Ioannes 11

Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire
SexM
FloruitE/M VIII
PmbZ No.2969
Variant Namesywnnws;
John of Damascus
ReligionChristian;
Iconophile
LocationsDamascus (residence);
Damascus;
Damascus (birthplace)
OccupationMonk;
Priest
Textual SourcesChronicon Anonymi ad annum 1234 pertinens, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, I = CSCO 81-82 (Paris, 1916-20), II = CSCO 109 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle);
Nicephorus, Breviarium Historiae, ed. C. Mango, Nikephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople: Short History; prev. ed. C. de Boor Nicephori ArchiepiscopiConstantinopolitani Opuscula Historica Leipzig 1880 (history);
Nikaia, Second Council of (Seventh Ecumenical Council, a. 787) (Mansi XII-XIII) (conciliar);
Theophanes Confessor, Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1883-85, repr. Hildesheim/NewYork, 1980); tr. and comm. C. Mango and R. Scott, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Oxford 1997 (chronicle);
Vita Stephani Iunioris, by Stephanus Diaconus (BHG 1666), ed. M.-F. Auzépy, La Vie d'Etienne le Jeune par Étienne le diacre. Introduction, édition et traduction (Aldershot, 1997); PG 100. 1069-1186 (hagiography);
Zonaras = Ioannis Zonarae Epitome Historiarum, libri XIII-XVIII, ed. Th. Büttner-Wobst, (Bonn, 1897) (history)

Ioannes 11 was a native of Damascus: Nic. Brev. de Boor 66, Mango 72, Theoph. AM 6245 (Ἰωάννην τὸν Χρυσορρόαν Δαμασκηνὸν τὸν Μανσούρ), Zon. XV 6. 12 (Ἰωάννην τὸν Δαμασκηνόν), Vita Steph. Iun. 126, 4-5 (1120A). He was known as Mansour (a term allegedly applied to him as an insult by his religious opponents): Mansi XIII 357 (Ἰωάννης δέ, ὃς παρ'αὐτῶν ὑβριστικῶς Μανσοὺρ προσηγόρευται), Vita Steph. Iun. 126, 4-5 (1120A) (Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνὸς πρεσβύτερος, ὁ παρὰ τοῦ τυράννου τούτου (i.e. Constantine V (Konstantinos 7)) Μανσοὺρ ἐπονομασθείς), Nic. Brev. de Boor 66, Mango 72, Theoph. AM 6245 (cited above). On the name Mansour, cf. Auzépy, n. 197. He was evidently a relative and a contemporary of Theodoros 9: Theoph. AM 6226. Nicknamed Chrysorroas (ὁ Χρυσορροάς - the Golden Stream), he is styled ὁ τοῦ Μανσούρ (probably not "the son of Mansour" (as Mango and Scott, Theophanes, pp. 565 and 566, n. 6) but a member of the Mansour family; his father was probably Sergios 5); described as a first-rate teacher (διδάσκαλος ἄριστος), he was a priest and monk (πρεσβύτερος καὶ μοναχός) at Damascus in Syria where he was distinguished alike for the excellence of both his life and his learning (βίῳ καὶ λόγῳ προέλαμπεν); when the emperor Leo III (Leo 3) pursued iconoclast policies, Ioannes 11, together with the bishops of the East (σὺν τοῖς τῆς ἀνατολῆς ἐπισκόποις), subjected him to anathemas: Theoph. AM 6221. He was known as Chrysorroas because of the "golden grace of spirit" of his life and work, he wrote an encomium on St Peter of Maiouma (Petros 6) (not extant; see Beck, Kirche, p. 483, n. 5); he is referred to as "the new teacher of the Church"; the emperor Constantine V (Konstantinos 7) anathematised him and mockingly changed his family name Mansour to the Jewish word Manzeros (bastard) (ἀντὶ τοῦ παππικοῦ αὐτοῦ ὀνόματος Μανσούρ, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται λελυτρωμένος, Μάνζηρον Ἰουδαϊκῷ φρονήματι μετωνόμασε τὸν νέον τῆς ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλον; cf. G. W.H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford, 1961-1968), p. 826): Theoph. AM 6234. In 754 he was anathematised by the iconoclast Council of Hieria, together with Germanos 8 and Georgios 5; he received four separate anathemas, the others having one each: Mansi XIII 356 (citing the proceedings at Hieria; Γερμανοῦ, Γεωργίου καὶ Μανσοὺρ τῶν κακοδόξων φρόνημα ὑμεῖς διελύσατε; (later) Μανσοὺρ τῷ κακωνύμῳ καὶ σαῤῥακηνόφρονι, ἀνάθεμα. Τῷ εἰκονολάτρῃ καὶ φαλσογράφῳ Μανσοὺρ, ἀνάθεμα. Τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑβριστῇ καὶ ἐπιβούλῳ τῆς βασιλείας Μανσοὺρ, ἀνάθεμα. Τῷ τῆς ἀσεβείας διδασκάλῳ καὶ παρερμηνευτῇ τῆς θείας γραφῆς Μανσοὺρ, ἀνάθεμα), Nic. Brev. de Boor 66, Mango 72, Theoph. AM 6245, Zon. XV 6. 12, cf. Chron. 1234, §183 (p. 337) ("they anathematised Sergios and Ioannis son of Mansur and George the Damascene"). A devoted follower of Christ, he was a leading voice in opposition to iconoclasm: Mansi XIII 157. At the seventh session of the Council he was acclaimed with Georgios 5: Mansi XIII 400 (Ἰωάννου καὶ Γεωργίου αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη).

He is further recorded in Synax. Eccl. Const. at 27 March, and see pp. 278, 29-279, 18 (4 December); 264/265, 57 (29 November); 170, 22ff.; 171/172, 34; 395, 15. 21; 817, 51; and in the Typicon Mateos I 122 (4 December). See BHG 884-885m and ODB II 1063ff. The complete works are published in PG 94-96, and a new edition by B. Kotter is in progress (5 vols, (Berlin, 1969-1988) = Patristische Texte und Studien 7, 12, 17, 22, 29), and cf. PmbZ, Prolegomena, p. 180.

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