An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

by John of Damascus

Saint John of Damascus ( يوحنا الدمشقي Yuḥannā Al Demashqi; Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος Iôannês Damaskênos; Iohannes Damascenus; also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker") (c. 676 – 4 December 749) was an Arab Christian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem.
A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, before being ordained, he served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Religion, Christian, Philosophy, History, Church History

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 700

About the author

Saint John of Damascus (Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي Yuḥannā Al Demashqi; Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus; also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας, "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker") was a Syrian Christian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem.

A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, before being ordained, he served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.

The most commonly used source for information on the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[3] It is actually an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains a prologue not found in most other translations that was written by an Arabic monk named Michael who relates his decision to write a biography of John of Damascus in 1084, noting that none was available in either Greek or Arabic at the time. The main text that follows in the original Arabic version seems to have been written by another, even earlier author, sometime between the early 9th and late 10th centuries AD. Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration, it is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to be of some value nonetheless. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat, traditionally attributed to John, is in fact a work of the 10th century.

John was born into a prominent Arab Christian family known as Mansour (Arabic: Mansǔr, "victorious one") in Damascus in the 7th century AD. He was named Mansur ibn Sarjun Al-Taghlibi (Arabic: منصور بن سرجون التغلبي‎) after his grandfather Mansur, who had been responsible for the taxes of the region under the Emperor Heraclius. When the region came under Arab Muslim rule in the late 7th century AD, the court at Damascus remained full of Christian civil servants, John's grandfather among them. John's father, Sarjun (Sergius) or Ibn Mansur, went on to serve the Umayyad caliphs, supervising taxes for the entire Middle East. After his father's death, John also served as a high official to the caliphate court before leaving to become a monk and adopting the monastic name John at Mar Saba, where he was ordained as a priest in 735. Until the age of 12, John apparently undertook a traditional Muslim education. One of the vitae describes his father's desire for him to, "learn not only the books of the Muslims, but those of the Greeks as well." John grew up bilingual and bicultural, living as he did at a time of transition from Late Antiquity to Early Islam.

Other sources describes his education in Damascus as having been conducted in a traditional Hellenic way, termed "secular" by one source and "Classical Christian" by another. One account identifies his tutor as a monk by the name of Cosmas, who had been captured by Arabs from his home in Sicily, and for whom John's father paid a great price. Under the instruction of Cosmas, who also taught John's orphan friend (the future St. Cosmas of Maiuma), John is said to have made great advances in music, astronomy and theology, soon rivaling Pythagoras in arithmetic and Euclid in geometry.
In the early 8th century AD, iconoclasm, a movement seeking to prohibit the veneration of the icons, gained some acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, despite the protests of St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, Emperor Leo III issued his first

Reviews

[Matthew Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three quarters of this book threw me for a loop. I was expecting an orderly list of the tennants of Christianity as articulated in the 7th century. Instead I got a series of chapters on ancient world metaphysics and science (which bordered on the encyclopedic) and an equal number of chapters dedicated to spelling out, in highly technical terms, how God became man in the form of Jesus.

This was initially disappointing, but on reflection there were two lessons in it. First, if "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" for St. John Damascene mostly consists of arguing, defending, and expositing the nature of Christ, then perhaps Christ himself is the exact exposition of the faith. Second, if half of that exposition is taken up by giving a philosophical and scientific (for its day) account of the natural world, that speaks to how integrated St. John's world was, where even his understanding of the "four elements" and the "4 humours of the human body" were intergrated into his understanding of Christ. There is something admirable in that.

The last quarter of the book was more of what I expected, giving an overview of icons, saints, the resurrection and the last judgement, among other things.

There is much I had to gloss over, mostly due to my own lack of knowledge, but I think I gained a much better understanding of the incarnation and its significance.

[Josh Issa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly a skip. If you want to study the patristic writings, this will come up as a must-read, but it certainly adds little to the conversation. I want to say first that my edition from First Rate Publishers is absolute garbage and has a ton of mistakes in its translation. The book is actually a series of four books of which I will review individually. As a general statement I will say that John can break into doxology which is beautiful, but for the most part is not helpful beyond stating what he thinks.

