the preaching of god’s word through the liturgical...
TRANSCRIPT
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THE PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD THROUGH
THE LITURGICAL HYMNS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
THE HYMNOGRAPHIC WORK OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS
IN THE CURRENT BOOKS OF WORSHIP
– Summary –
The present paper attempts to shed light on the theological value and meaning of
Saint John of Damascus’ hymnology from the current books of worship. As it is a topic
which has not been specifically considered earlier by other studies, we considered it in a
form which could serve as a useful tool to the preaching priest in the preparation of his
sermons.
CHAPTER I:
THE PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD THROUGH
THE LITURGICAL HYMNS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
The general theoretical section is represented by the first chapter which
highlights the importance of the preaching of God’s Word through the liturgical hymns
of the Orthodox Church, by taking into consideration the teaching ministry of the priest.
1. The preaching of God’s Word and its importance for salvation
The act of preaching is a vital necessity for the salvation of the believers, as the
priest’s sermon forms into their souls the faith through which they can interiorise the
truths they have discovered. At the same time, he shapes the appropriate state of mind in
order to enter into communion with Christ, through the Holy Mysteries. Furthermore,
the sermon also has a great practical importance, as its purpose is not only to determine
the listeners to receive the Gospel teachings, but also to put them into practice in their
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everyday life, because the taught word, when accepted by its listener, becomes the
starting point of the redeeming work into his soul.
A. The Word, the Creator’s gift
The word has an indispensable role in the human relationships, as means of
communication and expression of thoughts and feelings. As a minimal unit of the
human language, the word is God’s gift to man, having not only the role to share
knowledge or feelings, but also the role of the speaker’s personal intervention into the
listener’s life. Furthermore, man has received from his Creator a supreme gift: God’s
Word incarnated or the Logos, and through His Sacrifice and mediation, the possibility
of salvation.
B. The power of God’s Word and Its revealing function
Through the Word God has created the whole Universe and has deigned to
reveal Himself to us. By coming to our close vicinity, He offered Himself to the people,
according to their level of understanding. In the Old Testament the divine word was
entrusted to the prophets, the source of its power being located to God. Into the New
Testament, the One speaking to the people is God Himself, through Jesus Christ, His
Word incarnated, with boundless power and authority as a teacher and a prophet. The
Word of Christ’s Gospel has the power to strengthen those who preach it and to
existentially convert those who listen to it.
C. The preaching of God’s Word – the holy mission of the Church
The preaching of God’s Word is a work exclusively destined to the Church, as
the Church is the only generation-long preserver of the truth of Christ’s Gospel and the
only one to guarantee a reliable propagation of the revealed teachings for the salvation
of the people, a fact confirmed even by the practice of the primary Church. Moreover,
the inspired text of the Holy Scripture or the Bible can only be explained without
mistake by its lawful possessor, the Church.
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D. The cultic dimension of the preaching of God’s Word
a. The Word in the cult of the Orthodox Church
Inside the cult, the word plays an essential role, as it is always a word about
Christ, the orthodox sermon being a liturgical piece without which the cult cannot
completely achieve its goal. Therefore, there is an ontological connection between
Word and Mystery, as they are both means of preaching God’s Word. Furthermore, the
priest explains through his sermon facts about the cult itself, as these contain
fundamental teachings of faith and principles of Christian ethics.
b. The Liturgy of the Word or the Mystery of the Word
The Holy Liturgy, apart from its latreutic, Eucharistic and harismatic function,
has also a teaching or catechetical function, as it symbolically reveals to us the whole
earthly life of the Redeemer. The Church fulfils its teaching mission especially through
the central elements of the Liturgy of the Word – the biblical readings and the sermon.
Therefore, the tight connection between Liturgy-word-catechesis is emphasized in this
first part of the Liturgy, as all its elements symbolically renew the teaching work of the
Redeemer during His three years of earthly activity.
c. The Eucharistic perfection of the Word
The preaching of God’s Word cannot be separated from the act of the Holy
Mystery of the Eucharisty, because, only through itself, the sermon has no redeeming
power, it only prepares the believer for receiving the salvation. Inside the Orthodox
Church any sermon is uttered by using a liturgical logic, irrespective of the sermon’s
type, therefore, we highlight the organic bond between the Eucharistic Sacrifice and the
preaching of God’s Word.
