St. John (c. 652–c. 750) was born and raised in Damascus. He began a career of civil service, but then joined his brother as a monk at the St Saba monastery near Jerusalem, where he was ordained as a priest. He dedicated the rest of his life to writing books and church hymns. His greatest contribution was his De Fide Orthodoxa , ( Exposition of the Orthodox Faith ) [1] is considered the most robust theological effort of Eastern scholasticism, as is Aquinas’ Summa in the West. De fide is a dogmatic work, divided into four books. The first book considers the essence and attributes of the Holy Trinity; book two covers creation, anthropology, and providence; the third book is an excursus on Christology; and the fourth covers various aspects: the church, sin/salvation/sanctification, scripture, eschatology, images, and other controversial topics. This post will be a brief exposition of some key themes St. John’s doctrine of Christ, specifically his understanding of the incarnation, u...