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68-464: According to tradition, the icon was in the possession of John of Damascus in the early 8th century and it is associated with his miraculous healing around the year 717. According to tradition, while he was serving as Vizier to caliph Al-Walid I , he was falsely accused of treachery and his hand was cut off. The accusation was, allegedly, made by Byzantine Iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian , who

136-761: A Doctor of the Church , often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary . He was also a prominent exponent of perichoresis , and employed the concept as a technical term to describe both the interpenetration of the divine and human natures of Christ and the relationship between the hypostases of the Trinity. John is at the end of the Patristic period of dogmatic development, and his contribution

204-477: A Doctor of the Church, then declared both John of Ávila and Hildegard of Bingen Doctors of the Church on 7 October 2012. Pope Francis declared the 10th-century Armenian monk Gregory of Narek the 36th Doctor of the Church on 21 February 2015. The decision was somewhat controversial, as Gregory was a monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church , a non-Chalcedonian church that was not in communion with

272-522: A Georgian who died in 1028. John was born in Damascus , in 675 or 676, to a prominent Damascene Christian Arab family. His father, Sarjun ibn Mansur , served as an official of the early Umayyad Caliphate . His grandfather, Mansur ibn Sarjun , was a prominent Byzantine official of Damascus, who had been responsible for the taxes of the region during the reign of Emperor Heraclius and also served under Emperor Maurice . Mansur seems to have played

340-512: A Muslim can only marry and do trade in the presence of witnesses – and what biblical prophets and verses foretold Muhammad 's coming – since, John says, Jesus was foretold by the prophets and whole Old Testament. John claims that the Muslims answered that Muhammad received the Quran in his sleep. John claims that he jokingly answered, "You're spinning my dreams." Some of the Muslims, John says, claimed that

408-631: A companion's wife before outlawing adultery, and that the Quran is filled with stories, such as the She-Camel of God and God giving Jesus an "incorruptible table." It is believed that the homily on the Annunciation was the first work to be translated into Arabic. Much of this text is found in Manuscript 4226 of the Library of Strasbourg (France), dating to 885 AD. Later in the 10th century, Antony, superior of

476-626: A decree of Boniface VIII (1298) ordering their feasts to be kept as doubles throughout the Latin Church is contained in his sixth book of Decretals (cap. "Gloriosus", de relique. et vener. sanctorum, in Sexto, III, 22). In the Byzantine Church , three Doctors were pre-eminent: John Chrysostom , Basil the Great , and Gregory of Nazianzus . The feasts of these three saints were made obligatory throughout

544-475: A distinct Common of Doctors. On 20 August 2011, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would soon declare John of Ávila a Doctor of the Church. It was also reported in December 2011 that Pope Benedict intended to declare Hildegard of Bingen as a Doctor of the Church, though she had not yet been canonized. Pope Benedict XVI declared Hildegard of Bingen a saint on 10 May 2012, clearing the way for her to be named

612-553: A great price. As a refugee from Italy, Cosmas brought with him the scholarly traditions of Latin Christianity . Cosmas was said to have rivaled Pythagoras in arithmetic and Euclid in geometry . He also taught John's orphan friend, Cosmas of Maiuma . John possibly had a career as a civil servant for the Caliph in Damascus before his ordination. He then became a priest and monk at

680-553: A monk at Mar Sabbas monastery outside of Jerusalem and gave the icon to the monastic community there. Later the icon was given as a present to St. Sava when he visited the monastery, together with another icon of the Theotokos in the style of Nursing Madonna , and with the crosier of Sabbas the Sanctified , the founder of the monastery. Sava brought the icon to Hilandar monastery where he lived. It remained there until 1347 when it

748-478: A period of 84 years; the longest was that of Irenaeus , which took more than eighteen centuries. Some other churches have similar categories with various names. In the Western church four outstanding "Fathers of the Church" attained this honour in the early Middle Ages: Gregory the Great , Ambrose , Augustine of Hippo , and Jerome . The "four Doctors" became a commonplace notion among scholastic theologians, and

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816-463: A plot to attack Damascus . The caliph then ordered John's right hand be cut off and hung up in public view. Some days afterwards, John asked for the restitution of his hand, and prayed fervently to the Theotokos before her icon: thereupon, his hand is said to have been miraculously restored. In gratitude for this miraculous healing, he attached a silver hand to the icon, which thereafter became known as

