Commemoration of St. John of Damascus

From the Synod's website:

December 4
John of Damascus

John (ca. 675–749) is known as the great compiler and summarizer of the orthodox faith and the last great Greek theologian. Born in Damascus, John gave up an influential position in the Islamic court to devote himself to the Christian faith. Around 716 he entered a monastery outside of Jerusalem and was ordained a priest. When the Byzantine emperor Leo the Isaurian in 726 issued a decree forbidding images (icons), John forcefully resisted. In his Apostolic Discourses he argued for the legitimacy of the veneration of images, which earned him the condemnation of the Iconoclast Council in 754. John also wrote defenses of the orthodox faith against contemporary heresies. In addition, he was a gifted hymnwriter (“Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain”) and contributed to the liturgy of the Byzantine churches. His greatest work was the Fount of Wisdom which was a massive compendium of truth from previous Christian theologians, covering practically every conceivable doctrinal topic. John's summary of the orthodox faith left a lasting stamp on both the Eastern and Western churches.

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In our Lutheran Service Book, Hymns 478 (The Day of Resurrection) and 487 (Come, You Faithful) are by this great father.

I'll feature him today in the Patristic Quote for the Day.

Meanwhile, from the Brotherhood Prayer Book:

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God;
Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Let us pray. O God, who hast endowed thy servant St. John Damascene with clarity of faith and holiness of life: grant us to keep with steadfast minds the faith which he taught, and in his fellowship to be made partakers of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.