Does the Coptic Orthodox Church recognize John of Damascus as a saint despite his calling us heretics and Monophysites, as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church reportedly does?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The direct and unambiguous answer is no. The Coptic Orthodox Church does not commemorate, venerate, or affirm John of Damascus as a saint. He is neither listed in the Coptic Synaxarium nor commemorated in the Holy Liturgy or Diptychs.

1. The Historical and Theological Reality

John of Damascus (c. 676–749 AD) was a monk and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox (Chalcedonian/Byzantine) communion. He lived centuries after the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) and was one of the most vocal, aggressive opponents of our Orthodox Church.

In his polemical treatises—most notably his work On Heresies, his Tome Against the Jacobites, and his letters regarding the Trisagion hymn—he repeatedly attacked our fathers, misrepresenting our Christology:

• Falsely Labeling Us Monophysites: John of Damascus obstinately labeled our Holy Church as "Monophysite," "Jacobite," and "Severian." He accused our great father, St. Severus of Antioch, and our Alexandrian fathers of conflating or confusing the divine and human natures of Christ.
• Rejecting the Truth of St. Cyril’s Christology: Our Church has never held the Eutychian heresy of "one nature" that confuses or absorbs the humanity into the divinity. We hold strictly to the Cyrillian formula: Mia physis tou Theou Logou sesarkomene—"One Incarnate Nature of God the Word." True to Chalcedonian polemics, John of Damascus rejected this truth and insisted on the strict Chalcedonian definition of two natures after the union, accusing those who clung to St. Cyril's apostolic terminology of absurdity and heresy.
• Attacking Our Liturgical Traditions: He wrote polemics attacking our addition to the Trisagion hymn—"Who was crucified for us, have mercy on us"—falsely claiming that we subjected the divine Trinity to suffering (Theopaschism), completely ignoring that our confession addresses the Trisagion to the incarnate Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because he lived outside of communion with our Church, dogmatically opposed our Orthodox fathers, and affirmed the Councils of Chalcedon and Constantinople III (dyothelitism), which we reject, he cannot be acknowledged as a saint of the true Church.

2. The Misconception Regarding the Ethiopian Church

It is occasionally claimed in modern ecumenical or academic circles that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church venerates John of Damascus. This claim requires careful clarification:

1. Translations in Ge'ez Literature: During the medieval period, particularly in the 14th to 16th centuries, several Arabic Christian texts were translated into Ge'ez in Ethiopia. Some translated collections of monastic writings or theological florilegia included excerpts from authors outside the Oriental communion, such as John of Damascus.
2. Not Part of the Ancient Dogmatic Core: In certain late regional Ethiopic manuscripts (or popular compilations influenced by medieval Arabic Melkite-to-Ge'ez translations), texts attributed to him circulated. However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church belongs to the same Oriental Orthodox family as the Coptic Orthodox Church, confessing the identical Miaphysite Christology, honoring St. Severus and St. Dioscorus, and historically rejecting the Council of Chalcedon and its dogmatic champions.
3. No Official Commemoration in Coptic Tradition: Regardless of what translated texts crept into post-medieval regional Ethiopic manuscripts, our Coptic Orthodox Church maintains strict patristic boundaries. A theologian who explicitly wrote polemics condemning our confession of faith as heresy is not in the ranks of our holy fathers.

Conclusion

A person cannot be counted among the saints of the Church while formally professing a different faith, rejecting the true Orthodox Christology, and branding our holy fathers—such as St. Dioscorus of Alexandria and St. Severus of Antioch—as heretics.

While Eastern Chalcedonians and Roman Catholics venerate John of Damascus as a "Father" and "Doctor" of their churches (especially for his writings during the Iconoclastic controversies), we do not. In our Church, he remains a Byzantine Chalcedonian theologian who opposed the true Orthodox faith.