Saint John of Damascus on Dionysius

Saint John of Damascus (c. 675-749) stands as one of the most influential interpreters of Dionysian theology in the Orthodox tradition. Known as the "Golden Stream" (Chrysorrhoas), John systematically integrated Dionysian thought into Orthodox doctrine, defended it against iconoclastic misuse, and transmitted this synthesis to both East and West through his theological masterwork, The Fountain of Knowledge.

Icon of Saint John of Damascus, Important expositor of the Orthodox Faith
Historical Significance: In the Russian Orthodox Church the teachings of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite about the spiritual principles and deification were at first known through the writings of Saint John of Damascus (December 4).
  1. Historical Context
  2. Systematic Integration
  3. Defense of Icons
  4. Angelology and Celestial Hierarchy
  5. Theological Method and Sources
  6. Sacramental and Liturgical Theology
  7. Legacy and Influence

John's Background: Born into a prominent Christian family in Damascus around 675, John received his early education under a Sicilian monk named Cosmas, who provided him with comprehensive training in theology, philosophy, mathematics, and the sciences.1 After serving as chief councilor (protosymbulus) to the Umayyad Caliph, John renounced his secular position around 730 to enter the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem.

Strategic Position: John's unique position outside the Byzantine Empire allowed him to defend Orthodox theology against iconoclastic policies without fear of imperial persecution. As one scholar notes: John was able to write most of his works against the iconoclasts (icon destroyers) because he lived outside of the Byzantine Empire which was then ruled by a few successively heretical and insane rulers.

The Crisis: 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 the throne began the systematic destruction of religious images throughout the Byzantine Empire.

Theological Stakes: The iconoclastic controversy was fundamentally about the nature of the Incarnation and the possibility of representing divine reality through material means. John recognized that attacks on icons were implicit denials of the full reality of Christ's human nature.

By John's time, Dionysian theology had achieved widespread acceptance in Orthodox circles through the work of predecessors like John of Scythopolis and Maximus the Confessor. Theologians such as John of Damascus and Germanus I of Constantinople also made ample use of Dionysius' writing. John inherited a well-established tradition of Dionysian interpretation that he would systematize and transmit to future generations.

John's masterwork, The Fountain of Knowledge (Pēgē Gnōseōs), represents the first comprehensive systematic theology in Eastern Christianity. As John modestly stated: I shall add nothing of my own, but shall gather together into one those things which have been worked out by the most eminent of teachers.

Philosophical Foundations: An introduction to logic and philosophical terminology, drawing heavily on Aristotelian categories as understood through Christian interpretation. This section provides the conceptual framework necessary for theological precision.

Dionysian Elements: Incorporates Dionysian understanding of divine transcendence and the limits of human knowledge, preparing readers for apophatic approaches to divine mysteries.

Against Heresies: A systematic refutation of various theological errors, building on earlier patristic works while addressing contemporary challenges including Islam and iconoclasm.

Orthodox Defense: Uses Dionysian principles of hierarchy and divine order to demonstrate the coherence of Orthodox doctrine against heretical innovations.

Systematic Synthesis: John's major theological work, providing comprehensive treatment of Christian doctrine organized according to logical principles while maintaining mystical depth.

Dionysian Integration: Extensively incorporates Dionysian theology throughout, particularly in discussions of divine transcendence, angelology, and the nature of ecclesiastical authority.

John's Sources: John writes clearly and concisely, speaking for the most part in the words of his sources, but seldom names his authorities, the chief of whom are Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Leontius.

Comprehensive Approach: John further made use of Basil the great, of Gregory of Nyssa, and especially of Nemesius, bishop of Emesa in Syria, the most beloved of all; likewise of Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great, Leontius of Byzantium, the martyr Maximus: also of Athanasius, Chrysostom, Epiphanius, and, not to mention others, that writer who took the name of Dionysius the Areopagite.

Core Argument: John's defense of icons fundamentally relied on Dionysian principles of divine manifestation through material reality. John considers iconoclasm as an attack on the Incarnation and the Christological Tradition established by the Fathers in Chalcedon, using Dionysian theology to demonstrate how material creation can serve as a vehicle for divine presence.

Drawing on Dionysian theophanic theology, John argued that the Incarnation sanctified matter itself: "Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter."

Dionysian Foundation: This argument reflects Dionysius's teaching that all creation serves as a theophany—a manifestation of divine reality through sensible forms.

John employed Dionysian concepts of hierarchy to explain how icons function as intermediary realities that lead the soul to divine contemplation:

Anagogical Function: Icons lead the faithful from sensible representations to intelligible realities, following the Dionysian pattern of ascent through purification, illumination, and union.

Liturgical Integration: Icons participate in the cosmic liturgy described by Dionysius, where earthly worship mirrors heavenly reality, as John understood from Dionysian theological principles.

Their theology was incorporated into the mainstream of Orthodox theology through its adoption by St. Maximus the Confessor and St. John of Damascus, who quotes Dionysius' Letter to Titus in his work On the Divine Images, a defense of icons during the iconoclastic controversies.

This reference demonstrates how John utilized specific Dionysian texts to support iconographic theology, showing the practical application of mystical theology to contemporary controversies.

John's treatment of angelology in the Exposition of the Orthodox Faith presents Dionysian celestial hierarchy systematically:

Direct Citation: Moreover, as that most holy, and sacred, and gifted theologian, Dionysius the Areopagite, says, All theology, that is to say, the holy Scripture, has nine different names for the heavenly essences. These essences that divine master in sacred things divides into three groups, each containing three.

