Saint john of damascus biography samples
•
John of Damascus
"I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honoring that matter which works for my salvation. I venerate it, though not as God."
Visitors to an Orthodox Church are confronted with many unfamiliar elements of worship: for example, the use of incense and Byzantine chant and the custom of standing throughout the service. But perhaps the most perplexing element is the icons, especially when Orthodox worshipers bow before and kiss them. Isn't this idolatry?
This very question raged through the Christian world in the eighth and ninth centuries, and it occupied the attention of two of the seven ecumenical (worldwide) church councils. The strongest defense of the practice came from a Christian living in the heart of the Islamic empire, John of Damascus.
Thanks for signing up.
Please click here to see all o
•
Saint of the Day &#; 4 månad &#; St John Damascene () Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church &#; präst, Monk, Theologian, Writer, Defender of Iconography, Poet, a Polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, music, Marian devotee. Also known as &#; Johannes Damascenus, John Chrysorrhoas (&#;golden-stream&#;), John of Damascus. Born in c at Damascus, Syria and died in of natural causes. Patronages &#; pharmacists, artists, theologians and theology students.
While the Churches of Rome and Constantinople were still united during St John&#;s life, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III radically separated from the ancient tradition of the Church, declaringthat the veneration of Sacred Imagery was a form of idolatry.
Saint John was born in the late 7th Century and is the most remarkable of the Greek writers of his time. His father was a Civil Authority who was Christian amid the Saracens of Damascus, whose caliph made him his mini
•
"You are a guide of Orthodoxy, a teacher of piety and modesty, a luminary of the world, the God-inspired pride of monastics. O wise John, you have enlightened everyone by your teachings…"
Christian Orthodox Stewardship is the means by which we manage the gifts God has entrusted to us in accordance with our theology and ecclesiology, which is centered in the love of God. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. ). As stewards of our precious Faith, we use our God-given spiritual gifts, seen and unseen, material and immaterial, physical and mystical, to the glory of God.
Is this really how we understand and express Christian Orthodox Stewardship It is time to be honest. For many of us Stewardship is a foreign concept, simply a new way to say we need money. This is only natural since we live in a society founded on principles like material success and h