Book I - Doctrine of God (2/5): John does not contribute much to the doctrine of God. His defences for God’s existence and God’s existence as a Trinity of persons are lackluster. At his best, he’s just listing attributes of God.

Book II - Scientific Worldview (0/5): John’s scientific worldview is explicated in terms of astronomy, chemistry, and psychology but none of it is true. Like at all. He has strange views about how the world works beyond his own local context even. This matters too because his scientific worldview informs his doctrine of God, angels, and the incarnation.

Book III - The Incarnation (3.5/5): Certainly the highlight of the book is when John delves into his doctrine of the Incarnation in light of the rulings of Constantinople III. He honestly is very clear on the meaning of Christ being one person with two energies and natures. Maximus is a more engaging writer on this, but John is clearer.

Book IV - Theological Beliefs and Practices (1.5/5): For the most part once again he is just stating things rather than defending them. Also his defences of icon veneration, adoration of the cross, and worship towards the East are pretty weak. But he does have an interesting canon for a writer in the 700s (Protestant canon + the Didache + Wisdom & Sirach as noble but not equal).

Overall, John is not that interesting a theologian outside of Book III. Spend your time reading Cyril and Maximus instead.

[booklady]

This is $14.99 on kindle but can be listened to here for free.*

Don't know when I will find time for this and I do prefer texts to audio, but still, it is a good find!

*I made a happy sound when I found this and my husband said, "What? Was Fr. S (our pastor who we love) made pope?" 😁

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to have to come back to this later. I have an irritating electronic copy. I am not a fan of ebooks anyway, but especially ebooks with constant typos.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly worth my time, but a mixed bag overall. I seriously appreciated many points, slogged through others, and shook my head in dismay at others. I wouldn't give this to an average believer, or even to a more theologically literate layperson. Where John is helpful is often on fine points of metaphysics, but on other subjects I can see how he'd cause a no little confusion.

[Evan Sammons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible introduction to the Orthodox Faith. Clear and consice on how the Father's of the church view the Trinity, the hypostatic union, iconography, the single procession of the Spirit, and many other great topics. Thank you Fr. Seraphim for this gift.

[George Trudeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far the most rewarding and challenging “patristic” I’ve read. Really this is a medieval summation of patristic theology. The subjects are very well organized, highly philosophical, and very biblical.

[Adonis McReynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond thankful for the testimony and confession of St. John Damascus. His writing is clear, profound, and incredibly wise. Highly recommend this masterpiece!

[Monique Mathiesen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m rating this two stars based on my enjoyability of books 1-3 and not on the quality or substance of them. I’m sure they’re fantastic to read if you’re intelligent enough to follow St. John’s abstract, philosophical, and very technical lectures on essence/energy distinctions, metaphysics, cosmology, astrology, the hypostatic union, the exact nature of Christ, how the trinity works, and other subjects matters far beyond my pay grade. For me however, books 1-3 were extremely difficult to trudge through and definitely not anything I’d recommend to a novice. As much as I’ve enjoyed St John’s other works, and as much as I wanted to like this, reading it felt like stabbing myself to death with a dull spoon. It was long, painful, and it made me feel incredibly stupid 😅 That said, I’m glad that I kept going and made it to book 4. Book 4 redeemed my time, hitting on very relevant theological issues like whether or not God is responsible for evil, free will, the correlation between circumcision and baptism, virginity, and the anti Christ.
In conclusion, just skip to book 4, OR if you’re looking for a more simplistic overview of the Orthodox faith, then you might wanna pick up St. Cyril’s catechetical lectures instead.

[Tyler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really fun to get to read St. John of Damascus and get a picture of what John, writing in the 8th century and seeking to summarize the writings of the church fathers, understood orthodox (true, right) Christianity to be. I read this for an essay for my Systematic Theology I course under Dr. Jacob Lett.

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is as close to a "systematic theology" as you will find in Orthodox Christianity. For an understanding of what the Orthodox believe, I could recommend no other book than St. John of Damascus's an Exact Exposition of the Orthodox (Catholic) Faith.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun(ny) fact(s): There is actually double the amount of pages...since this edition has both the original Greek and an English translation.

