Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith”, became a standard summary of doctrine, and he wrote many hymns, among them the Paschal canon. His Life tells that his hand, cut off on a false charge, was restored after he prayed before an icon of the Mother of God — the origin of the “Three-Handed” icon. He died about 749; older calendars give 776.