884-482: A prologue not found in most other translations, and was written by an Arab monk, Michael, who explained that he decided to write his biography in 1084 because none was available in his day. However, the main Arabic text seems to have been written by an unknown earlier author sometime between the early 9th and late 10th century. Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration and some legendary details, it

952-408: A role in the capitulation of Damascus to the troops of Khalid ibn al-Walid in 635 after securing favorable conditions of surrender. Eutychius , a 10th-century Melkite patriarch, mentions him as one high-ranking official involved in the surrender of the city to the Muslims. The tribal background of Mansur ibn Sarjun, John's grandfather, is unknown, but biographer Daniel Sahas has speculated that

1020-592: A saint by the Catholic Church since it received the Armenian Catholic Church into full communion. (For earlier authorities on Christian doctrine, see Church Fathers and Ante-Nicene Fathers ) * indicates a saint who is also held in high esteem by the Eastern Orthodox Church . Dogmatic Works: Moral Theology , The Council of Trent, The Histories of Heresies and their Refutation, Truth of

1088-465: Is a deacon; and 27 are from Europe, three are from Africa, and seven are from Asia. More Doctors (twelve) lived in the fourth century than any other; eminent Christian writers of the first, second, and third centuries are usually referred to as the Ante-Nicene Fathers . The shortest period between death and nomination was that of Alphonsus Liguori , who died in 1787 and was named a Doctor in 1871 –

1156-564: Is less one of theological innovation than one of a summary of the developments of the centuries before him. In Catholic theology , he is therefore known as the "last of the Greek Fathers". The main source of information for the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem . This is an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains

1224-430: Is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to contain elements of some value. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat is a work of the 10th century attributed to a monk named John. It was only considerably later that the tradition arose that this was John of Damascus, but most scholars no longer accept this attribution. Instead much evidence points to Euthymius of Athos ,

1292-641: The Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem. One source suggests John left Damascus to become a monk around 706, when al-Walid I increased the Islamicisation of the Caliphate's administration. This is uncertain, as Muslim sources only mention that his father Sarjun (Sergius) left the administration around this time, and fail to name John at all. During the next two decades, culminating in the Siege of Constantinople (717-718) ,

1360-502: The Quran , which he criticizes harshly. Other sources describe his education in Damascus as having been conducted in accordance with the principles of Hellenic education , 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 kidnapped by Arabs from his home in Sicily , and for whom John's father paid

1428-578: The Three Holy Hierarchs . The church also recognizes three saints with the title Theologos ( Theologian ): John the Evangelist , Gregory of Nazianzus and Symeon the New Theologian . The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates on 19 July the feast of Three Holy Russian Hierarchs: Demetrius of Rostov , Mitrophan of Voronezh and Tikhon of Zadonsk . The Armenian Apostolic Church recognizes

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1496-716: The Umayyad Caliphate progressively occupied the borderlands of the Byzantine Empire. An editor of John's works, Father Le Quien , has shown that John was already a monk at Mar Saba before the dispute over iconoclasm, explained below. In the early 8th century, iconoclasm , a movement opposed to the veneration of icons, gained acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, despite the protests of Germanus , Patriarch of Constantinople , Emperor Leo III (who had forced his predecessor, Theodosius III , to abdicate and himself assumed

1564-515: The plural "we" , whether in reference to himself, or to a group of Christians that he belonged to who spoke to the Muslims, or in reference to Christians in general. Regardless, John claims that he asked the Muslims what witnesses can testify that Muhammad received the Quran from God – since, John says, Moses received the Torah from God in the presence of the Israelites, and since Islamic law mandates that

1632-539: The superior general of the Discalced Carmelites , Miguel Márquez Calle, to declare Teresa Benedicta of the Cross a Doctor of the Church. The Discalced Carmelites first launched an international commission to gather the necessary documentation required for the declaration in 2022, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of her conversion to Catholicism and the 80th anniversary of her martyrdom. In addition, parts of