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2. The liturgical hymns of the Orthodox Church - means of preaching the
right faith
A. The notion of hymn. Liturgical hymn
In the liturgical vocabulary the term „hymn” stands for any poetical composition
which is performed in the Christian gatherings. The liturgical hymns are a part of the
Holy Tradition, including a multitude of dogmatic teachings, even from the time of the
Holy Apostles.
B. The use of hymns in the cult of the first Christian centuries
Performing liturgical hymns has always been a common practice in Christianity,
even from the birth of the Redeemer. The first hymns or religious songs which entered
the Christian cult have been the biblical Psalms and other songs of biblical inspiration.
Except for these, hymns which are the creation of poets or hymnographs have also
entered the cult of the Church starting from the first Christian centuries. Therefore,
being aware of the important role of the Christian hymnography for the liturgical life,
the Holy Fathers have contributed to its development by conferring it an essential role
in the services of the Church.
C. The liturgical hymns – a contributing part to the cult of the
Orthodox Church
The preaching of God’s Word in the Orthodox Church is being performed by
means of the sermon, uttered inside the context of the cult, as well as through the cult
itself, which is a wealthy treasury of doctrine. The liturgical act indirectly represents a
means of Christian teaching and of spreading the right faith. That is why the cult of the
Orthodox Church is not only a complex of liturgical acts, but also expresses, in the most
intuitive way, the theological doctrine of the Church.
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D. The liturgical hymns of the Orthodox Church – means of
acquiring the truths of faith
As the defining characteristic of the hymnographic creations is the exact
propagation of the Christian teaching, in order to maintain the purity of the Orthodox
faith, the liturgical hymns of our Church represent an intuitive method in the discovery
and the acquisition of the truths of faith. Inside the cult, the preaching of God’s Word is
fulfilled especially by the teachings included in the liturgical hymns. Their doctrinal
content leads all of us who participate and listen carefully to the holy service into the
“recapitulation” of the whole history of the salvation. Thus, we participate to all its
events: the creation of man, the fall into sin, the Incarnation of the Redeemer, His
earthly activity, the crucifixion, the Resurrection, all of these with an important
pedagogical and catechetical role for all of us.
CHAPTER II:
ASPECTS OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS’ LIFE AND WORK
The second chapter describes a few aspects of Saint John of Damascus’ life and
work and focuses specifically on his hymnographic work from the present books of
worship.
1. The life of Saint John of Damascus
As there are few known facts about the life and activity of Saint John of
Damascus, a clear illustration of his life becomes a difficult endeavour and the result is
represented only by an outline, influenced by numerous episodes which seem to be only
legends.
Saint John of Damascus was born around the year 675 in the city of Damascus,
the capital of Syria, which also gives his name. At that time he was also known under
the name of “Mansur”, the name of a rich and renowned family, which had a leading
position inside the administration of Damascus.
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Sergius or Sergie, Saint John of Damascus’ father, offered his son a good
education by hiring a wise monk named Cosma, who originated from Italy. This erudite
monk took care of the education of Sergie’ s two sons, the young John and an adopted
son, also named Cosma, who eventually became bishop of Mayuma. After his father’s
death (around the year 690), Saint John followed him in the high administrative position
of Damascus until around the year 726, when he withdrew himself from the public life.
He was made a priest at the monastery of Saint Sava by the patriarch John of
Jerusalem, before the year 726, when Saint John had his first speech as a cleric in
favour of the holy icons.
Saint John of Damascus died in the year 749 at the monastery of Saint Sava and
was buried near its entrance. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates him on the 4th
of
December as a „devout” man.
2. The work of Saint John of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus plays an important role in the history of Christianity
through his renowned writings in favour of the holy icons, his synthetic works and the
numerous hymns he created. He systematised the Christian theology by using the
Tradition of the Holy Fathers who lived before him, in a way which makes it a distinct
work through clarity and concentration of ideas.
His entire work was printed in Paris in the year 1864 in the collection of Jean
Paul Migne, „Patrologiae Graecae”, in the volumes 94, 95 and the first part of the
volume 96. His work has been divided by his critics into six categories: A. dogmatic, B.
polemical, C. ethical-ascetical, D. oratorical, E. hermeneutical, F. poetical or hymns.
