John of Damascus (c. 680 - c. 780),

Was born in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to a Christian family
One of the oldest cities in the world. The first mention dates back to 2500 BC.

His father, Sergius Mansur, was a Treasurer at the court of the Caliph. He bought a learned monk, Coema, from Calabria, and commissioned him to teach John and his adopted son, Cosmas. After the death of his father, John took the position of minister and mayor at the court.

at that time, the heresy of iconoclasm arose in byzantium. in defense of orthodox icon worship, john wrote three treatises " against those who condemn holy icons." For this, he was slandered, removed from office. his right hand was cut off.

the monk began to pray to the most holy theotokos and ask for healing. when he fell asleep, he saw the icon of the mother of god and heard her voice telling him that he was healed.

When he awoke, he saw that his arm had miraculously grown. In gratitude for the healing, John attached to the icon a hand made of silver, which is reproduced on many lists of the icon, which received the name " Troeruchitsa»

When the Caliph learned of the miracle that testified to John's innocence, he asked for his forgiveness and wanted to return him to his former position, but the monk refused. He distributed his wealth and, together with his adopted brother and fellow student Cosmas, went to Jerusalem, where he entered the monastery of Sava the Sanctified as a simple novice.
Савва Освященный

In the monastery, John passed the school of humility and obedience. he once wrote his famous tombstone troparia. For this disobedience, the elder banished him from his cell. All the monks began to plead for John. then the elder entrusted him with one of the most difficult and unpleasant tasks - to remove the uncleanness from the monastery. the monk here also showed a model of obedience. after some time, the elder was instructed in a vision by the most pure and most holy virgin theotokos to lift the ban on john's writing.

the patriarch of jerusalem found out about the monk, ordained him a priest and made him a preacher at his pulpit. but the monk john soon returned to the monastery of the monk sava, where he spent the rest of his life writing spiritual books and church hymns, and left the monastery only to denounce the iconoclasts at the council of constantinople in 754.