John Damascene
8th century · AD 749 · Eastern & Byzantine · 211 passages
The last of the Greek fathers; gathered earlier teaching into an orderly summary of the faith and defended sacred images.
In his own words on Tobit
- Tobit 12:19
The angels see God to such extent as is possible for them, and this is their food. Although, because they are incorporeal, they are superior to us and free of all bodily passion, they are certainly not passionless, because only the Divinity is passionless. They take whatever form the Lord may command, and thus they appear to people and reveal the divine mysteries to them. They live in heaven and have as their one work to sing the praises of God and minister to his sacred will.
ORTHODOX FAITH 2:3
Quoted verbatim from public-domain English translations of the fathers — Aquinas's Catena Aurea, the Ante-Nicene and Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, and related editions. Each quotation links to its source.