St. John Damascene

Patron Saint of Pharmacists, Icon Painters, Theology Students

John Damascene was born in Damascus, then under Muslim rule. Though imposing a poll tax and other conditions upon the Jews and Christians, the Muslims of Damascus were, for the most part, tolerant, allowing both Jews and Christians to occupy important posts, and amass fortune.

Among the officials at the khalif’s court in 675 was a Christian called John, chief of the revenue department. The father of our saint, he was surnamed al-Mansur by the Arabs, a name the family carried.

The younger John was born around 690, baptized in infancy, and, as he grew, had a tutor named Cosmas, a wise man of letters, whom the Arabs had brought back from Sicily among other captives. Young John had an adopted brother also called Cosmas, and both became the pupils of the Sicilian sage, who taught them the natural sciences and theology.

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