John of Damascus (around 650-750 A.D.) is said to be the last common Greek Church Father of the Eastern and Western Churches. His work encompasses the entire field of Greek theology at the end of its great era and presents itself as the dogmatic entirety of the orthodox faith.

The writings edited here, reveal John of Damascus as custodian and keeper of the theological traditions of the early Christian centuries – before having been separated into a Western and an Eastern (orthodox) Church.

First Annotated Complete Edition

The first complete critical edition of the prose writings of John of Damascus as well as other works passed on under his name, originally were initiated as editing project of the Byzantine Institute at the Scheyern Abbey. Since 1961 they are being developed under the aegis of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

To this day, John of Damascus is famous for his liturgical poetry, being an integral part of the divine services of the orthodox churches. For pragmatic reasons though, the edition of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is limited to his prose writings, since this part of his work requires especially intensive editorial reappraisal.

Starting in 1961, the project was funded by the Patristic Commission of the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Since 1980 it has been funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Free State of Bavaria as part of the Academies' Programme.