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Why we need icons in Church – Heliopolis, 7 November 2013 1

Why we need icons in Church: John of Damascus and iconoclasm Rev Dr Jos M Strengholt 1 Introduction In this article I argue that the usage of icons is important and beneficial for the Church. We will listen to the arguments John of Damascus (ca. 675-‐749), the main theological defender of the usage of icons in the Church in the period between 726 and 843, when the Church was wrecked by internal disa-‐greements over this matter. The three treatises that he wrote on icons played a major role in the eventual defeat of iconoclasm, the movement that wanted to do away with all images in the Church. This paper begins with a brief introduc-‐tion of John’s life under Islam and of the iconoclast issue. After describing the three treatises of John, this paper describes the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council to support the usage of icons in Church. Then I will briefly describe how the icono-‐clast issue ended, before drawing some personal conclusion. 2 John’s Life under Islam John never lived in a Christian-‐ruled land; he was born in Damascus after Muslims had conquered Syria (636), and in this en-‐vironment he served the Islamic govern-‐ment and his Church. Under the rule of the Umayyads (661-‐750), Christians still had much space for a public role. John is one of the greatest examples of this freedom. Both his grandfather and his father were chancellor of Syria; he was brought up at the court of Caliph Muawiya, where he was a good friend with Muawiya’s son and heir Yazid who knew him by his Arabic name Mansur. John inherited his father’s office of chancellor. He had enjoyed the proper classical Greek education to prepare him for this.

In spite of his high position at the court, in a sensitive situation with slowly increasing measures against Christians, John was re-‐sponsible for the first Christian tract ever against Islam. This tract, Dispute between a Saracen and a Christian, is ascribed to John as it was probably based on his oral teachings. In his dogmatic work Sources of Knowledge he also in-‐cluded a chapter titled ‘Concern-‐ing Heresies’ in which Islam was treated.

John had a fairly accurate picture of Is-‐lam. In the Dispute he treated, for instance, some issues that were debated among Muslims at the Ummayad court; he seems to even have participated in some public discussions in the caliphal palace. The Dis-‐pute reflects the debates of those days be-‐tween the Islamic Qadarite theological school that stressed human free will against the idea of absolute predestination that was defended by the Jabariyah school of thought. John also participated in the discussions between those who held that the Quran was created and those who sup-‐ported the view of an uncreated Quran. John was an example of the important public role Christians could play and the space for their public witness in the early Islamic Empire. He resigned, however, from the caliphal service when Caliph al-‐Walid (ruled from 705-‐715) changed the administrative language from Greek to Ar-‐abic and when other discriminatory legisla-‐tion was introduced against Christians. Whatever the direct cause of John’s deci-‐sion, he left the court in Damascus and en-‐tered the Mar Saba monastery close to Je-‐rusalem in the Southern Judaean Desert; from this monastery he fought his theolog-‐ical battles against iconoclasm.

John of Damascus


3 Iconoclasm The Church of Byzantium was wrecked by the internal disputes over the usage of icons and other images in worship. Church historians disagree about what role Islam and its abhorrence of devotion to statues and images in worship played in this inter-‐nal Christian debate. Especially Emperor Leo III in Constantinople played an im-‐portant role in forbidding the usage of icons. In 726 he ordered the destruction of all religious images, formalizing this with an edict in 730. Germanus I, the Byzantine Patriarch, protested against the edict and appealed for help to the Roman Pope Gregory II. Leo III thereupon de-‐posed Germanus I as a traitor, in 730. Em-‐peror Leo III wrote to Pope Gregory II, commanding him to accept his edict and destroy all the religious images in Rome and summon a general council to forbid their usage in Church. Gregory II refused to obey, even though the Emperor threat-‐ened to come to Rome, break the statue of St. Peter and imprison Gregory II. The most steadfast opponents of icono-‐clasm were monks. Leo III therefore fierce-‐ly persecuted many monasteries and he even tried to suppress monasticism alto-‐gether. The monks were, because of their lifestyle and devotion, less inclined to hon-‐or and obey the hierarchy of State and Church. With the common people, they al-‐so gravitated to using ‘means of grace’, like icons, that were unrelated to this hierarchy of the Church. Was Leo’s battle against icons maybe an effort to strengthen the central powers of the Church and the State, given the need for a stronger central gov-‐ernment at the time of major attacks on the Byzantine Empire by both Arabs and Slavs? 4 ‘On the Divine Images’