Favorite quote/image: "In the same way in the case of Christ, his divine and all-powerful activity belongs to his divinity and what is characteristic of us belongs to his humanity. It was a characteristic of his human mature to take hold of the child's hand and draw her up, but of his divine nature to restore her to life...the miracles were worked by the divinity, but not without the flesh; the humble things were done by the flesh but not without the divinity. And when the flesh suffered, the divinity was united with it, but remained dispassionate and rendered the sufferings salvific." (Ch. 59, pg. 203, 205)

Honorable mention: "This precious cross was prefigured by the tree of life planted by God in paradise (for since death came through a tree, it was necessary that life and resurrection should be bestowed through a tree)." (Ch. 85, pg. 245)

Why: John of Damascus' account of the Christian doctrine is detailed and technical, but its focus remains to further glorify God through this exposition of the faith. I greatly appreciate my professor's choice of this book for our Intro to Theology class to provide a historical and traditionally Eastern perspective on theology.

[Erik Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any ancient Father, John of Damascus teaches us much about the faith once for all delivered. His teaching is truly profound and Christ exalting in multiple locations. His work on trinitarian relations is solidly orthodox, something we evangelicals need to study more. His work on providence and free will deserves in-depth study. Saint John is also a product of his time, so modern readers will likely disagree with some of his cosmology and Protestants will identify what we believe to be multiple post-Constantinian accretions in his writings. John is an iconophile and holds tighter to non-canonical tradition than most Protestants would be comfortable with. The Popular Patristics version makes this accessible for many modern readers although the introduction seems long. However, if one is unfamiliar with reading ancient Christian texts or unaware of how Protestants apply catholicity to pre-Reformation writings, this may not be the best book for an evangelical seeking to start studying patristics.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of this was a little difficult, but on the whole I loved it (especially the parts on the creed at the beginning and on the resurrection at the end). I’m so glad this translation is now available in the popular patristics series. What a gift!

[Victor Rønnest · Rating 5 out of 5]

book 1 and 3 are perfect. goes over EED, apophatic theology and christology
book 2 and 4 kinda meh :/

do not under any circumstance buy from first rate publishers. dog shit print quality. horrible margins

[Conor McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read for understanding Christian doctrine

