Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

By Saint John of Damascus

• Book I
  • Chapter 1 - That the Deity is incomprehensible, and that we ought not to pry into and meddle with the things which have not been delivered to us by the holy Prophets, and Apostles, and Evangelists.
  • Chapter 2 - Concerning things utterable and things unutterable, and things knowable and things unknowable.
  • Chapter 3 - Proof that there is a God.
  • Chapter 4 - Concerning the nature of Deity: that it is incomprehensible.
  • Chapter 5 - Proof that God is one and not many.
  • Chapter 6 - Concerning the Word and the Son of God: a reasoned proof.
  • Chapter 7 - Concerning the Holy Spirit, a reasoned proof.
  • Chapter 8 - Concerning the Holy Trinity.
  • Chapter 9 - Concerning what is affirmed about God.
  • Chapter 10 - Concerning divine union and separation.
  • Chapter 11 - Concerning what is affirmed about God as though He had body.
  • Chapter 12 - Concerning the Same.
  • Chapter 13 - Concerning the place of God: and that the Deity alone is uncircumscribed.
  • Chapter 14 - The properties of the divine nature.
• Book II
  • Chapter 1 - Concerning aeon or age.
  • Chapter 2 - Concerning the creation.
  • Chapter 3 - Concerning angels.
  • Chapter 4 - Concerning the devil and demons.
  • Chapter 5 - Concerning the visible creation.
  • Chapter 6 - Concerning the Heaven.
  • Chapter 7 - Concerning light, fire, the luminaries, sun, moon and stars.
  • Chapter 8 - Concerning air and winds.
  • Chapter 9 - Concerning the waters.
  • Chapter 10 - Concerning earth and its products.
  • Chapter 11 - Concerning Paradise.
  • Chapter 12 - Concerning Man.
  • Chapter 13 - Concerning Pleasures.
  • Chapter 14 - Concerning Pain.
  • Chapter 15 - Concerning Fear.Fear is divided into six varieties: viz., shrinking, shame, disgrace, consternation, panic, anxiety.
  • Chapter 16 - Concerning Anger.
  • Chapter 17 - Concerning Imagination.
  • Chapter 18 - Concerning Sensation.
  • Chapter 19 - Concerning Thought.
  • Chapter 20 - Concerning Memory.
  • Chapter 21 - Concerning Conception and Articulation.
  • Chapter 22 - Concerning Passion and Energy.
  • Chapter 23 - Concerning Energy.
  • Chapter 24 - Concerning what is Voluntary and what is Involuntary.
  • Chapter 25 - Concerning what is in our own power, that is, concerning Free-will.
  • Chapter 26 - Concerning Events.
  • Chapter 27 - Concerning the reason of our endowment with Free-will.
  • Chapter 28 - Concerning what is not in our hands.
  • Chapter 29 - Concerning Providence.
  • Chapter 30 - Concerning Prescience and Predestination.
• Book III
  • Chapter 1 - Concerning the Divine Oeconomy and God’s care over us, and concerning our salvation.
  • Chapter 2 - Concerning the manner in which the Word was conceived, and concerning His divine incarnation.
  • Chapter 3 - Concerning Christ’s two natures, in apposition to those who hold that He has only one.
  • Chapter 4 - Concerning the manner of the Mutual Communication.
  • Chapter 5 - Concerning the number of the Natures.
  • Chapter 6 - That in one of its subsistences the divine nature is united in its entirety to the human nature, in its entirety and not only part to part.
  • Chapter 7 - Concerning the one compound subsistence of God the Word.
  • Chapter 8 - In reply to those who ask whether the natures of the Lord are brought under a continuous or a discontinuous quantity.
  • Chapter 9 - In reply to the question whether there is Nature that has no Subsistence.
  • Chapter 10 - Concerning the Trisagium (“the Thrice Holy”).
  • Chapter 11 - Concerning the Nature as viewed in Species and in Individual, and concerning the difference between Union and Incarnation: and how this is to be understood, “The one Nature of God the Word Incarnate.”
  • Chapter 12 - That the holy Virgin is the Mother of God: an argument directed against the Nestorians.
  • Chapter 13 - Concerning the properties of the two Natures.
  • Chapter 14 - Concerning the volitions and free-will of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Chapter 15 - Concerning the energies in our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Chapter 16 - In reply to those who say “If man has two natures and two energies, Christ must be held to have three natures and as many energies.”
  • Chapter 17 - Concerning the deification of the nature of our Lord’s flesh and of His will.
  • Chapter 18 - Further concerning volitions and free-wills: minds, too, and knowledges and wisdoms.
  • Chapter 19 - Concerning the theandric energy.
  • Chapter 20 - Concerning the natural and innocent passions.
  • Chapter 21 - Concerning ignorance and servitude.
  • Chapter 22 - Concerning His growth.
  • Chapter 23 - Concerning His Fear.
  • Chapter 24 - Concerning our Lord’s Praying.
  • Chapter 25 - Concerning the Appropriation.
  • Chapter 26 - Concerning the Passion of our Lord’s body, and the Impassibility of His divinity.
  • Chapter 27 - Concerning the fact that the divinity of the Word remained inseparable from the soul and the body, even at our Lord’s death, and that His subsistence continued one.
  • Chapter 28 - Concerning Corruption and Destruction.
  • Chapter 29 - Concerning the Descent to Hades.
• Book IV
  • Chapter 1 - Concerning what followed the Resurrection.
  • Chapter 2 - Concerning the sitting at the right hand of the Father.
  • Chapter 3 - In reply to those who say “If Christ has two natures, either ye do service to the creature in worshipping created nature, or ye say that there is one nature to be worshipped, and another not to be worshipped.”
  • Chapter 4 - Why it was the Son of God, and not the Father or the Spirit, that became man: and what having became man He achieved.
  • Chapter 5 - In reply to those who ask if Christ’s subsistence is create or uncreate.
  • Chapter 6 - Concerning the question, when Christ was called.
  • Chapter 7 - In answer to those who enquire whether the holy Mother of God bore two natures, and whether two natures hung upon the Cross.
  • Chapter 8 - How the Only-begotten Son of God is called first-born.
  • Chapter 9 - Concerning Faith and Baptism.
  • Chapter 10 - Concerning Faith
  • Chapter 11 - Concerning the Cross and here further concerning Faith.
  • Chapter 12 - Concerning Worship towards the East.
  • Chapter 13 - Concerning the holy and immaculate Mysteries of the Lord.
  • Chapter 14 - Concerning our Lord’s genealogy and concerning the holy Mother of God.
  • Chapter 15 - Concerning the honour due to the Saints and their remains.
  • Chapter 16 - Concerning Images.
  • Chapter 17 - Concerning Scripture.
  • Chapter 18 - Regarding the things said concerning Christ.
  • Chapter 19 - That God is not the cause of evils.
  • Chapter 20 - That there are not two Kingdoms.
  • Chapter 21 - The purpose for which God in His foreknowledge created persons who would sin and not repent.
  • Chapter 22 - Concerning the law of God and the law of sin.
  • Chapter 23 - Against the Jews on the question Sabbath.
  • Chapter 24 - Concerning Virginity.
  • Chapter 25 - Concerning the Circumcision.
  • Chapter 26 - Concerning the Antichrist.
  • Chapter 27 - Concerning the Resurrection.