Pursuing Veritas

Born Manşūr ibn Sarjūn, John of Damascus served as a high-ranking advisor in the Umayyad administration in Damascus before retiring to the Mar Saba Monastery near Jerusalem, where he devoted himself to theological writing until his death around 750 CE.[i] John’s family had a storied history in the administration of Damascus, and he continued this legacy until he chose a monastic life. His theological writings played a significant part in systematizing Eastern Orthodox theology and iconography, particularly his three Apologetic Treatises on Divine Images.

The first Christian writer to indicate any sort of knowledge of Islam was Anastasios of Sinai in his Hodegos (Griffith 1987: 341-358). It was John’s writings, particularly his Peri Haereson (‘On Heresies’) and Disputatio Saraceni et Christiani (‘Dispute between a Saracen and a Christian’) that mark the earliest sustained and systematic Christian engagement with Islamic theology on Islam (Janosik 2016: 90-139). His portrayals and criticisms of Islam influenced subsequent Byzantine polemics and established a framework for understanding Islam as a heresy within the Christian tradition (Begzos 2010: 53 and Khan 2006: 170). Such was John’s influence that it was possible for J.W. Sweetman to write in his magisterial study on Muslim-Christian relations that, ‘Perhaps no individual Christian thinker is so important in a comparative study of Islamic and Christian theology than John of Damascus’ (Sweetman 1945: 63).

Peri Haeresonis part of John’s larger work Pege Gnoseos (‘Fount of Knowledge’) and serves as a catalogue of heresies threatening orthodox Christianity (Louth 2002: 37). Although the chapter on Islam was once thought to be a later interpolation, it is now widely argued to be authentic (Louth 2002: 76). Chapter 100/101 offers a systematic outline of Islam, considering its founder and main doctrinal tenets, its Christological perspectives, and offering an examination of its scriptures.

John also engaged Islamic thought in his Disputatio Saraceni et Christiani, which waslikely composed as a guide for Christians to defend their faith in discussions with Muslims. This dialogue explores three significant theological differences between Christianity and Islam, including the nature of Christ, the concept of predestination, and Muhammad’s status as a prophet. John’s consistent engagement with Islam in these writings reveals his concerns with theological accuracy, Qur’anic accuracy, and intellectual integrity as he explained Islamic teaching to his Christian audience.

[i] The details of John’s life are generally taken from his writings and his Arabic Vita, generally titled Vita Sancti Patris Nostri Joannis Damasceni, a Joanne Patriarchi Hierosolymitano Conscripta. Daniel Sahas and Sidney Griffith also list a number of secondary vitae.