[Sam Nesbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

John of Damascus (676/676–749) wrote The Orthodox Faith most likely during the 740s while under Islamic rule. The Orthodox Faith can be treated as a stand alone work that articulates the central contours of Eastern Christian theology at the time, but it is actually a part of the a larger work called The Fount of Knowledge that has two other parts, one that addresses philosophical issues and another contends against popular heresies. The Orthodox Faith is thus an important document of synthesis for the early church; at this point in the history of church, John of Damascus has a strong heritage to work with and in, and is thus able to bring together the most significant aspects of the Christian faith (as discerned from his context in the East) and concisely articulate and argue for them.
The work is divided into four books. Book one, after expounding some basic points in apologetics for proving the existence of God, spends much time on theological methodology and the doctrine of God. Significantly, John emphasizes the role of apophatic theology, which has come to be a strong emphasis within the Eastern tradition as a whole. John moreover utilizes the Nicene creed as a framework for articulating a robust Trinitarianism. Latent in this, however, is a discernible Platonism wherein the immaterial is of more intrinsic value than the material.
Book two moves from the doctrine of God to the creation. Although John address familiar subjects such as the nature and creation of the angels and the privation theory of evil, he spends much of this book articulating the cosmology of his time period. As such, John discusses the Galenic humors, astrology, and the hierarchical structure of the universe. Along with this description of the macrocosm of creation, John discusses the microcosm of man made in the image of God. In so doing, John expounds his theory of the human faculties and psychology. From book two, therefore, the reader can gather the importance of creation and anthropology in not only John’s thought, but also Eastern thought more broadly.
In book three, John moves to christology, expounding in depth the doctrines of the incarnation and the hypnotic union. As an inheritor of Nicaea and Chalcedon, John is able to articulate a robust christology that avoids the major heretical pitfalls of Nestorianism, eutychianism, monotheletism, and more. Most of book three is devoted to the person of Christ, but John also touches on Mary as the theotokos and the work of redemption, especially emphasizing Christ as Christus Victor.
Book four reiterates a lot of the material covered in previous parts of the book, such as aspects of the Trinity, incarnation, and creation. The most defining aspect of book four can be categorized under worship or ecclesiology. John discusses the sacraments, the nature of faith and works, veneration of relics, images, and saints, Scripture, and the Sabbath. John’s discussion of baptism is both illuminating and encouraging. Especially encouraging is his explanation for why Jesus was baptized by John at the beginning of his ministry especially since Jesus was sinless: “He, however, was baptized not that He Himself stood in any need of purification but that by making my purification His own He might ‘crush the heads of the dragons in the waters,’ wash away the sin and bury all of the old Adam in the water, sanctify the Baptist, fulfill the Law, reveal the mystery of the Trinity, and become for us a model and example for the reception of baptism” (347). In addition to these issues typically found within the doctrine of the church, John’s final chapters touch on theodicy and eschatology.
Some of the unique aspects of John’s theology found in The Orthodox Faith include his emphasis on virginity in the Christian life. Although the elevation of virginity and celibacy is not uncommon in early Christian theology and ethics, John is a faithful representative of the view for his Eastern context. John even argues that virginity was practiced in paradise prior to the fall by contending that the status of being “unashamed” was directly connected to the practice of sexual intercourse. Marriage and its corresponding duties of reproduction were therefore implemented after the fall because without them, the human race would die out. John squares this reasoning with the prelapsarian command to “be fruitful and multiply” by appealing to God’s foreknowledge of the fall and merciful accommodation.
The importance granted to virginity in general coheres significantly with John’s understanding of Mary and her perpetual virginity, a claim that John maintains. John even contends that Jesus’s birth did not remove the virginity of Mary, but he denies that Jesus miraculously passed through the side of Mary.
Another significant aspect of John’s theology that is characteristic of East is the authority of tradition, especially as it is iterated by the early church fathers. For example, John at one point refers to the “inspired Gregory” when discussing church tradition. Furthermore, important aspects of the liturgy are argued to be derived from the unwritten apostolic tradition, such as worship being oriented towards the east.
As mentioned above, Platonic presuppositions are discernible in John’s work, and the drawbacks of these presuppositions are most evident in John’s spectrum of being view that sees the immaterial as more good than the material. But a benefit of his Platonic outlook is the ease by which nature points to spiritual realities. For example, when discussing the lunar cycles, John contends that the waning and waxing of the moon constitutes a natural sign of the resurrection of Christ. John makes a similar argument concerning the flowering of a rose from a vine of thorns.
Just as important as what is included in this synthesis is what is omitted. There is a discernible lack of attention given to the work of Christ, especially as atoning sacrifice for sins. The role of the Spirit and the redemptive role of Pentecost is also relatively minimal. Overall, The Orthodox Faith represents a landmark synthesis for early and Eastern Christianity that clearly preserves the loci of theology that were of emphasis and importance in the eighth century context of John of Damascus.

[DúviAurvandil Ericsson e Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for any Christian looking for historic doctrine. It’s amazing how consistent the arguments, analogies, and comparisons St John makes as to the same ones we do today. Being “systematic,” the first quarter or so lays a lot of philosophical ground work, which is quite difficult (for me) to follow, but then it pays off in his exposition of the doctrines of Incarnation, dyophysitism, consubstantiality, dyotheletism, etc. this really is a summary work of all there is to know about Jesus Christ our Lord, God, and Savior.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to give this book 4 stars, because the good bits are very good. However, the bad bits are really bad; thus it must only get 3 stars. It is a good read, though only one for the discerning.

[MF · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the clearest, most satisfying exposition of the faith. A great read.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potent Quotables:

After the resurrection, time will not be reckoned by days and nights. Instead, there will be a single day without evening, with the sun of righteousness shining brightly on the righteous, but a deep and infinite night awaiting the sinful.

We have been endowed with free will by the Creator and are masters of our own actions. If we do everything under the influence of the stars, we do whatever we do by necessity. And that which comes about by necessity is neither virtue nor vice. If we acquire neither virtue nor vice, we are worthy neither or praise and crowns, nor of reproach or punishment. Even God will turn out to be unjust in giving good things to some and afflictions to others. Nor will God exercise government or foresight over his own creatures if everything is borne along by necessity. Even our rational faculty would be superfluous in us, for not being masters of our own actions we would be exercising our will in vain. But our rational faculty has been given to us most certainly on account of our will. Hence every rational being also has freedom of will.

