Epiphanius attempted to defend his irregular action, but John appealed to Alexandria against Jerome and his supporters as schismatics.
Jerome, supported by a Latin disciple of Augustine of the name of Paulus Orosius, took a stand against the deacon Pelagius, who was then received in Jerusalem and not explicitly condemned by the local synod of Diospolis (415).
[7]: 99 According to the 5th century ecclesiastic writer Gennadius of Massilia, John "wrote a book against those who disparaged his studies, in which he shows that he follows the genius of Origen not his creed".
[8] Due to his Damnatio memoriae, the writings of John II were not kept in general under his name, but, besides Mystagogical Catecheses, it is very much probable that certain homilies, in Greek, Georgian or Armenian, must be restored to him, as happened in the second half of 20th century for his homilies upon "the Feast of the Angels",[9] and on the "Dedication of the Church of Holy Zion"[10] The edition of a liturgical lectionary of Jerusalem, preserved in an old Armenian version, is also attributed to him.
One of the acts that ratified the reconciliation of the Greek and the Judeo-Christian communities was the Consecration of the Church of Holy Zion[11] on 394 CE: the homily pronounced by John was preserved in Armenian and not published until 1973.
[12] Actually the central idea of John's homily is linked to the celebration of Kippur[12][7]: 109 , through the blessing of the church altar, symbolized by the "Kaporet" (Mercy seat).
In the second part, John proposes a typology of the mystical experience describing seven heavenly circles accessible by the mediation of the Kaporet.
John also addresses four times the monk Porphyry, future bishop of Gaza, who was probably present at the ceremony.