DEFENDER of ICONS: St. John is known for his fight against an edict by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III, banning the veneration of holy images, icons. In 1890, Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.
Feast Day: December 4th
Venerated in the Roman, Orthodox and Anglican Catholic Churches. Patron saint of pharmacists, icon painters and theology students. He is also known as John Damascene.
He wrote many favorite hymns such as Come Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain and The Day of Resurrection.
Explanation of holy images on You Tube.
Learn more at Wikipedia and more from the Orthodox Wiki
NOTE: Many of the oldest icons are located in Saint Catherine's Monastery. At the base of Mount Sinai, Egypt, it is the oldest continuously inhabited monastery, built in 548 AD.
Another ancient place to see religious art, only recently discovered in 1963. Hidden underground, beneath the Cappadocia Region of Turkey. There, in the caves created by nature, are many religious frescoes that are well over a 1000 years old. Read more on Wikipedia
"The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God."
---St. John of Damascus, 675 - 749
Advocate of Holy Images
Saint John of Damascus
Defender of Holy Images and Icons
24 X 36 - acrylic on canvas
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