Three Triads of Angels (Following Dionysius):

  1. First Triad: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
  2. Second Triad: Dominions, Powers, Authorities
  3. Third Triad: Principalities, Archangels, Angels

John's Exposition: And the first group, he says, consists of those who are in God's presence and are said to be directly and immediately one with Him, viz., the Seraphim with their six wings, the many-eyed Cherubim and those that sit in the holiest thrones. The second group is that of the Dominions, and the Powers, and the Authorities; and the third, and last, is that of the Rulers and Archangels and Angels

Liturgical Role: John integrated Dionysian angelology with Orthodox liturgical understanding, showing how angelic worship provides the model for earthly liturgy according to Dionysian principles. The celestial hierarchy mediates divine light and life to lower orders, participating in the cosmic mystery of theosis.

Pastoral Application: John's presentation serves practical spiritual purposes, helping the faithful understand their place in the cosmic order and their calling to participate in divine worship, rather than remaining purely speculative.

Patristic Authority: Here, again, the author modestly disavows any claim of originality—any purpose to essay a new exposition of doctrinal truth. He assigns himself the less pretentious task of collecting in a single work the opinions of the ancient writers scattered through many volumes, and of systematizing and connecting them in a logical whole.

Systematic Innovation: While claiming no originality, John's actual contribution was profound: It is no small credit to John of Damascus that he was able to give to the Church in the eighth century its first summary of connected theological opinions.

Apophatic Elements: Throughout the Exposition, John incorporates Dionysian apophatic theology, particularly in his discussion of divine names and attributes:

Key Passage: It appears then that the most proper of all the names given to God is He that is, as He Himself said in answer to Moses on the mountain, Say to the sons of Israel, He that is has sent Me... Or as the holy Dionysius says, He that is good. For one cannot say of God that He has being in the first place and goodness in the second.

Divine Causality: The following, then, are the mysteries which we have learned from the holy oracles, as the divine Dionysius the Areopagite said: that God is the cause and beginning of all: the essence of all that have essence: the life of the living: the reason of all rational beings: the intellect of all intelligent beings

Incarnational Theology: John applied Dionysian principles to Christological doctrine: His divinely-inspired disciple, Dionysius, who had so deep a knowledge of things divine, said that the Godhead as a whole had fellowship with us in one of its own subsistences.

This demonstrates how John used Dionysian theology to articulate Orthodox Christology with precision and mystical depth.

While John doesn't extensively develop Dionysian ecclesiastical hierarchy in the same systematic way as angelology, his understanding of church structure and sacramental life reflects Dionysian principles throughout his works.

Hierarchical Order: John's treatment of ecclesiastical authority assumes the Dionysian understanding of hierarchy as a sacred order that mediates divine grace through properly ordained ministers.

Sacramental Reality: The integration of Dionysian theology supports John's understanding of sacraments as true participations in divine reality, not merely symbolic actions.

Cosmic Worship: John's liturgical theology, though not extensively developed in his systematic works, assumes the Dionysian vision of earthly liturgy as participation in heavenly worship.

Theophanic Understanding: Material elements in worship (bread, wine, oil, water) are understood through Dionysian principles as genuine vehicles of divine presence and action.

Definitive Status: Its authority has always been great among the theologians of the East and West. John's synthesis became the standard theological textbook for Orthodox Christianity, transmitting Dionysian theology to subsequent generations.

Russian Reception: In the Russian Orthodox Church the teachings of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite about the spiritual principles and deification were at first known through the writings of Saint John of Damascus (December 4).

Latin Translation: At the command of Eugenius III it was rendered into Latin by Burgundio of Pisa, in 1150, shortly before Peter Lombard's "Book of Sentences" appeared.

Scholastic Impact: John's work provided Western theologians with systematic access to Eastern theological tradition, including Dionysian mystical theology. Thomas Aquinas and other scholastics drew extensively on John's synthesis.

Theological Method: John's approach of systematic synthesis while maintaining mystical depth continues to influence Orthodox theological method.

Iconographic Theology: His defense of icons based on Dionysian principles remains foundational for Orthodox understanding of sacred art and liturgical space.

Spiritual Authority: He is considered an authoritative voice for contemporary Orthodox theology.

Saint John of Damascus achieved a remarkable synthesis of Dionysian mystical theology with systematic Orthodox doctrine. His work demonstrates how the profound spiritual insights of Dionysius the Areopagite can be integrated into comprehensive theological education and pastoral practice without losing their transformative power.

Key Achievements:

First comprehensive systematic theology incorporating Dionysian mystical tradition within Orthodox doctrinal framework

Practical application of Dionysian theophanic theology to defend Orthodox liturgical and artistic tradition

Successful preservation and transmission of Dionysian theology to both Eastern and Western Christianity

John's Enduring Contribution: Through his careful scholarship and pastoral sensitivity, John of Damascus ensured that the mystical depths of Dionysian theology would remain accessible to the Church while serving the practical needs of Orthodox doctrine and spiritual life. His work stands as a model of how theological synthesis can preserve ancient wisdom while addressing contemporary challenges.

As one scholar summarized: He is pious and scientific, deferential to authority but learned and acute, able to accept the current body of dogmas and yet give it new significance and spiritual vitality. This assessment perfectly captures John's achievement in preserving and transmitting the Dionysian theological heritage within the Orthodox tradition.

Primary Sources:

  • John of Damascus. An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 9. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1899.
  • John of Damascus. Three Treatises on the Divine Images. Translated by Andrew Louth. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003.

Secondary Sources:

  • Louth, Andrew. St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Sahas, Daniel J. John of Damascus on Islam: The "Heresy of the Ishmaelites". Leiden: Brill, 1972.
  • Schönborn, Christoph. God's Human Face: The Christ-Icon. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994.

Digital Resources:

  1. Catholic Encyclopedia, "Saint John Damascene," New Advent, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm. ↩︎