4.1 Importance of John of Damascus John of Damascus wrote three treatises on the usage of icons against the iconoclasts. His important role in the debate shows that

during the eighth century the Church in those parts of the world that were ruled by Islam still played an important role in the Byzantine communion. Some of John’s songs were eventually adopted for the lit-‐urgy. This period was very important for the Church because its liturgy, including its art and songs, were now more carefully de-‐fined. The importance of John in the battle over icons is shown at the iconoclast Coun-‐cil of Hiereia in Chalcedon (754). Accord-‐ing to one tradition, over 300 bishops were present and condemned John, who had al-‐ready passed away about five years earlier. He was condemned under his Arab name Mansur, not under his monastic name John, for supporting the cause of the icons. The Council was later not accorded an ecumen-‐ical status and its condemnation of John and its iconoclastic decrees were later re-‐jected by the Western and Eastern Church-‐es. John was probably a formidable adver-‐sary for the iconoclasts because of his theo-‐logical arguments but also because he could argue freely as he lived beyond the reach of the Byzantine Emperor in Muslim lands. John may have had his arguments against iconoclasm ready before the dis-‐cussions in the Church began, as it is likely that Jews and Muslims in Syria and Pales-‐tine had already been criticizing the Church for the idolatry of ‘worshiping icons’. This context may have made John more strident to defend the early Christian praxis of the Church; for John, the issue was not just a defense of the traditional Christian usage, but it was also a matter of defending the Church as a whole against Jews and Muslims.

4.2 First Treatise (ca. 726-‐729) Very shortly after Emperor Leo III began his struggle against the usage of icons in Church, John wrote a rather lengthy rebut-‐tal of the iconoclast viewpoints. John ar-‐gues that he knows the Biblical injunctions against making images and worshipping very well; he quotes for instance from the Ten Commandments that it is not allowed to make an image and worship that as God.

Leo III on a coin


‘I have taken heed to the words of Truth Himself: “The Lord thy God is one.” And “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve Him only, and thou shalt not have strange gods.” Again, “Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath” and “Let them be all con-‐founded that adore graven things.” Again, “The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish.”’ He argues, howev-‐er, that images of Jesus are of God who came in the flesh and who made himself visible; hence, to make an image of him is acceptable and good: ‘When the Invisible One becomes visible to flesh, you may then draw a likeness of His form.’ Moreover, John argues that the issue at stake in the laws of the Old Testament is not the making of images per se, but the worship of these images as divine. The Creator alone must be worshipped. As long as the Creator was invisible, any image of God was unacceptable; as he made himself visible in Jesus Christ, we are invited to de-‐pict him and all events of his life in words and in colors: ‘Give to it all the endurance of engraving and colour.’ Next, John differentiates between differ-‐ent degrees of veneration. In the Bible, God, people and objects related to the service in the tabernacle receive veneration, that is, proskunesis (Greek for bowing down). God also receives this veneration, but in this case it is proper worship, in Greek, latreia, ‘…which we show to God, who alone by na-‐ture is worthy of worship’. John shows many examples of the veneration of people and things other than God in the Scriptures, like the sons of Emmor, Esau, Pharaoh, and angels of God. John mentions how we all make verbal and mental images of things related to God, for instance, when we compare the Trinity with the sun, its light and its rays. The laws of God were engraved on tablets, hence, they were images. God ordered these tab-‐lets to be kept in an ark, with a jar and a rod. God ordered cherubim to be made to cover the mercy seat; actually the whole tabernacle was an image.

John also asks the critics of the usage of icons in Church to be realistic: they vener-‐ate the cross, the holy mountain of Golgo-‐tha, the Holy Sepulchre, the physical Gospel books that are processed into church, the body and blood of Christ at holy Eucharist, even though these are mere matter and not God. Is there then any difference in princi-‐ple when other images in Church are ven-‐erated? Also, John writes, our senses create an image of the incarnate God. We do that through letters in a book, for the literate; we do it with images for the illiterate. Some of the iconoclasts seemed to argue a compromise, namely, that only images of Jesus and Mary would be acceptable. John brushes this away as absurd: ‘O what folly this is! … For if you make an image of Christ and not of the saints, it is evident that you do not disown images, but the honor of the saints.’ The saints deserve veneration as they have been glorified by Christ. Solo-‐mon built his temple with imagines of cherubim, oxen, lions, pomegranates and phoenixes (LXX, but possibly better: palm trees) all around. Should the house of the Lord for Christians not be adorned with the forms and images of saints, as these saints are filled with the Holy Spirit while animals and trees are lifeless? Not venerating the saints through the us-‐age of images in Church is like divesting Christ of his army. John lists whom he ven-‐erates; those are Jesus Christ, and Mary, and also the saints. He does this because ‘the honor given to the image passes to the archetype.’ If the Church does not want to venerate the archetypes through icons, then it should also give up all memorial celebrations of the saints. These really de-‐serve veneration: ‘If the friends of God have had a part in the sufferings of Christ, how shall they not receive a share of His glory even on earth?’ Finally, John stresses that the ordinances of the Church have not only been handed down in the Scriptures, but also through the verbal tradition of the Church. John quotes St Basil the Great: ‘In the cherished teaching and dogmas of the Church, we


