Work record
An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
John of DamascusDe Fide Orthodoxa; On the Orthodox Faith; Exposition of the Orthodox FaithAn Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith by John of Damascus (c. 743)An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith is the third and longest part of The Fount of Knowledge, a large work composed in Greek by John of Damascus, a monk of the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, in the mid-eighth century.Also known as: De Fide Orthodoxa · On the Orthodox Faith · Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
c. 743 · Medieval · Religious Scripture · Greek
Abstract
Setting. A Christian from a family of caliphs' officials became a monk in the Judean desert. Far from Constantinople, where emperors were removing holy pictures, he compiled a handbook of everything the Greek fathers had taught.
God. He opens by admitting the Deity cannot be grasped, then sets out proofs of divine existence, the three persons and the meaning of the names Scripture gives to God.
World and humanity. Later chapters survey angels, demons, stars, elements, Eden, soul, emotions, choice and providence, mixing ancient science with doctrine. Readers meet the four elements, the zones of the sky, the rivers flowing from Eden, and a careful discussion of how human choice fits within divine foreknowledge without being forced by it.
Christ and the church. One Person unites two complete natures, each with its own will. The final section covers baptism, the cross, Communion, the honour due to saints, relics and pictures, the biblical canon, marriage, the end of the world and bodily resurrection.
Influence. Translated into Latin in the twelfth century, the book was cited by Aquinas and Lombard and served Orthodox seminaries for generations. It is printed here complete in an 1899 English version.
Key figures
- John of Damascus: Monk, priest and author
- Basil the Great: Fourth-century father whose principle on images John quotes
- Gregory of Nazianzus: Fourth-century theologian whose teaching on the Trinity John follows
- Leo III: Byzantine emperor whose iconoclast policy John opposed
Summary
An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith is the third and longest part of The Fount of Knowledge, a large work composed in Greek by John of Damascus, a monk of the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, in the mid-eighth century. Rather than offering new ideas, John set out to gather the teaching of the Greek church fathers into one ordered summary, and the result became the standard textbook of Eastern Orthodox theology and, through a twelfth-century Latin translation, an influence on medieval Western scholars. The work is divided in printed editions into four books and one hundred chapters. Book I deals with God: that he is incomprehensible yet has made himself known, that his existence can be shown from the changeable world, and that he is one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. John explains the language used of God, including the names and the ways Scripture speaks of God's body or emotions. Book II treats creation: angels and demons, the heavens, light, the elements, the earth, paradise and human nature, with chapters on the soul, the passions, free will and providence. These chapters draw on ancient science as well as theology. Book III concerns the incarnation: Christ as one person in two natures, divine and human, each with its own will and operation, and Mary as Mother of God (Theotokos). Book IV covers the resurrection and ascension, faith, baptism, the cross, the Eucharist, the veneration of saints, relics and icons, the canon of Scripture, the origin of evil, the Sabbath, virginity and marriage, and finally the Antichrist and the resurrection of the dead. In the chapter on images, John repeats Basil's principle that honour paid to an image passes to its prototype, the reasoning that he defended at length against the Byzantine iconoclasts. The Exposition is clear and compact rather than original. Thomas Aquinas and Peter Lombard quoted the Latin version, and Orthodox seminaries used it for centuries.
Plot or Argument
- Book I: God and the Trinity
God is incomprehensible yet known through creation, Scripture and Christ; one God in three persons; the divine names.
- Book II: Creation and human nature
Angels, the cosmos, paradise, the soul and body, passions, free will and providence.
- Book III: The incarnation
Christ is one person in two natures with two wills; Mary is Theotokos; the human experiences of Christ.
- Book IV: Church, sacraments and last things
Faith and baptism, the cross, the Eucharist, icons and relics, Scripture, evil, marriage and the resurrection.
Lessons
Knowing and not knowing God
John begins by stressing that God is beyond comprehension while also giving a long ordered account of what can be said.
- How can a writer say much about a God he calls incomprehensible?
- Why does John insist on staying within what Scripture and tradition have handed down?
Matter can carry the holy
The defence of images, relics and sacraments rests on the belief that God became flesh and used matter for salvation.
- How does the incarnation support the use of images in worship?
- What would an iconoclast reply?
Synthesis as a kind of scholarship
John presents himself as a gatherer of earlier wisdom rather than an original thinker.
- What is gained and lost when a writer summarizes others rather than arguing for new ideas?
- Why might a summary become more influential than its sources?