1700-631: The "Three-handed", or Tricherousa . That icon is now located in the Hilandar monastery of the Holy Mountain . Due to his commitment to iconodulism , he was condemned by anathema by the iconoclastic Council of Hieria in 754. He was later rehabilitated by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. When the name of John of Damascus was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1890, it

1768-597: The 18 who died before the Great Schism of 1054 are also held in high esteem by the Eastern Orthodox Church , although it does not use the formal title Doctor of the Church . Among the 37 recognised Doctors, 28 are from the West and nine from the East; four are women and thirty-three are men; one is an abbess, three are nuns, and one is a tertiary associated with a religious order; two are popes, 19 are bishops, twelve are priests, and one

1836-506: The Bible and, "likewise, it seems," spoke to an Arian monk that taught him Arianism instead of Christianity. John also claims to have read the Quran, or at least parts of it, as he criticizes the Quran for saying that the Virgin Mary was the sister of Moses and Aaron and that Jesus was not crucified but brought alive into heaven. John further claims to have spoken to Muslims about Mohammad. He uses

1904-454: The Byzantine emperor, but adopted a simplified style that allowed the controversy to be followed by the common people, stirring rebellion among the iconoclasts. Decades after his death, John's writings would play an important role during the Second Council of Nicaea (787), which convened to settle the icon dispute. Leo III reportedly sent forged documents to the caliph which implicated John in

1972-591: The Catholic Church during Gregory's life and has sometimes been described as monophysite . However, the Armenian Apostolic Church does not accept monophysitism, and in 1996, Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin I , patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, signed a joint declaration which said that the division between the two churches was due to historical misunderstandings, not a real difference in Christology. Further, Gregory had been recognized as

2040-614: The Catholic Church have recognised other individuals with this title. In Spain , Fulgentius of Cartagena , Ildephonsus of Toledo and Leander of Seville have been recognized with this title. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI , in his encyclical Spe Salvi , called Maximus the Confessor "the great Greek Doctor of the Church", though the Congregation for the Causes of Saints considers this declaration an informal one. Though not named Doctors of

2108-589: The Church Doctor of the Church ( Latin : doctor "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis ), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribution to theology or doctrine through their research, study, or writing. As of 2024 , the Catholic Church has named 37 Doctors of the Church. Of these,

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2176-715: The Church by Pope Leo XIII . Besides his purely textual works, many of which are listed below, John of Damascus also composed hymns, perfecting the canon , a structured hymn form used in Byzantine Rite liturgies. As stated above, in the final chapter of Concerning Heresy, John mentions Islam as the Heresy of the Ishmaelites . He is one of the first known Christian critics of Islam. John claims that Muslims were once worshipers of Aphrodite who followed after Muhammad because of his "seeming show of piety," and that Mohammad himself read

2244-564: The Church he opened his mouth, * And God filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. * He heaped upon him a treasure of joy and gladness.") The Nicene Creed was also recited at Mass, which is normally not said except on Sundays and the highest-ranking feast days. The 1962 revisions to the Missal dropped the Creed from feasts of Doctors and abolished the title and the Common of Confessors, instituting

2312-822: The Church or even canonized, many of the more celebrated doctors of theology and law of the Middle Ages were given an epithet which expressed the nature of their expertise. Among these are Bl. John Duns Scotus , Doctor subtilis ("subtle doctor"); Alexander of Hales , Doctor irrefragabilis ("unanswerable doctor"); Roger Bacon , Doctor mirabilis ("wondrous doctor"); William of Ockham , Doctor singularis et invincibilis ("valuable and invincible doctor"); Jean Gerson , Doctor christianissimus ("most Christian doctor"); and Francisco Suárez , Doctor eximius ("exceptional doctor"). The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church recognises Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, Augustine, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, as well as Ephrem

2380-569: The Church. The churches of the Anglican Communion tend not to use the term Doctor of the Church in their calendars of saints, preferring expressions such as "Teacher of the Faith". Those thus recognized include figures from before and after the Reformation, most of whom are chosen among those already recognized as in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Those designated as Teachers of

2448-462: The Church. Since then four additions to the list have been women: Teresa of Ávila (also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus) and Catherine of Siena by Pope Paul VI ; Therese of Lisieux by Pope John Paul II ; and Hildegard of Bingen by Benedict XVI . Teresa and Thérèse were both Discalced Carmelites , Catherine was a Dominican , and Hildegard was a Benedictine nun. Traditionally, in the Liturgy ,