Good pleasures should be considered “those that are not bound up with sorrow, do not give rise to remorse, do not cause other harm, do not exceed the bounds of moderation, do not distract us for long from more important work, and do not enslave us.” [Ref. Nemesius of Emesa]

Through the fall, we passed from what is in accordance with nature to what is contrary to nature. But the Lord led us back from what is contrary to nature to what is in accordance with nature. For this is what “in the image and likeness” means.

Christ appropriated our curse and abandonment and such things that are not part of our nature, not because he himself was these things or became them, but because he took our character upon himself and set himself alongside us.

Every act and miracle of Christ was very great and divine and wonderful, but the most wonderful of all is his precious cross. For by nothing else was death abolished, was the sin of our first ancestor absolved, was hades despoiled, was the resurrection granted, was the power given to us to despise the things of this world and death itself, was the return of our original blessedness achieved, were the gates of paradise opened, was our nature seated at the right hand of God, did we become children and heirs of God, except by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We who await him worship facing east. This tradition of the apostles is unwritten, for they have handed down many things to us orally.

The bread and the wine and not a symbol of the body and blood of Christ - God forbid! - but the actual deified body of the Lord, since the Lord himself said: “This is my body,” not a symbol of my body, and “This is my blood,” not a symbol of my blood, and before this to the Jews: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man you do not have eternal life. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink,” and again: “Whoever eats me will live.”

Isaiah saw a coal, and a coal is not plain wood but wood united with fire. In the same way the bread of communion is not plain bread but bread united with divinity.

The honor shown to the most faithful of our fellow servants is proof of affection for our common master.

The fact that the apostles transmitted a great many things without writing them down is recorded by Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles: “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter” [2 Thess 2:15]; and to the Corinthians: “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you” [1 Cor 11:2].

[Noah R Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10.

Had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

This was my first read of anything resembling systematic theology for the Eastern Orthodox church.

Book I and II were excellent! Superb exposition of the existence and knowability of God, the Triune nature of God, creation, incarnation, gospel, and providence; all carefully collated from various fathers in earlier centuries and in agreement with what is plainly taught in the Scriptures (to my knowledge). You can tell that this man was a polymath in his articulation and use of various metaphors from natural revelation to aid in understanding special revelation and vice versa. Albeit, I either disagree (respectfully) or misunderstand some of St John’s assertions regarding the nature of evil and relation of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. There is also an incredible slew of ancient sciences (metaphysics, astronomy, etc.) that did not seem to fit in with his central expositions.

Book III and IV were mostly good, but ultimately reminded me why I’m not Eastern Orthodox. It’s clear that St John (writing in the early 8th century) picks up some accretions that developed in the theology of the church and presents them as non-negotiable. Specifically, Maryology (she was immaculately conceived, perpetually virgin, and bodily assumed), Icons (we should venerate them), and the Eucharist (transsubstantiation). The subsequent implications of these doctrines for faith and practice tread dangerously close to compromising the Gospel and misplacing/misguiding our worship.
All this considered, this is a worthwhile read that will bolster the Christian's faith and clarify some distinctives in the Eastern Orthodox articulation of faith and practice.

"For there never was a time when the Father was and the Son was not, but always the Father and always the Son, Who was begotten of Him, existed together. For He could not have received the name Father apart from the Son: for if He were without the Son, He could not be the Father: and if He thereafter had the Son, thereafter He became the Father, not having been the Father prior to this, and He was changed from that which was not the Father and became the Father.”

“For the Godhead is not compound but in three perfect subsistences, one perfect indivisible and uncompound God.”

“The Deity is undivided amongst things divided, to put it concisely: and it is just like three suns cleaving to each other without separation and giving out light mingled and conjoined into one.”

“For generation means that the begetter produces out of his essence offspring similar in essence. But creation and making mean that the creator and maker produces from that which is external, and not out of his own essence, a creation of an absolutely dissimilar nature.”

P.S. To follow Books I-III, I'd recommend learning what the author means by "subsistence" and "passion." These terms are used frequently when delineating the doctrine of the Trinity and specifically the hypostatic of the Son.