3. The hymnographic work of Saint John of Damascus in the present books
of worship
The hymnographic work of Saint John of Damascus included by J.P. Migne in
his collection „Patrologiae Graecae” is just a small part of his entire creation, which
was identified without questioning its authenticity. This is because the Holy Tradition is
considered an unquestionable truth and we have the certitude that the selection made by
the Church has a revelational value.
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CHAPTER III:
THE TEACHING ABOUT GOD REFLECTED IN THE LITURGICAL HYMNS
OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS
1. God - Trinity in the liturgical hymns of Saint John of Damascus
The dogma of the Holy Trinity represents the fundamental truth of Christianity,
the faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost being specific to the Revelation of
the New Testament. The teaching about ˝a God in Trinity˝ is a major Mystery because it
cannot be fully understood in a rational way, but only through faith. By synthetizing the
patristic teaching on the Holy Trinity within his systematic works, Saint John of
Damascus also included it into his liturgical hymns.
A. Unity and Trinity. ˝The Unity honoured within the Trinity˝
Saint John of Damascus taught ˝all the sons of the Church to sing with piety the
Unity honoured within the Trinity˝. The Holy Trinity is One, an idea expressed by Saint
John of Damascus as follows: ˝One Trinity˝ or ˝light in three states”, and also Trinity of
Persons (˝a God in Trinity˝), with us praising ˝the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost˝.
B. Three states ˝in separation as one˝
The divine persons differ from one another due to the nature of their origin, the
Father unborn, the Son begotten, and the Holy Ghost proceeded. Saint John of
Damascus highlights all throughout his liturgical hymns the equality and the co-
substantiality of the Three Divine Persons who are ˝godly united, but distinct, and in
separation, unseparated˝, as ˝the Son is within the Father and the Ghost, the Ghost is
within the Father and the Son, and the Father is within the Son and the Ghost, without
excluding, mixing or confusing one another˝.
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C. ˝One being, one will and one work, all in the Trinity˝
One of the definitions given to God is that of harmony, because ˝the Trinity is a
perfect unity˝. Saint John of Damascus highlights within his works the identity of being,
will and work related to the Persons of the Holy Trinity, because, even though we
sometimes feel like an attribute or a work is specific only to one divine Person, as if it
were Its own, it actually belongs to the other two Persons as well.
2. God - the Father in the hymnographic work of Saint John of Damascus
God the Father, the First State of the Holy Trinity, is the true God, as it clearly
results from the pages of the Holy Scripture. The teaching of the Orthodox Church
about the Person of the Father is synthetically comprised in the first article of the
Symbol of Faith.
A. ˝The Father, the One with no beginning˝
The personal attribute of the Father is that of unborn. He did not receive His
existence from anyone, but He contains the cause of His existence within Himself. The
Father is ˝boundless˝, meaning: ˝out of time, with no beginning, impassive,
incorruptible, immaterial, unique, with no ending˝. That is why He begets the Son and
proceeds the Holy Ghost, ˝with no beginning˝ and for eternity, because ˝what has no
beginning has no ending as well˝.
B. God- the Father, the principle of Unity
The Father, unborn, the Son, begotten, and the Holy Ghost, proceeded, their
unity rests upon the divine essence, which both the Son and the Holy Ghost receive
from the Father. For Saint John of Damascus the Unity ˝of the godly Being˝, known as
˝in three faces˝, ˝distinct˝, is assured by God- the Father, Who is the unique, uncreated
cause of the Son’s begetting out of eternity and of the Holy Ghost’s proceeding out of
eternity. Saint John emphasizes this idea so as to demonstrate that the trinitary doctrine
does not endanger the Divine Unity.
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C. ˝The beginner of light˝- the creationist perspective
As God is true and ˝with no beginning˝, the Father is the spring of all existence,
a truth confessed by Saint John of Damascus all throughout his work, including his
hymnographic one. The Father is ˝the spring of existence for all the things which exist,
of life, for the living, of reason, for those who participate in reason and for all, the
cause of all good˝. But like any other work of God, the creation is the work of the Holy
Trinity, in the sense that the Father creates through the Word, in the Holy Ghost.
3. The Christology of Saint John of Damascus’ hymns
Saint John’s christological teaching, comprised not only in his systematic works,
but also in the hymnographic ones, is in conformity with the patristic thinking of the
Holy Fathers. Saint John’s christological hymns, especially those included in the Canon
of the Resurrection, mirror the joy of the entire creation before its rising from its
previous state and synthetize, within their content, both biblical and patristical teachings
regarding Christ and His Work of salvation.