2516-463: The Eastern Church ( John Chrysostom , Basil the Great , Gregory of Nazianzus , and Athanasius of Alexandria ) in 1568. To these names others have subsequently been added. The requisite conditions are enumerated as three: eminens doctrina , insignis vitae sanctitas , Ecclesiae declaratio (i.e. eminent learning, a high degree of sanctity, and proclamation by the church). Benedict XIV explains

2584-574: The Eastern Empire by Leo VI the Wise . A common feast was later instituted in their honour on 30 January, called "the feast of the three Hierarchs ". In the Menaea for that day it is related that the three Doctors appeared in a dream to John Mauropous , Bishop of Euchaita , and commanded him to institute a festival in their honour, in order to put a stop to the rivalries of their votaries and panegyrists. This

2652-668: The Faith In October 2018, on the occasion of the canonization of Oscar Romero , martyred Archbishop of San Salvador , José Luis Escobar Alas , the current Archbishop of San Salvador, petitioned Pope Francis to name Romero a Doctor of the Church. In October 2019, the Polish Catholic Bishops Conference formally petitioned Pope Francis to consider making Pope John Paul II a Doctor of the Church in an official proclamation, in recognition of his contributions to theology, philosophy, and Catholic literature, as well as

2720-581: The Faith in the Church of England 's calendar of saints are as follows: Since all of the above appear in the calendar at the level of Lesser Festival or Commemoration , their celebration is optional. Similarly, because "In the Calendar of the Saints, diocesan and other local provision may be made to supplement the national Calendar", those Doctors of the Church recognized by the Catholic Church may also be celebrated in

2788-621: The Muslims that the black stone in Mecca was the head of a statue of Aphrodite. Moreover, he claims, the Muslims would be better off to associate Jesus with God if they say Jesus is the Word of God and Spirit. John claims that the word and the spirit are inseparable from that in which they exist and if the Word of God has always existed in God, then the Word must be God. John ends the chapter by claiming that Islam permits polygamy , that Muhammad committed adultery with

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2856-504: The Office of Doctors was distinguished from that of Confessors by two changes: the Gospel reading Vos estis sal terrae ("You are the salt of the earth"), Matthew 5:13–19, and the eighth Respond at Matins, from Ecclesiasticus 15:5, In medio Ecclesiae aperuit os ejus, * Et implevit eum Deus spiritu sapientiae et intellectus. * Jucunditatem et exsultationem thesaurizavit super eum. ("In the midst of

2924-528: The Old Testament that Christians believe foretells Jesus' coming is misinterpreted, while other Muslims claimed that the Jews edited the Old Testament so as to deceive Christians (possibly into believing Jesus is God, but John does not say). While recounting his alleged dialogue with Muslims, John claims that they have accused him of idol worship for venerating the Cross and worshipping Jesus. John claims that he told

2992-454: The Orthodox historian Jean Meyendorff , suppose that he might have been a lower-level tax administrator, a local tax collector who would not have needed to be mentioned in the archives, but who might not have necessarily been part of the court either. In addition, John's own writings never refer to any experience in a Muslim court. It is believed that John became a monk at Mar Saba , and that he

3060-524: The Syrian , Isaac the Elder , Pope Leo I , John of Damascus , Cyril of Alexandria , Cyril of Jerusalem , Epiphanius of Salamis and Gregory of Nyssa . The Chaldean Catholic Church honours as doctor Polycarp , Eustathius of Antioch , Meletius, Alexander of Jerusalem , Athanasius , Basil, Cyril of Alexandria , Gregory Nazianzus , Gregory of Nyssa , John Chrysostom , Fravitta of Constantinople , Ephrem

3128-434: The Syrian , Jacob of Nisibis , Jacob of Serugh , Isaac of Armenia , Isaac of Nineveh , and Maruthas of Martyropolis . The Eastern Orthodox Church honors many of the pre-schism saints as well, but the term Doctor of the Church is not applied in the same way. One consistent use of the category is the trio of Basil the Great , Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom , recognized as universal teachers and known as