[Ethan McCarter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though John is certainly not the most "innovative" theologian he doesn't need to be; that's not what he was aiming for in this patristic writing. The translation work is masterfully done though not always the most "word-for-word" translation. I did think there were a few lines of the Greek that should have been taken a different way, based on a number of factors, but you can't fault the translator in most areas of his translation. He's done the church a service by translating this massive work. Pertaining to the theological work of John, there's a decided eastern flavour to his writings. The essence-energies distinction, the concern with ongoing difficulties with the Monophysites, and the brief discourses on icons all indicate the growing differences in his time between the Latin and Greek churches. His doctrine of perichoresis (the mutual interpenetration/indwelling of the hypostases of the Trinity) is one of his best contributions. He defended that doctrine in Christology too, as others had, though he was one of the first to apply it to the Trinity. I did think his best section was on Christological doctrines though his doctrine of God wasn't shabby at all. The work is a must read for those interested in the patristics. It's not as foundational as "On the Trinity" by Augustine or some of the other classics, but John is a massive figure that deserves far more attention than he has gotten in the west.

[Sascha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If we Read once or twice and do not understand what we read, let us not grow weary, but let us persist, let us talk much, let us enquire”

Read this from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, volume 9

This work really took a lot of reading and understanding, even now I don’t understand all of it. But it is due to my own understanding I can’t understand everything that is said in this book. St. John put a lot of work and effort into writing these books but to understand one needs a good basis and understand of faith to understand the finer details, of the faith but more so Christ. I loved books 2 and 4. book 3 which is a about Christ, I need to reread to fully more understand what Christ is with all the technical terms, it was difficult to understand imo. But it was a enjoyable read, I loved what I understood and pondered what I did not understand, I shall read this later on.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read! The author gives excellent metaphors for the humanity and divinity of Jesus, for the Trinity, etc. He goes into depth on complex theological matters – this can be a heady book, but it's broken down in a way that's easy to understand. At the same time, I wish John of Damascus elaborated more on a few matters – the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, atonement motifs, etc. But that's probably my western sensibilities talking. Additionally, there were some times where the text seemed less relevant. Book 2 (or was it book 3?) got a little boring at times. But, especially when compared to the works from other church fathers, this was a must-read for Christians interested in the evolution of theology. Short chapters, too!

[Johnathan Rhoades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Book 1 is a great and beautiful exposition on who God is. Book 2 is a fascinating look at 8th century natural philosophy while also being a great reminder of God the creator. Book 3 tackles the incarnation and gets a little heady. It also sometimes came off a little bit heavy on the “Jesus as God” to the imbalance of “Jesus as Man”, but I am sure that was the emphasis needed in his time and place. Book 4 gets into some questions of doctrine of praxis.

Overall quite fascinating. I would probably prioritize other works of the fathers first, but still very good. The version I listened to could have use an updated translation as well.

[Miles Foltermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

An important book for anyone who wants to peer into the thought of an Eastern Christian theologian writing in the 8th century. Still, as another reviewer has stated, though the good parts are very good, the bad parts are quite bad. The strong point of the book is John’s discussion of the doctrine of God. Weak points include the metaphysics (which I found tedious and speculative), the cosmology, and the discussions surrounding Mary, the saints, and icons. Also notable is what is missing: a clear picture of the application of redemption. Valuable from an historical-theological perspective, but certainly surpassed in clarity and scope by other works.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This famous summary of the Christian Faith by a theologian living during the emergence of Islam. Very insightful and thorough discussion of the Trinity and orthodox Christology. Also, some interesting historical tidbits and some distinctly Catholic arguments regarding the Virgin Mary, the value of virginity and the use of images in worship. A must read for anyone interested in Patristics, especially since the Damascene synthesized much of what preceded him.

[Steven]

I listened to this while watching Dyer's several hour series on the book. Between what I had heard before, and those videos, I think I was able to better allocate my attention throughout.

I don't want to spoil it, but the part about symbolism and the moon is something I've never heard before.

It seems to work as an audiobook, but I've been told to also review the print version to get more out of it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A more in-depth look at the basic theological assertions of the Orthodox Church. It begins with an argument for the existence of God, and covers many important dogmas and doctrines of the Church. I read this as a part of my "Principles of Orthodoxy" class, along with Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy's "Law of God".