A. The Son’s divinity
The interior force of Orthodoxism is the belief that Jesus is God. The Holy
Scripture often mentions the divinity of Christ as the Son of God and the Holy Tradition
asserts it even before the Ecumenical Synods, which have endowed it with a dogmatic
value. Within the latter ones, Saint John of Damascus depicts the Saviour as being of
the same substance with the Father, thus, the true God. In Saint John’s liturgical hymns,
the divinity of the Son clearly results from the fact that Saint John calls the Saviour:
˝true God˝, ˝the God of our parents˝, ˝the Light without years˝, ˝of the same substance
with the Father˝, ˝God in a human shape˝ etc.
a. The Son- ˝of the same substance (�µοο�σιος) with the
Father and the Holy Ghost˝
In Saint John’s view and in the opinion of all the Holy Fathers before him, the
fact that the Son is the true God and of the same substance (�µοο�σιος) with the
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Father and the Holy Ghost clearly imposes itself, as the “Three States of the Holy
Godliness are of the same substance and unbuilt˝. The oneness of the Son with the
Father and the Holy Ghost is expressed hymnographically by Saint John when he refers
to the eternity of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, calling Christ: ˝The one who is with
no beginning along with the Father and the Holy Ghost˝.
b. Jesus Christ - ˝The same yesterday and today and forever˝
Jesus Christ - God’s Son and Word Incarnated - is truly God, born of the eternal
and boundless Father, remaining God for infinity. This truth was expressed by Saint
John of Damascus in his liturgical hymns, where he called the Saviour: ˝The same
yesterday and today and forever˝, ˝The Word of the Father without years˝, ˝The eternal
Word˝, because the Son ˝was always with the Father and within the Father, born of
Him from eternity and with no beginning˝.
c. The word ˝through Which all things were made˝ and
˝preserve themselves unaltered˝
The Holy Scripture tells us that God created the world by His Word (Genesis
1:3). That is why, in many of his hymnographic works, Saint John of Damascus
highlights the idea that through His Son, God has brought all things into being. Thus,
Christ is: ˝The One Who made everything in all His wisdom and out of non-existence
brought all into being˝ or ˝The One Who wisdomly created all˝. Moreover, Christ is not
only Creator, but also Provident: ˝The One Who points the arrow of time to His will˝,
˝The One through Whom all things preserve themselves unaltered˝.
B. The Son- ˝the image of the Father˝ (ε�κ�ν το� Πατρ�ς)
According to the word of the Scripture no one can see the Father but through the
Son. That is why Saint John of Damascus, within his liturgical hymns, calls the Son ˝the
image of the Father˝. ˝The Son is the icon of the Father, and the Ghost is the icon of the
Son, through which Christ, living within the man, gives him the resemblance to God˝.
The Son is ˝the image (the icon) of the Father˝, because He defines the Father, revealing
the truth about Him, so as to redeem us. The revealing function is attributed to the
Logos, for He knows the essence of the Father and He is ˝the perfect embodiment of
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God˝ after Whom, man was created. Thus, the Son is ˝light for the lost˝, ˝The shining
ray of the unspoken Being˝, ˝The ray of Father’s glory˝ etc.
C. The Mystery of the Incarnation. God ˝for the people took the
shape of Man˝
Saint John of Damascus was also named ˝The Doctor of the Incarnation˝, due to
the fact that, presenting the theology of this moment in the context of Salvation, he
synthetized the entire traditional doctrine elaborated by the Holy Fathers and by the
ecclesiastical writers up to the 8th
century.
a. The Incarnation, ˝amazing mystery˝
The Incarnation of the Son of God is ˝the greatest novelty˝ and ˝the only thing
new under the sun˝. In his liturgical hymns, Saint John of Damascus calls it: ˝the
amazing mystery˝ or ˝the unthinkable mystery˝, because a State of the Trinity,
˝unspeakably˝, united Itself with ˝the nothingness of a sole body˝.
b. The Incarnation as the work of the Holy Trinity
The World’s Salvation is the single will of the Three Persons, who carry a
special role in what concerns the Incarnation: the Son Incarnates ˝by the will of the
Father, out of the godly Ghost˝. For Saint John of Damascus the miracle of the Holy
Conception is the work of the Holy Trinity. As a reply to the affirmative answer of the
Virgin Mary, out of the initiative of the Father, the Son of God and the Holy Ghost,
which is unseparated from the Son, descend upon the allimmaculate chest. Thus, within
the Ghost, the Word has “shaped” a body for Itself.