3196-711: The Twelve Holy Teachers ( Vardapets ) of the Church They also recognize their own saints Mesrob , Yeghishe , Movses Khorenatsi , David the Invincible , Gregory of Narek , Nerses III the Builder , and Nerses of Lambron as "Doctors of the Armenian Church" or the "Armenian Doctors". The Assyrian Church of the East recognizes Yeghishe , Diodorus of Tarsus , Theodore of Mopsuestia , and Nestorius as Doctors of

3264-520: The Umayyad caliphs . John of Jerusalem claims that he also served as a senior official in the fiscal administration of the Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Malik before leaving Damascus and his position around 705 to go to Jerusalem and become a monk . However, this point is debated within the academic community as there is no trace of him in the Umayyad archives, unlike his father and grandfather. Some researchers, such as Robert G. Hoyland , deny such an affiliation, while others, like Daniel Sahas or

3332-399: The church against heresy . Bede the Venerable wrote biblical commentaries and theological treatises. Systematic theologians include the Scholastic philosophers Anselm of Canterbury , Albert the Great , and Thomas Aquinas . In the 1920 encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus , Pope Benedict XV refers to Jerome as the church's "Greatest Doctor". Until 1970, no woman had been named a Doctor of

3400-447: The formal documents of his papacy. In January 2023, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco proposed that Pope Benedict XVI be declared a doctor of the Church "as soon as possible", in view of his theological intelligence and contribution to the formation of current doctrine of the Catholic Church , such as the new catechism . In January 2024, Archbishop Georg Gänswein also spoke in favor of the pontiff's canonization and his elevation to

3468-404: The monastery of St. Simon (near Antioch) translated a corpus of John Damascene. In his introduction to John's work, Sylvestre patriarch of Antioch (1724–1766) said that Antony was monk at Saint Saba. This could be a misunderstanding of the title Superior of Saint Simon probably because Saint Simon's monastery was in ruins in the 18th century. Most manuscripts give the text of the letter to Cosmas,

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3536-482: The name Mansur could have implied descent from the Arab Christian tribes of Kalb or Taghlib . The name was common among Syrian Christians of Arab origins, and Eutychius noted that the governor of Damascus, who was likely Mansur ibn Sarjun, was an Arab. However, Sahas also asserts that the name does not necessarily imply an Arab background and could have been used by non-Arab, Semitic Syrians. While Sahas and biographers F. H. Chase and Andrew Louth assert that Mansūr

3604-678: The philosophical chapters, the theological chapters and five other small works. In 1085, Mikhael, a monk from Antioch, wrote the Arabic life of the Chrysorrhoas. This work was first edited by Bacha in 1912 and then translated into many languages (German, Russian and English). Two translations exist of the 10th-century hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat , traditionally attributed to John: Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: Doctor of

3672-415: The status of doctor of the church. In November 2023, the USCCB voted to support a petition by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales for the Vatican to name John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. The epithet Doctor amicitiae (Doctor of Friendship) has been suggested for St. John Henry Newman . In April 2024, during a private audience Pope Francis received a formal request from

3740-598: The style of the icon is more likely from the 14th century, and that it may be a copy or re-painting of an earlier prototype . Another version brought to Moscow in 1661 became famous, and resulted in many Russian copies. John of Damascus John of Damascus ( Arabic : يوحنا الدمشقي , romanized :  Yūḥana ad-Dimashqī ; Greek : Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός , romanized :  Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós , IPA: [ioˈanis o ðamasciˈnos] ; Latin : Ioannes Damascenus ; born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn , يوحنا إبن منصور إبن سرجون ) or John Damascene

3808-429: The third as a declaration by the supreme pontiff or by a general council . The decree is issued by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints and approved by the pope, after a careful examination, if necessary, of the saint's writings. It is not in any way an ex cathedra decision, nor does it even amount to a declaration that no error is to be found in the teaching of the Doctor. It is, indeed, well known that

3876-408: The three hierarchs. The details of the title Doctor of the Church vary from one autonomous ritual church to another. In the Latin Church , the four Latin Doctors ( Ambrose , Augustine , Jerome , and Gregory ) had been given a special pre-eminence since the eighth century, but in 1298 Pope Boniface VIII declared them Doctors of the Church. Pope Pius V recognized the four Great Doctors of

