We
are not a living body that contains a soul
We are
a living soul that dwells within a body!
Thursday September 6, 2007
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Since the visual arts played a prominent
role in the personal lives of the Orthodox faithful, as well as in the
liturgical life of the Church, it is only right and proper to give a mention,
even if only brief, of Byzantine iconoclasm and the seventh ecumenical synod
(787) which condemned it. Byzantine religious art is among the empire’s lasting
legacies, even to this day. Had the iconoclasts won, their victory would have
had a decisive impact and would have altered the course of Byzantine painting.
Iconoclasm
is often thought of as apart from the Christological debates which the earlier
ecumenical synods were concerned. But, the issue, to a great degree, most
certainly was Christological in nature. To understand this, we need to start
with the basic iconoclast objection to images. The iconoclasts argued how could
the divinity of Christ be depicted or represented without falling into
idolatry? To the iconoclasts, the veneration of the Lord’s icon was nothing
less than idolatrous worship of inanimate wood and paint, which was very
plainly forbidden by Holy Scripture to Christians. However, as cogent an
argument it was, it did not convince the Fathers of the seventh ecumenical
synod.
The
fathers argued that a material image, it is true, is made of wood and paint,
but it is only a symbol. It is not an object of absolute veneration or worship.
On the contrary, icons are only relatively venerated since the true object of
veneration is ultimately the person imaged or depicted in the icon, not the
icon itself. A clear distinction must be made between veneration (proskynesis timetike) by which an icon should be honored, and worship (latreia) which belongs to God alone. In
other words, it is altogether unlawful to worship icons, for God alone is
worshipped and adored; however, icons should and could be venerated. This
insistence that icons should be honored brings us to the second important
argument of the Church – the Christological argument. This argument holds that
a representation of the Lord or of the saints is entirely permissible and
necessary because of the incarnation. In other words, the Son of God, the image
of the Father, can be shown pictorially precisely because through the
incarnation, he became visible and discernable by assuming a human nature and
by becoming man. Any repudiation of the Lord’s image is tantamount to a denial
of the mystery of the incarnation. The defeat of iconoclasm is celebrated
annually by the Orthodox Church on the first Sunday of Lent. The “Feast of Orthodoxy” commemorates the
final restoration of images (11 March 843).
I humbly hope and
pray that you will accept this news with love and understanding. Reflect on its
truth. Research it with an open mind in order to see the truth and if in fact
any part of these letters that touches on any teaching that you are currently
receiving and is shown to you to be true,
Then you will give
up yourself, your pride, and your ego in this area and give it to the truth of
Jesus Christ and change your life accordingly.
This is sent with
the love of Christ for you from me.
As always, all
comments and questions are welcome, send them to me at;
monkmichael@newwarriorministries.com.
Monk Michael
A humble servant of
Jesus Christ
On the Web at: http://www.newwarriorministries.com
Email: monkmichael@newwarriorministries.com
Phone: (803)
377-1244
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