D. Christ - true God and true Man
The Orthodox Church has always preached the teaching about Jesus Christ as
true God and true Man. Relying on the Holy Scripture and on the Holy Tradition, the
Ecumenical Synods have expressed in a dogmatic way the teaching about the divine-
human Person of the Saviour.
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a. ˝One-born, within two natures˝
Saint John’s hymnographic work confesses the truth about the Son of God Who
˝Turns himself into a Son of man˝. Therefore, He is ˝man and Lord˝, ˝one with the
Father and with us humans˝. By specifying the orthodox teaching regarding the Person
of the Saviour against the Nestorianism, Saint John’s liturgical hymns confess that ˝He
is not only God, nor a simple man, but One and the Same Son, One-Born, within two
natures˝.
b. Christ- the One ˝without sin˝
The Son of God turned Himself into a man like all of us, except for the
primordial sin and any other sin. By unifying the two natures into the state of the Word,
Christ’s human nature was enriched with godly attributes, the godly nature interweaving
with the human one, which is now deified and raised to the resemblance of God. That is
why the human nature of the Saviour desires only the good, from here resulting the
absolute absence of sin and the sanctity of Jesus. The absence of the sin in the Saviour
is asserted by Saint John within his liturgical hymns, which name Him ˝without sin˝ or
˝without blemish˝.
E. The Mystery of the Kenosis. ˝He bowed His head - the One Who
bowed the heavens˝
The Son of God ˝remained what He was” through the Incarnation, meaning the
true God, and ˝He took what he was not˝, meaning body or ˝ a slave’s appearance˝,
paradoxically unifying His divine nature with the human nature. The Kenosis of the Son
in the shape of piety can be noticed in expressions such as: ˝God among humans˝, ˝The
unseen One is now seen˝, ˝The One who is turns Himself into what he was not˝, ˝The
boundless One is limited˝, “The One without years, submitted to years˝ etc. The Kenosis
of the Son also represents a manifestation of His divine power and of His absolute
freedom, because in this way He gave man the possibility of salvation.
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F. The Death and the Resurrection of God
The eastern theology highlights the defeat of death through resurrection, but it
never separates Christ’s Resurrection from His death on the Cross, because the
crucifixion carries within the light of Resurrection.
a. The Mystery of the Cross or ˝the lief crucifixion˝
In his hymnographic work, Saint John of Damascus speaks about Christ Who
sacrificed Himself to the Father by letting Himself be crucified ˝lief˝ for our
redemption. Thus, the hymnographer confesses that Christ ˝sacrificed Himself for all˝,
˝He received the lief crucifixion, for the resurrection of the whole humanity˝ and
˝nailing Himself on the wood, He gave the sweetness of immortality˝.
b. ˝Into the deepest places of the earth˝
According to Saint Apostle Peter, during the time between His death and the
Resurrection, Christ descends to hell to preach the word of salvation to those beneath (I
Peter 3:18-20). The descent of the Saviour to hell is a unique event in the context of
Salvation, for, by descending ˝into the deepest places of the earth˝, Christ ˝shattered
the eternal locks˝ of death and freed ˝those kept in the chains of hell˝ who have
departed into faith. In his hymns, Saint John of Damascus reveals the descent to hell as
being indissolubly related to the Resurrection: ˝You have descended into the deepest
places of the earth, and on the third day, like Jonas who came out of the cetus, You
resurrected from the grave˝.
c. The Resurrection. ˝The light without years˝ Which ˝from the
grave has shone˝
The truth of Christ’s Resurrection is a truth of faith. The Church expresses its
unlimited joy: ˝ It is the day of Resurrection! Oh, people, let us be enlightened by it !˝
for by His Resurrection ˝Christ - God brought us from death to life and from earth to
heaven.˝ However, the people are not the only ones called to participate to the joy of
the Resurrection, but the entire creation as well, ˝all the unseen world and the seen one˝,
because Christ is for the entire universe the ˝Eternal Joy˝. Easter is called ˝God’s
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Easter˝, as God is the One Who brings us from death to life, but it is also called ˝our
Easter˝ , because Christ, out of His great love for the people, Sacrificed Himself for us.