3944-402: The throne in 717 immediately before the great siege) issued his first edict against the veneration of images and their exhibition in public places. All agree that John of Damascus undertook a spirited defence of holy images in three separate publications. The earliest of these works, his Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images , secured his reputation. He not only attacked

4012-495: The very greatest of them are not wholly immune from error. Previously, no martyrs were on the list, since the Office and the Mass had been for Confessors . Hence, as Benedict XIV pointed out during his pontificate, Ignatius of Antioch , Irenaeus of Lyons , and Cyprian of Carthage were not called Doctors of the Church. This changed in 2022 when Pope Francis declared Irenaeus of Lyons the first martyred Doctor. The Doctors' works vary greatly in subject and form. Augustine of Hippo

4080-410: Was an Arab Christian monk , priest , hymnographer , and apologist . He was born and raised in Damascus c.  675 AD or 676 AD; the precise date and place of his death is not known, though tradition places it at his monastery, Mar Saba , near Jerusalem on 4 December 749 AD. A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law , theology , philosophy , and music , he

4148-555: Was an Arabic name, Raymond le Coz asserts that the "family was without doubt of Syrian origin"; indeed, according to historian Daniel J. Janosik, "Both aspects could be true, for if his family ancestry were indeed Syrian, his grandfather [Mansur] could have been given an Arabic name when the Arabs took over the government." When Syria was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 630s, the court at Damascus retained its large complement of Christian civil servants, John's grandfather among them. John's father, Sarjun (Sergius) , went on to serve

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4216-402: Was assigned to 27 March. The feast day was moved in 1969 to the day of John's death, 4 December, the day on which his feast day is celebrated also in the Byzantine Rite calendar, Lutheran Commemorations, and the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church. John of Damascus is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 4 December. In 1890, he was declared a Doctor of

4284-471: Was given the by-name of Chrysorroas (Χρυσορρόας, literally "streaming with gold", i.e. "the golden speaker"). He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used both liturgically in Eastern Christian practice throughout the world as well as in western Lutheranism at Easter. He is one of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is best known for his strong defence of icons . The Catholic Church regards him as

4352-411: Was indeed a great opponent of St John, and friend of Al-Walid I. Upon praying in front of an icon of the Theotokos, allegedly, his hand was miraculously restored. In thanksgiving, he had a silver replica of his hand fashioned and attached it to the icon. After this, the icon became known as "three-handed" (Tricherousa), because it had three hands (two of the Theotokos plus one more). John Damascene became

4420-525: Was one of the most prolific writers in Christian antiquity and wrote in almost every genre. Some, such as Pope Gregory the Great and Ambrose of Milan, were prominent writers of letters. Pope Leo the Great , Pope Gregory the Great, Peter Chrysologus , Bernard of Clairvaux , Anthony of Padua and Lawrence of Brindisi left many homilies. Catherine of Siena , Teresa of Ávila , John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux wrote works of mystical theology . Athanasius of Alexandria and Robert Bellarmine defended

4488-489: Was ordained as a priest in 735. John was raised in Damascus, and Arab Christian folklore holds that during his adolescence, John associated with the future Umayyad caliph Yazid I and the Taghlibi Christian court poet al-Akhtal . 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." From this it has been suggested that John may have grown up bilingual. John does indeed show some knowledge of

4556-489: Was taken by Dušan of Serbia during his visit to Hilandar and brought with him to Serbia. At the end of the 14th century, the icon was in the possession of the Studenica monastery . In the early 15th century, Trojeručica was back in Hilandar. Until very recently the icon was formally the abbot of Hilandar, with monks elected to serve as its deputy. This icon has two feast days: June 28 [ O.S. July 11] and July 12 [ O.S. July 25]. Art historians think

4624-474: Was under Alexius Comnenus (1081–1118; see "Acta SS.", 14 June, under St. Basil, c. xxxviii). But sermons for the feast are attributed in manuscripts to Cosmas Vestitor , who flourished in the tenth century. The three are as common in Eastern art as the four are in Western. Durandus (i, 3) remarks that Doctors should be represented with books in their hands. In the West analogy led to the veneration of four Eastern Doctors, Athanasius of Alexandria being added to

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