The Saint who used to work as tax official

John of Damascus succeeded his father as one of the Muslim caliph’s tax officials. Later he became became a monk at Mar Saba, near Jerusalem, and there passed the rest of his life studying, writing, and preaching, acquiring the name “the Golden Orator” (Greek: Chrysorrhoas, "streaming with gold," (i.e., the golden speaker))

Practically all the information concerning the life of John of Damascus available to us today has been through the records of John, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Though these notes have served as the single source of biographical information, dating back to the tenth century, these writings have been noted by scholars as having an exuberant lack of detail from a historical point of view and a bloated writing style.

In the early 8th century, iconoclasm, a movement opposed to the veneration of icons (iconoclasts), gained acceptance in the Byzantine court. Patriarch of Constantinople issued his first edict against the veneration of images and their exhibition in public places. John of Damascus undertook a spirited defence of holy images. He not only attacked the Byzantine emperor, but adopted a simplified style that allowed the controversy to be followed by the common people.

Among his approximately 150 written works the most significant is Pēgē gnōseōs (“The Source of Knowledge”), a synthesis of Christian philosophy and doctrine that was influential in directing the course of medieval Latin thought and that became the principal textbook of Greek Orthodox theology. 

He is one of the first known Christian critics of Islam. John also claims to have read the Quran, or at least parts of it. He uses the plural "we", whether in reference to himself, or to a group of Christians that he belonged to who spoke to the Muslims, or in reference to Christians in general. 

In 1890, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII.

References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-of-Damascus

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=66

https://orthodoxwiki.org/John_of_Damascus

The Saint with the “Golden-Mouth”

Saint John was surnamed Chrysostom (“Golden-mouth”) because of his eloquence. He made exhaustive commentaries on the divine Scriptures and was the author of more works than any other Church Father, leaving us complete commentaries on the Book of Genesis, the Gospels of Saints Matthew and John, the Acts, and all the Epistles of Saint Paul. His extant works are 1,447 sermons and 240 epistles. 

John received his literary training under Anthragathius the philosopher, and Libanius the sophist, who was the greatest Greek scholar and rhetorician of his day. Libanius was a pagan, and when asked before his death whom he wished to have for his successor, he said, “John, had not the Christians stolen him from us.”

Obviolusly Libanus's wish was not fulfilled as John chose instead to dedicate himself to God as an ascetic hermit-monk. When his health gave way, he returned to Antioch and became an ordained deacon and later a priest. Over the next 12 years he established himself as a great preacher, and his homilies were well regarded. He was called to Constantinople to be its archbishop, much against his will.

During his time as bishop he adamantly refused to host lavish entertainments. This meant he was popular with the common people, but unpopular with the wealthy and the clergy. St. John was fearless when denouncing offences in high places. An alliance was soon formed against him by his enemies.  They held a synod to charge John and eventually in his deposition and banishment.

The pope in Rome (Innocent I at this time) protested at this banishment, but to no avail. John wrote letters which still held great influence in Constantinople. As a result of this, he was further exiled to Pityus (on the eastern edge of the Black Sea). However, he never reached this destination, as he died during the journey. His final words were "Glory be to God for all things!"

Saint John was recognized as a Father of the Church at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1568. When Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204, they stole John’s relics and carried them back to Rome. In 2004 Pope Saint John Paul II authorized the return of some of John’s remains to the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch in Saint George Church in present-day Istanbul, John’s own episcopal city. Saint John is a patron saint of preachers and speakers. 

References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-Chrysostom

https://www.saintsophiadc.org/john-chrysostom-archbishop-constantinople-golden-mouth/

https://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Chrysostom

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-13st-john-chrysostom/

The sun of the Syrians

The life of St. Ephraem, therefore, offers not a few obscure problems; only the general outline of his career is known to us. It is certain, however, that while he lived he was very influential among the Syrian Christians of Edessa, and that his memory was revered by all, Orthodox, Monophysites, and Nestorians. They call him the "sun of the Syrians," the "column of the Church", the "harp of the Holy Spirit".

St. Ephraem composed numerous theological-biblical commentaries and polemical works that, in witnessing to the common Christian tradition, have exerted widespread influence on the Greek and Latin churches. He is recognized as the most authoritative representative of 4th-century Syriac Christianity. Over four hundred hymns composed by Ephrem still exist.

His favourite literary form was verse, in which he composed treatises, sermons, and hymns; the result, in early Syriac, is often tedious because of expansive metaphor and allegory. Much of his hymnology was directed against the principal heresies of his day, particularly the teachings of Marcion and Bardesanes, 2nd-century Gnostics.

