A short hard to find treatise about the iconoclast controversy in Byzantium by one of the champions of catholic orthodoxy.

In AD 726, the Byzantine emperor ordered the destruction of all icons, or religious images, throughout the empire, and icons were subject to an imperial ban that was to last, with a brief remission, until AD 843. A defender of icons, St John of Damascus wrote three treatises against "those who attack the holy images." He differentiates between the veneration of icons, which is a matter of expressing honor, and idolatry, which is offering worship to something other than God.

This collection documents examples of distinctively Catholic theological beliefs or doctrines in the Eastern Church fathers; that is, ones in harmony with historic Catholic teaching but differing in some way from one or more strains of Protestant theology or Eastern Orthodox views. Quotations will be drawn from the Three Holy Hierarchs of Eastern Christian Tradition: St. Basil the Great (c. 330-379), St. John Chrysostom (c. 345-407), and St. Gregory Nazianzen (c. 330-c. 390). St. Athanasius (c. 297-373) is usually added to this list, and these are the Four Great Eastern Doctors of the Church. Additionally, the following four fathers are included: St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444), St. Ephraim (c. 306-373), St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-387), and St. John Damascene (c. 676-749). All eight men are Doctors of the Catholic Church. Quotations are drawn from public domain works and are found online at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website.

Immaculate Conceptions examines devotional writings, religious and literary texts, and visual art that feature the mystery of the immaculacy of the Virgin Mary in the culture of early modern Spain. The author’s analysis is motivated by the complexity and multivalent capacity of the doctrine and its icon at a time when the debates around Mary’s conception imbued all levels of religious and social life. She considers the many interests – political, doctrinal, artistic, and gender-driven – that intersect and compete in the exegesis and textual and visual representations of the Immaculate Conception. She argues that the Immaculate Conception of Mary proved to be a fertile conceptual and ideological field wherein the identities of the Spanish state, local communities, and individuals were negotiated, variously defined, and contested. The study’s broader aim is to delineate a speculative category, the religious imagination, defined as a spiritual, intellectual, or artistic pursuit in which the individual is committed to sacred truth yet articulates this truth through contingent, partial, and contextually determined theological propositions. The representational status of the image and its relationship to theories of physical sight and spiritual vision are central to the author’s formulation of this category.

In 'St John Damascene on Holy Images', Saint John of Damascus delves into the theological and philosophical arguments surrounding the use of images in worship. Drawing on both classical philosophy and Christian theology, the book explores the concept of icons as windows to the divine realm. Written in a clear and systematic style, the work reflects the author's deep understanding of the subject matter and his ability to reconcile seemingly conflicting viewpoints. Saint John's defense of the veneration of holy images is both thought-provoking and insightful, making it a significant contribution to the theological debates of his time. This work not only sheds light on the theological controversies of the iconoclast era but also offers a compelling argument for the use of religious imagery in worship. Written by a revered theologian and scholar, 'St John Damascene on Holy Images' is a must-read for anyone interested in Christian theology and the history of iconography.

There is growing awareness that different people have different "love languages". What about God? Does He have a love language? Jeanette Flood answers this question by looking at the life and teachings of Jesus. With a conversational style and a dose of good humor, she describes eight love languages with fresh spiritual analogies and lessons from her own life. This work reveals that being a Christian means being in a relationship of love with Love Himself. Drawing on Scripture, Church teachings, and insights of the saints, it inspires readers to follow Saint Paul's advice to the Ephesians to "learn what is pleasing to the Lord" (Eph 5:10).