hold some things by written documents; others we have received in mystery from the apostolical tradition. Both are of equal value for the soul's growth.’ John mentions that the locations of Golgotha and the grave of Christ are only known through tradition. He points at the Church’s habit of immers-‐ing three times at baptism and the prayer direction to the east. Hereby he seems to answer the argument of iconoclasts that the veneration of saints and the usage of icons are not mentioned in the Scriptures, hence, supposedly, unacceptable. For John it is a Pauline command to keep the early tradition of the veneration of icons: ‘There-‐fore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the tra-‐ditions which you have learned either by word, or by our epistle.’ (II Thess. 2.15) Also, the fact that pagans worship imag-‐es does not mean that Christians should not use images and venerate those. No one should cancel a tradition of the Church that is practiced all over the world and since the earliest days of the Church. To silence his opponents John addresses their usage of some church fathers to back up iconoclas-‐tic arguments. Some texts of Epiphanius and Athanasius were used by his oppo-‐nents. However, John skillfully contextual-‐izes these proof-‐texts and shows that they cannot be used for general iconoclastic ar-‐gumentation. Finally, John ads a florilegium, that is, a long list of quotes from earlier Church Fa-‐thers that support his viewpoint. His final point in those is that it is not for Emperors to change the habits of the Church. Deci-‐sions in the Church are made by the Church itself through Councils. He entreats the Church to cling to its traditions; a house can collapse if just one stone is taken away and likewise, the removal of what has been handed down in the Church is devastating for the Church.

4.3 Second Treatise (ca. 731) This second treatise was written after Leo III had deposed Germanus I; it is a shorter version of the first treatise. John, however, spends considerably more space and ar-‐guments to show that Emperors should not dictate the affairs of the Church: ‘I am not

to be persuaded that the Church is set in order by imperial edicts, but by patristic traditions, written and unwritten.’ Interesting is that John mentions several ‘instruments of salvation’: the veneration of the cross, the lance, the reed and the sponge that were used for the killing of Christ. There was obviously unanimity that this was good. He therefore asks, why then not venerate images of the suffering of Christ? And he is quick to add that he does not venerate the material the icons are made of. He proves this by reminding the reader that crosses and icons are burned when they are damaged: ‘It is evident that I do not worship matter, for supposing the Cross, if it be made of wood, should fall to pieces, I should throw them into the fire, and the same with images.’ Icons are ‘mere matter’, but John honors them, ‘not as God, but as a channel of divine strength and grace’. John believes that im-‐ages in church are special channels chosen by God for strengthening believers and for imparting his grace to them. God uses means for communicating his goodness to the believers, and icons are important means. Finally, John adds the florilegium that was also added to his first treatise, with the addition of a few other quotes from the fa-‐thers of the Church.

4.4 Third Treatise (early 740s) In his third treatise, John repeats many previous arguments but he now also deals more extensively with the nature of icons. As all of life has a material and a spiritual component, so do the icons in Church. ‘It is impossible for us to reach what is intelligi-‐ble apart from what is bodily.’ Like in his second treatise, John makes a sharp distinction between ‘unspiritual’ Ju-‐daism and spiritual Christianity. The fact that they worshipped the golden calf in the desert shows why God had to be so strict in warning against worshipping icons. Chris-‐tians do not need this warning as they know God in Christ and they have deeper knowledge of the truth. After an introduction that is not much different from what we have read in the


earlier treatises, John spends much space to systematically treat the follow-‐ing matters: • What is an image? • What is the purpose of an image? • What different kinds of image are there?

• What can be depicted in an image and what can not be depicted?

• Who first made an image? • What is veneration? • Five kinds of veneration. • How many objects of veneration do we find in Scripture?

• All veneration takes place for the sake of God who is worthy of all veneration.

• The honor offered to the image passes to the archetype.

John ends his third treatise with an ur-‐gent invitation to the Church to not allow it to be broken up by the neglect and rejec-‐tion of icons: ‘Therefore, brethren, let us take our stand on the rock of the faith, and on the tradition of the Church, neither re-‐moving the boundaries laid down by our holy fathers of old, nor listening to those who would introduce innovation and de-‐stroy the economy of the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of God.’ It is important to hold on to the traditions and to honor Jesus, Mary, the angels and all the saints by show-‐ing due respect to the icons that depict them. ‘We venerate the images, not by of-‐fering veneration to matter, but through them to those that are depicted in them.’ John then adds a florilegium of patristic quotes, longer than the florilegia after his first two treatises. He shows that the viewpoint of those who support the usage of icons in the Church stands in a long tra-‐dition of highly respected Church fathers. 5 Seventh Ecumenical Council The issue of icons brought the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Nicea II, together in the year 787. In order to unite the Church of Rome and Byzantium, Empress Irene, her minor son Emperor Constantine VI, and Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople called the bishops of Christendom together for ending the iconoclastic controversy. Be-‐

tween 330 and 367 bishops convened; they agreed to the following:

We, therefore, fol-‐lowing […] the di-‐vinely inspired au-‐thority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and accuracy that […] the venerable and ho-‐ly images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy Churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hang-‐ings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honorable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For [the more] they are seen in artistic rep-‐resentation, [the] more readily are men lift-‐ed up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and to these should be given due salutation and honora-‐ble reverence, not indeed that true worship [Greek: latreia] of faith which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-‐giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the

other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered according to ancient pious custom. For the honor that is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represent-‐ed

Interesting is how this decision by the Council reflects the arguments and language used by

John of Damascus. Though the Ecumenical decision was clear, disputes about icons continued until 842. Theodora, regent for her young son after her husband the Em-‐peror had died, took decisive action to once and for all end iconoclasm. She released

Regent Theodora

Empress Irene


those who were in prison for defending icons, and installed Methodius as patriarch of Constantinople. This monk had suffered seven years of imprisonment. In 842 a syn-‐od at Constantinople excommunicated the iconoclasts and the Church would not be plagued by iconoclasm again. On the first Sunday of Lent, 19 February 842, the icons were brought back into the Churches in solemn processions. That day was made into a perpetual memory as the Feast of Orthodoxy of the Byzantine Church. 6 Personal Conclusions

6.1 Testimony of the ancient church To reject the usage of images in Church means to reject a habit that was dear and acceptable to all Fathers of the Church. It also contradicts the central decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Church. This in itself should make anyone think twice before siding with iconoclasm.

6.2 Creational and incarnational Using images in Church for enticing people to worship God and to honor and imitate the lifestyle of the saints is in line with the incarnational heart of the Gospel: God re-‐vealed himself through the physicality of Jesus. God uses means for accomplishing his goals. Using images is also in accord with our humanity as created by God. The idea that God only uses our ears for his communica-‐tion with humankind is strange and con-‐tradicts all we know about how people learn. Nowhere in the Scriptures do we see the idea that God only uses one of our senses for communicating with us. Ignor-‐ing visual arts in Church can only be at our own the expense. It denies the implica-‐tions of God’s creation and incarnation and it rejects a natural means of how God speaks to us.

6.3 Focus on salvation by Christ and dis-‐cipleship Images in a Church are useful for us to be reminded of the salvation wrought by Christ and for being urged to worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are a

permanent visual invitation to believe the Gospel and to live a life of holiness. The author of the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews writes about these heroes in order to encourage us to follow in their footsteps of faith; likewise, with images in Church of those heroes of the faith we sur-‐round ourselves with a permanent re-‐minder to emulate their lifestyle of faith.

6.4 To honor the saints Icons do not entice people to venerate the images themselves, let alone worship them, but they invite us to show proper respect and veneration for the Virgin Mary, for the angels and for the best leaders of the Church of the past and of the present. Christians find it easy to honor kings and presidents, musicians and artists; what is more logical for us than to honor our saint-‐ly ancestors even more? Christians should be eager to show respect and admiration for the heroes of our faith. The saints of the past and those of the present show us God at work in their lives, and it is for this presence of God and for their obedience to Him that we venerate them.

6.5 Community of the saints Moreover, these images help us to have a proper sense of the community that the Church is. We do not come to Church for an individualistic meeting with God; we come to the community of believers of past and present, to meet with God together. We worship God with all the company of heaven, that is, with angels, with Mary and all the saints together. It is in accord with the Scriptures and with the tradition of the Church to present this visually in the place of worship with proper images. Short Bibliography

St John of Damascus, Three Treatises On the Divine Images, Translated and Introduction by Andrew Louth (Crestwood 2003)

John of Damascus, ‘An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith’, in Philip Schaff and


Henry Wace (eds), A Select Library of Ni-‐cene and Post-‐Nicene Fathers of the Chris-‐tian Church Second Series Vol. IX (Grand Rapids, 1989, first edition 1898).

‘The Decree of the Holy, Great, Ecumenical Synod, the Second of Nice’, in Henry R. Par-‐cival, The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church; Their Canons and Dog-‐matic Decrees (Edinburgh, Grand Rapids, 1988, first edition 1899).

Adrian Fortescue, ‘Iconoclasm’, in the Catholic Encyclopedia as published on www.newadvent.org (accessed 13 October 2013)

Andrew Louth, St John Damascene: Tradi-‐tion and Originality in Byzantine Theology (Oxford, 2004, first edition 2002)

Diarmaid MacCulloch, Christianity, the First Three Thousand Years (London, 2010)

B. Studer, ‘John Damascene’, in Encyclope-‐dia of the Early Church

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