According to historians of the 5th century, Christians gave enthusiastic prominence to these hymns in their liturgical assemblies. Ephraem further emphasized devotion to the Virgin Mary, particularly her sinlessness and exemplary fidelity. Additional doctrinal themes integrated in his prose and poetry include the Trinitarian teaching on the eternity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

On 5 October 1920, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed Ephrem a Doctor of the Church ("Doctor of the Syrians")

References
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05498a.htm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Ephraem-Syrus
https://orthodoxwiki.org/Ephrem_the_Syrian

The Saint who fought against heresy

St. Athanasius, also known as Athanasius the Great and Athanasius the Confessor, was a bishop and doctor of the church. He is called the "Father of Orthodoxy," the "Pillar of the Church" and "Champion of Christ's Divinity." Athanasius became one of the most dedicated opponents of the heresy of Arianism. Much of his life was a testimony to the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Arianism was proposed early in the 4th century by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius and was popular throughout much of the Eastern and Western Roman empires, even after it was denounced as a heresy by the Council of Nicaea (325). Arianism position that Jesus was not truly divine. 

Arius’s teaching reduced the Son to a demigod, reintroduced polytheism (since worship of the Son was not abandoned), and undermined the Christian concept of redemption, since only he who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled humanity to the Godhead.

In 325 the Council of Nicaea was convened to settle the controversy. The council condemned Arius as a heretic and issued a creed to safeguard “orthodox” Christian belief. The creed states that the Son is homoousion tō Patri (“of one substance with the Father”), thus declaring him to be all that the Father is: he is completely divine.

Over the course of his life, Athanasius was banished five times and spent 17 years of his life in exile for the defense of the doctrine of Christ's divinity. During one period of his life, he enjoyed 10 years of relative peace—reading, writing, and promoting the Christian life along the lines of the monastic ideal to which he was greatly devoted. His dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism.

Among his ascetical writings, his "Life of St. Anthony" achieved astonishing popularity and contributed greatly to the establishment of monastic life throughout the Western Christian world. As he grew up, Athanasius befriended many monks and hermits of the desert, including St. Antony

St. Athanasius is often shown as a bishop arguing with a pagan, a bishop holding an open book or a bishop standing over a defeated heretic. He is a patron saint of theologians, and faithful Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians and hailed to this day as a great Defender of the Faith.

Note on Arianism: Arianism maintained favour among some groups, most notably some of the Germanic tribes, to the end of the 7th century. The Polish and Transylvanian Socinians of the 16th and 17th centuries propounded Christological arguments that were similar to those of Arius and his followers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Unitarians in England and America were unwilling either to reduce Christ to a mere human being or to attribute to him a divine nature identical with that of the Father. The Christology of Jehovah’s Witnesses is also a form of Arianism, for it upholds the unity and supremacy of God the Father.

References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arianism
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=336
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-athanasius
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-athanasius

The Doctor of Church who was not a Catholic

Little is known of the life of the medieval Armenian monk St. Gregory of Narek, other than that he was a dedicated monk who lived his entire adult life in a monastery situated in todays’ eastern Turkey.  Saint Gregory was never formally canonized. He was not a Catholic, though he did pertain to an apostolic church with legitimate sacraments and a hierarchical structure which, however, is not in formal communion with Rome.

During a Mass in 2015 commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, concelebrated a Mass at the Vatican with Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni Pope Francis declared this saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church a Doctor of the Church, the second from the churches of the East, for his timeless and theologically sound writings. 

Armenian people is that their nation was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Approximately twelve years before the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313, an Armenian King converted to Christianity. Following the universal custom of mankind, the King’s religion then became his people’s. 

Gregory of Narek wrote mystical poetry, hymns, and biblical commentaries. He is one of Armenia’s greatest literary figures and poets. His principal work, the “Book of Lamentations,” consists of ninety-five prayers. He described it as “encyclopedia of prayer for all nations”. His other major works was "Commentary on the Song of Songs", which has been celebrated for its clarity and theology.

Note:

As opposed to the Armenian Catholic Church that began in the 17th century, the earlier Armenian Apostolic Church did not accept the Council of Chalcedon’s 451 teaching that Christ was fully divine and fully human. In 1996, St. John Paul II and Apostolic Catholicos Karekin I signed a declaration confirming the common faith of their two Churches.

References
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-gregory-of-narek/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Gregory-Narekatzi
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-gregory-of-narek

The Saint who was not from Ávila

Despite his name, St. John Avila (Spanish San Juan de Ávila) was not from Ávila and doesn’t seem even to have visited the place. His last name is a family name: his father was Alfonso de Ávila. And both of John’s parents, like many Spanish Catholics, were of Jewish descent.

