When the Apostle Thomas was told that Christ had resurrected and had appeared to the other disciples, he responded that he would not believe unless he had palpable proof. So when Jesus appeared to him also, presenting him with that proof, He also stated, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). These words have led Thomas to be labelled as “doubting”. However, to what extent was the Apostle Thomas a doubter?

​St John of Damascus was born in 675 or 676 in Damascus to a family of civil servants. His father and grandfather were notable administrators in the Muslim court at that time and it is possible that St John also occupied this role for a time. Brought up with a Hellenic education as well as one in the culture of the Muslim Caliphate, St John used both in the service of Christ. The first was used to defend the veneration of icons when he was a monk at the Mar Saba Monastery near Jerusalem, and the second used to critique and highlight the inconsistencies within Islam. He reposed in the Lord in the year 749 at the Mar Saba Monastery.