G. The Salvation. ˝The entire living world is built anew˝
a. Christ brought to us ˝the richness of deification˝
Christ, the Son of God, turned Himself into man to bring us the ˝richness of
deification˝, as by His Birth He gave man the possibility of deification, meaning the
possibility to become god in grace. For the hymnographer, salvation appears as the
liberation of man from the slavery of sin, having Christ by our side ˝to liberate the
human race from harm˝ and ˝to stop the sin˝, but it also appears as a rebuilding of man,
because Christ ˝has fully built man anew˝.
b. The Saviour has brought us ˝from death to life˝
The Sacrifice on the Cross and the Resurrection place themselves in the centre
of the Saviour’s redeeming work. Many of Saint John’s hymns speak about Redemption
by ˝The precious blood˝ of Christ. We acquired the possibility of salvation and the
pledge of the people’s resurrection through the Saviour’s Sacrifice and Resurrection.
However, acquiring a subjective salvation requires the ˝healing˝ of each of us by
receiving ˝the medicine of immortality˝, which is the Holy Eucharisty.
4. The Pneumatology in the hymns of Saint John of Damascus
The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the true God, distinct
from the Person of the Father and from That of the Son. It takes Its existence from the
Father by a special action called “proceeding”, which is characteristic to It and is
different from that of the “begetting” of the Son. Being unseparated from the other two
Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Ghost is present in all of Their works. Through It
“is accomplished the connection of the other two Persons of the Holy Trinity with the
world”.
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A. The Holy Ghost –”The One who proceeds from the Father”
Saint John of Damascus, by synthesizing the theology of the Holy Fathers,
teaches that the Three Godly Persons are One Being, distinct from one another only
through the characteristics of their states: “The Father is undetermined and unborn, the
Son is from the Father by birth. The Holy Ghost is from the Father as well, only not by
birth, but by proceeding”. In his liturgical hymns, Saint John of Damascus emphasises
the fact that the Holy Ghost is “from the Father”, “of the same substance with the
Father” and “of the same power with the Father”.
B. The Ghost – “the image of the Son” (ε�κ�ν το� Υ�ο�)
In the work of the salvation, the Holy Ghost is unseparated from the Son,
because “It cannot separate Itself from God, into whom It exists, and from the Word,
Whom It accompanies”. The indissoluble bond between the Holy Ghost and the Son
was hymnographically reflected by Saint John as follows: “The image of the Father is
the Son and the image of the Son is the Ghost”. Saint John of Damascus considers the
mission of the Holy Ghost as one directed to the world, to the people, as through the
Holy Ghost Christ makes us His dwelling place, transforming us into His “image”,
“offering each person created after God’s image the possibility to fulfil ones
resemblance”.
C. The Holy Ghost and the sanctification of man
The sanctification of man is the work of the Holy Trinity. According to the Holy
Scripture, the sharing of grace to the saints after the Pentecost is the work of the Holy
Ghost. This is the reason why the Holy Gospels offer It the epithet of “Holy”. Inside the
Divine Work, the sending of the Son for the salvation of the people belongs to the
Father, the fulfilment of the redeeming will of the Father belongs to the Son and the
work of receiving by every man the Redemption brought by the Son belongs to the Holy
Ghost. The work of the Holy Ghost into our souls is one of sanctification and, thus, the
grace of the Holy Ghost has strengthened the saints, as it is clearly visible from many
examples of the hymns offered to the Saints by Saint John of Damascus.
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CHAPTER IV:
THE TEACHING ABOUT THE HOLY MOTHER
IN THE HYMNOGRAPHIC WORK OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS
In the Orthodox Church the teaching about the Holy Mother of God has never
been considered an independent dogmatic subject, but in close connection to the
Christology, the pneumatology and the ecclesiology, among which there exists an
implicit bond. The hymnographs have used the revelation from the Holy Scripture, the
theology of the Holy Fathers and the fervency of the believing people in creating works
of rare beauty offered to the Mother of God.