After being ordained a priest in 1525 at Alcalá, he gave the fortune inherited from his parents to charity. Although he had prepared for missionary work to North America, he was persuaded instead to dedicate himself to a mission closer to home – the southern lands of Spain, which had recently been liberated from hundreds of years of Muslim domination.

He was an immensely popular preacher and is known as the Apostle of Andalusia. He did, however, spend a year of that time in jail due to some trouble with the Spanish Inquisition.  The Inquisition investigated his fervent denunciation of wealth and of vice and his encouragement of rigorism; even a spurious connection between his Jewish heritage and charges of heresy was considered. John was found innocent of all charges, and not only was he allowed to continue preaching, but he found in that time of sorrow and hardship the basis for the deep spirituality which can be found in his works and which so inspired his followers. He also began writing his most famous work, Audi, filia (Listen, daughter), a treatise on Christian perfection addressed to the nun Doña Sancha Carillo, during his imprisonment. 

He was called a “Master,” and was a spiritual guide for such saints as Teresa of Ávila, Ignatius of Loyola, Peter of Alcantara and John of Ribera. The saints John of God and Francis Borgia owed their conversion to him and turned to him constantly for spiritual direction. John co-organized the University of Granada; outstanding among the other colleges he founded was that of Baeza. He helped foster in Spain the Society of Jesus, to which he was devoted. He died before he could carry out his plan to become a Jesuit.

John was invited by his bishop to attend the Council of Trent as his theological adviser. John’s poor health prevented him from going, but he wrote memoranda which were influential in some of the council’s decisions regarding reform of the clergy.

Saint Pope Paul VI, who called him a model for modern priests suffering from an identity crisis, canonized Saint John of Ávila in 1970, and he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 appropriately at the opening of the synod on “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith,”— the first diocesan priest to hold such a distinction. Pope Pius XII had declared him the patron of Spanish secular priests.

References
https://slmedia.org/blog/telling-them-apart-so-many-johns-part-1-two-from-avila
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-of-Avila

https://angelusnews.com/faith/450-years-after-his-death-john-of-avila-is-a-saint-for-today/

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3944

The saint who wrote poems while imprisoned

In 1577 church authorities, resentful of John, had him kidnapped, and he was imprisoned for nine months in a windowless six-by-ten-foot cell, with a ceiling so low he couldn't stand up. The stone cell was unheated in winter, unventilated in summer. Malnourished and flogged weekly, John was constantly ill.

Yet it was during this dark time that, by the light of a three-inch hole high in the wall, in this dying of imprisonment, John wrote his two greatest poems, The paradox!  In the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light "Cantico Espiritual" (Spiritual Canticle, 1578) and "Noche Oscura del Alma" (Dark Night of the Soul). These two extraordinary pieces illumined both his own darkness and the mystery of his path.

After nine months, John managed to pry his cell door from its hinges and escape.

"Turn not to the easiest, but to the most difficult … not to the more, but to the less; not towards what is high and precious, but to what is low and despised; not towards desiring anything, but to desiring nothing."

St. John of the Cross, Spanish San Juan de la Cruz, original name Juan de Yepes y Álvarez, (born 1542). John became a Carmelite monk at Medina del Campo, Spain, in 1563 and was ordained priest in 1567. St. Teresa of Ávila, the celebrated mystic, enlisted his help (1568) in her restoration of Carmelite life to its original observance of austerity.  A year later, at Duruelo, he opened the first Discalced Carmelite monastery. Reform, however, caused friction within the order and led to his imprisonment. 

In “Noche oscura,” perhaps his best-known work, he describes the process by which the soul sheds its attachment to everything and eventually passes through a personal experience of Christ’s Crucifixion to his glory.

"Cantico Espiritual" aims to combine the old "Song of Songs" with the Francesco Petrarca influences, resulting in mystical poetry. John uses profane love as a basis, embodied by the figures of two lovers, used as resources to depict the mystical feeling of the union with God. Because the content is so complex and inscrutable, the author published several explanatory texts in which he also modified some of his postulates. 

He died in 1591 after suffering skin severe infection in his right foot. When the friars began to recite the prayers for him John begged, "No, read some verses from the Song of Songs," and then exclaimed, "Oh, what precious pearls!" At midnight, without agony, without struggle, he died, repeating the words of the psalmist: "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." The favors he had asked for in his last years he had now received: not to die as a superior, to die in a place where he was unknown, and to die after having suffered much.

He was canonized and declared doctor of the church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

References
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/innertravelers/john-of-cross.html
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=65
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-of-the-Cross
http://www.spainisculture.com/en/obras_culturales/cantico_espiritual.html
https://www.icspublications.org/pages/saint-john-of-the-cross-conflicts-of-jurisdiction
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-the-cross