Answer: He was a writer who strongly defended the use of icons
Explanation: John of Damascus was a monk in the Eastern Church, lived in the eighth century, and was a fierce defender of the icon. When the Byzantine Emperor Leo III, in 726, forbade the use of icons under the explanation that it was idolatry, a fierce persecution of icon worshipers and the destruction of icons, known as the iconoclasm, arose. Unlike the Eastern Church, there was never an iconoclasm in the Western Church. John of Damascus himself was not a Pope since he was a monk of the Eastern Church, and as a protector of the use of the icon was hated by the iconoclasts, but he was sheltered in a safe place. He was also known as an icon painter of some of the famous icons of the Eastern Church. As John himself spoke, with the coming of Christ, the old way of worshiping God changed, because the invisible secrets of God became visible. The icons represent a means of prayer and spiritual ascension to God, not the object of worship, i.e. idolatry.