1. Saint John of Damascus, “the psalmist of the dogma Θεοτόκος “
To clarify the dogmatic subject of the Θεοτόκος, Saint John of Damascus uses
directly the Christology, being sure of the fact that no one can deny the Holy Virgin
Mary the attribute of Mother of God, without altering the dogma of the Incarnation. The
name of Θεοτόκος includes in itself the whole teaching about Christ and salvation,
Saint John of Damascus reflecting this aspect in many of his hymns due to the Holy
Mother of God.
2. “The honest messenger of the Virgin”
A. The Angel, “the servant of God”
The Holy Scripture tells us about the angels that they are rational beings,
personal and purely spiritual in nature, their main role being to glorify and serve God,
their Creator. In relationship with the humans, the angels’ mission is to make known to
them the will of God, to advise them towards good and to be their guardians against
evil.
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B. “The mystery keepers of the Incarnation”
Similar to the material world, in the angels’ world there exists a certain
hierarchical order which is based on their power and serving mission, a hierarchical
structure thoroughly described by Saint John of Damascus in his hymns. The angels
from the last triad are the nearest to the humans and, by God’s will, they can take
anthropomorphic appearance in order to communicate with them. This was the case of
the Archangel Gabriel who, as a messenger of God, was sent to make known to the
Holy Virgin the Mystery of the Incarnation. The moment is illustrated by Saint John of
Damascus in his hymnographic work, especially in the Canon of the Annunciation.
3. “The redeemer of the ancestress” or the New Eve
The Holy Fathers have always contrasted the “two virgins” – Eve and Mary.
This contrast is also visible in the hymnographic work of Saint John of Damascus, who
often creates certain correspondences between the “the ancestress Eve” and the
“redeemer of Eve” – the Virgin Mary. Through the disobedience of the first Eve and
eventually, of Adam, death has entered the world, whereas, through the obedience of the
“second Eve”, the Son of God turned Himself into a Man for our salvation. Saint John
of Damascus shows that, through the birth of the Redeemer of the Holy Virgin Mary,
she becomes the “beginner” of the humans’ salvation, healing the “sufferings of the first
Eve“ and undoing the bond of “Adam’s punishment”.
4. The Birth “beyond reason”, “by the godly Ghost”
The Holy Ghost, who at the creation “was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:
2), plays a special role in the Incarnation as well, because every work done by God is
through the Holy Ghost. The miracle of the Immaculate Conception is “beyond nature”
and cannot be comprised by rational understanding, only through the mediation of faith.
It did not take place according to the laws of the human nature, but the cause of the
supernatural birth was the intervention of the Holy Ghost.
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5. The Mother of God – Ever -Virgin (�ειπάρθενος)
Based on the godly Revelation, the Holy Tradition confirms the ever-virginity of
the Mother of God as an unseparated attribute from her name, as she was the one to be
“vessel of God”. In order to receive God’s Word she must be immaculate, both through
her soul and body.
A. The virginity before birth
The virginity of the Mother of God before conception has been illustrated by
Saint John of Damascus in many of his hymnographic works, being prophesised even in
the Old Testament and at the Annunciation being confessed by the Holy Virgin herself.
The Mother of God was born as an answer to the prayer of the godly parents Joachim
and Anne, who were leading a sacred life. The fact that they gave birth to the Virgin
Mary at an old age, “in the virginity of the heart”, is an anticipation of the birth “beyond
reason” of the Son of God by the Holy Virgin Mary.
B. The virginity in birth
The virgin birth by the Mother of God was anticipated by the prophets of the
Old Testament. The most typical figure of the Old Testament through which symbolises
the preservation of the Mother of God’s virginity during birth is the “Burning bush”.
Similar to the bush, which was in flames without burning up, through the work of the
Holy Ghost, the Virgin gives birth to God and becomes Mother without stopping to be
Virgin, a fact which is illustrated in many of Saint John of Damascus’ hymns.
C. The virginity after birth
The Mother of God “stayed a virgin before the birth, a virgin when giving birth
and a virgin after the birth”. The virginity of the Mother of God after the birth is
confessed by Saint John of Damascus in his hymns as an indisputable truth, which
should be praised and honoured by the believers. Furthermore, in his systematic work,
he brings punctual explanations, for example when analysing the term “One-Born”.