For the Christian reader
John of Damascus is honoured in both East and West as the last of the great Greek fathers and is a Doctor of the Church in the Catholic tradition. Writing as a Christian under Muslim rule, he gathered the teaching of earlier fathers on the Trinity, creation and the Incarnation into an ordered summary later used in the Latin schools. His defence of images rests on the Incarnation (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15).
- Why does John begin by saying that God is beyond full comprehension?
- How does the Incarnation shape his argument about matter and images?
Context
By the 740s Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, and Christians lived under Muslim rule. The Byzantine Empire was divided by iconoclasm after Emperor Leo III moved against religious images in the 720s and 730s.
Composition
John composed the Fount of Knowledge late in life at Mar Saba, after earlier writings defending icons. The Exposition is arranged in a hundred chapters; the division into four books came from later Latin editors.
Reception
The Second Council of Nicaea (787) upheld the veneration of icons in terms close to John's. The Exposition was translated into Latin by Burgundio of Pisa in the twelfth century and used by Western theologians; in the Orthodox world it remained a basic textbook.
Comparisons
- On the Incarnation of the Word
John summarizes the teaching on the Word made flesh that Athanasius defended four centuries earlier.
- Summa Theologica
Aquinas quotes John of Damascus often; both arrange the whole of theology in ordered questions or chapters.
- Against Heresies
Irenaeus argues against rival teachers; John, with orthodoxy settled, presents a calm synthesis.
- The Early Christian Creeds
The Trinitarian and Christological creeds stand behind John's chapters on God and Christ.
- On the Making of Man
Gregory of Nyssa's treatise on human nature is one of the sources of John's chapters on the soul and body.
- Deliverance from Error (The Confessions of al-Ghazali)
Al-Ghazali, a Muslim thinker three centuries later, offers a comparable summary of knowledge and faith from within Islam.
Quotes
Frequently cited
“the honour given to the image passes over to the prototype”
“The Deity, therefore, is ineffable and incomprehensible.”
For Students
A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.
Reading Guide
Watch for
- The opening chapters on what can and cannot be known of God.
- The chapters on human nature and free will in Book II.
- The 'two wills' of Christ in Book III.
- The chapter on images in Book IV.
Key terms and names
- Theotokos
- 'God-bearer': the title of Mary affirmed at Ephesus (431).
- Hypostasis
- A person or concrete individual; God is three hypostases, Christ one hypostasis in two natures.
- Iconoclasm
- The eighth- and ninth-century Byzantine movement opposing religious images.
- Prototype
- The original that an image represents.
Seminar Questions
- Comprehension How many natures and how many wills does John attribute to Christ?
- Comprehension What reason does John give for honouring images?
- Comprehension Into what four main subjects is the Exposition divided in printed editions?
- Interpretation Why does John call his work an 'exact exposition' rather than a new theology?
- Interpretation How does John's science of the heavens and elements fit with his theology?
- Big Question Can images and physical objects help or hinder people in understanding what is invisible?
Faith Connections
- John 1:18 (Scripture)
'No man hath seen God at any time': the verse with which the Exposition opens.
- Exodus 20:4-5 (Scripture)
The commandment against graven images, which John interprets in light of the incarnation.
- Second Council of Nicaea (787) (Great Conversation)
The council's decree on icons follows John's reasoning.
Logic and Rhetoric
Central argument: God, though beyond comprehension, has revealed himself through creation, Scripture and the incarnate Son; the faith handed down by the fathers can be set out in order, including the right use of matter and images in worship.
Rhetorical device: compilation and synthesis. John builds each chapter from earlier authorities such as Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, often without naming them.
Debate: Resolved: that John's defence of icons is consistent with the Ten Commandments.
Memory Work
The Deity, therefore, is ineffable and incomprehensible.
the honour given to the image passes over to the prototype
Writing Prompts
Essay: Explain how John of Damascus connects the incarnation with the veneration of images, and evaluate his argument.
Comparison with Summa Theologica: Compare the structure and method of John's Exposition with Aquinas's Summa. What does each assume about reason and authority?
Creative Prompts
- Essay
Explain to a classmate, with a sketch, why John thinks honouring an icon is not idolatry, then give the strongest iconoclast reply.
- Classroom
Outline the hundred chapters into a one-page map and identify which topics a modern catechism would add or drop.
- Dialogue
Write a dialogue between John of Damascus and an iconoclast bishop about whether images belong in churches.
Further Reading
- On the Divine Images, John of Damascus
His three treatises defending icons.
- Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas
Verification notes
Full text from S. D. F. Salmond's translation in NPNF2 vol. 9 (1899) via CCEL, footnotes removed; quotations matched to the stored text. Dates of John's life are approximate.
No verification flags recorded.