Three Treatises on the Divine Images: St. John of Damascus

Popular Patristics Series Volume 24

Is all Christian art fundamentally blasphemous? That was the question posed aggressively by the Christian iconoclasts of the eighth century in a bitter controversy. The resounding answer ‘No’ from John of Damascus helped to secure the future of art in the service of Christ. Without his brilliant defense, both profound and at times earthy, we might well have had no icons, murals, and mosaics in churches to elevate and enrich our spirits. This fresh and complete translation, by a distinguished patristic scholar, of John’s three treatises on the divine images shows us the issue at stake both then and now. Professor Louth places all of us who care about them in his debt.