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.A doctrine following the Christological path of the general council of Chalcedon (451), about the dual (human & divine) nature of Christ, integrated with the orthodox tenets of Cyril of Alexandria on the predominance of the divinity in Christ's unity.
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",Teaching Christ's dual source of vital activity: both human and divine. 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.: "In 1940, Hans Urs von Balthazar ... argued that John of Scythopolis was indeed the sole author of the shorter tradition, and that only the additional scholia found in Migne belonged to Maximus the Confessor and others"; .
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.
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