Commission for the Publication of the Writings of St. John of Damascus

The Commission is producing a critical edition of the Greek prose writings of the Byzantine theologian St. John of Damascus (c. 700–c. 750), both the authentic texts and those attributed to him (e.g. the Barlaam legend traditionally ascribed to him. This edition was completed in 2008). The work is coordinated by the Patristic Commission of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, whose aim it is to produce critical editions of Christian authors from the period of the Early Church.

Barlaam-Roman, einzig erhalten gebliebenes Blatt einer Handschrift

The Barlaam legend. The sole surviving page of a manuscript which, according to a note by its owner at the bottom of the page, was bought from Dean Karteles from Patmos in Chania (Crete) for six pieces of gold on March 16, 1540. The text in the illustration contains the end of Chapter 40 and the start of the Epilogue (cf. Migne, Patrologia graeca, Volume 96, 1240, 6–27). This page was thus the last but one of a complete manuscript that presumably consisted of 150 pages.