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6. Mother of God – “more favoured than the heavens”
The special veneration (�περδουλε�α) of the Mother of God has appeared for
the first time in the devotion of the Church and was eventually developed in close
connection to the adoration of Christ, the Saviour. Similarly to the Holy Fathers before
him, Saint John of Damascus makes a distinction between the cult of adoration, due to
God, and the cult of hyperdulia, due to the Mother of God, but also between the special
veneration of the Mother of God and the honouring of saints and angels. Thus, he shows
in his hymns that the honouring of the Holy Mother of God is superior to the honouring
of the heavenly legions, specifically emphasising her essential place in the work of
Salvation.
7. “The hope of the hopeless”
The Holy Mother of God prays and mediates to God and to Christ, her Son, for
the salvation of the believers’ souls, of those from earth and those who have passed
away. The special mediation of the Mother of God is highlighted by Saint John of
Damascus in a series of hymns in which prayers are addressed only to her. Through her
grace, the Holy Virgin is the protector of purity and virginity of the soul and body, but
also the support of all mothers. She is “the hope of the believers” and “useful to all who
are in need” and even more, her help extends itself onto the whole universe.
CHAPTER V:
THE ANTHROPOLOGY
OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS’ LITURGUCAL HYMNS
Saint John of Damascus follows the teaching of the Holy Fathers related to the
creation of the world and highlights the fact that the world was created through God’s
will, but it is of a different nature than Himself. Man ends the cycle of creation as its
fulfilment and a synthesis of the two worlds, because through his soul he belongs to the
spiritual world and through his body, to the material one. These two dimensions of man
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(body and soul), which connect the human being to the material and the spiritual parts
of the creation, turn him into a “recapitulation of the universe”.
1. Man, “made in the image and after the likeness” of God
In his himnographic work, Saint John of Damascus emphasises the unique
grandeur of man in the created world, as he was made “in the image and after God’s
likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Man’s uniqueness inside the creation is also supported by his
vertical position, as a being looking upwards, towards God. In his hymns Saint John of
Damascus presents Christ as the Builder of all that exists, including man.
When relating the pauline theme of Christ, “the image of God, the Unseen”
(Colossens 1:15), with that of the making of man from the Genesis, “in the image and
after God’s likeness” (Genesis 1:26), it is clear that man is “image of the Image” or
made “in the image of the Logos”.
2. Heaven and the fall from Heaven
A. “Worthy dwelling for the one made in God’s image”
The Holy Scripture tells us about the first people that they were placed in the
Garden of Eden. According to Saint John of Damascus, the Heaven was the perfect
place for man, “the crown of God’s creation”. His hymns present the man as a “ruler
over the whole earth”, who was allowed “to rule in heaven over all creatures”. In
Heaven man found himself in perfect harmony with God, with himself and with the rest
of the creation and did not know death. However, the devil, taking the image of a snake,
has tempted him through lie.
B. “The worn Adam” („φθαρέντα Αδάµ”)
The sin of the first people is presented by Saint John in his liturgical hymns from
the perspective of the “disobedience to the command”, “because of the devil’s envy”,
having as a main consequence death, “which eats away the whole human race”.
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3. Holiness as a godly gift and a human achievement
God – the Holy One-, through His uncreated energies, is the spring of holiness
which spreads over the whole creation. In the case of the humans, holiness is achieved
by participating to the holiness of God. The interaction between God’s grace and the
human soul reaches the highest level in the saints’ souls, “the incarnations of Christ’s
holiness”. Through the uncreated divine grace, the human nature is raised to a state
which is above nature, the saints’ souls becoming illuminated with grace, becoming
light out of Christ’s light. Therefore, the believers honour them as apprentices and
imitators of the Lord. Saints’ will is for us to become saints as well and the Church
prays to them, so that they would mediate for our salvation before God.
4. “Make us worthy of Your kingdom”
A. The mysterious meaning of death
According to the Holy Scripture death is the separation between the two
constituent elements of the human being: the body returns to the earth out of which it
was created and the soul, being immortal, goes to God Who “gave it”. Saint John of
Damascus’ hymns carry a deep peace of mind, as death is seen as a mystery which takes
the soul into a state which is closer to amazement, than to desperation.
B. “The kingdom of all ages”
Our passage to the eternal life has become possible only by Christ’s
Resurrection. Through His Resurrection from death, Christ transforms us into possible
dwellers of His everlasting Kingdom – “The kingdom of all ages”. Therefore, through
Saint John of Damascus’ liturgical hymns, the Church prays to Christ – God: “Make us
worthy of Your kingdom”.