John of Scythopolis

John of Scythopolis (Greek: Ίωάννης ό Σκυθοπολίτης; –550), also known as "the Scholasticus", bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine (modern Beit She'an), was a Byzantine theologian and lawyer adhering to neo-Chalcedonian theology.

He wrote several works (now lost) against the Monophysite heresy: the most important one was a treatise written c. 530, defending the theory of "dioenergism", against his contemporary Severus of Antioch. Another work attacked the heretic Eutyches, one of the founders of Monophysitism. His works were known to Photius, bishop of Constantinople, who also provides biographical data on John in codex 95 of his erudite work Bibliotheca.

Hans Urs von Balthasar suggested that John could be the author of a part of the scholia on the Corpus Areopagiticum normally attributed to Maximus the Confessor.

Byzantinist Carlo Maria Mazzucchi suggested that John of Scythopolis was aware that the Corpus Areopagiticum was a forgery, and that his awareness is revealed by his extensive marginal commentarydespite the fact that John's commentary apparently defends the originality of the Corpus.

John's prologue to and commentary on the treatise On the Divine Names have been edited by in the framework of the comprehensive critical edition of the Corpus itself, promoted by the German Academy of Sciences.