Product Description

To many modern Christians the question of icon veneration may seem a marginal issue in theology. To St Theodore the Studite, writing in the midst of the iconoclastic controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries, it was clear that iconoclasm is a serious error, which alienates its followers from God as much as any other heresy. That is to say, rejection of Christian veneration of images effectively denies God's incarnation, which alone makes human salvation possible. If Christ could not be portrayed, then He was not truly man, and humanity was not truly united with God in Him. In our own day, when the material world so often is regarded as mere matter, incapable of being transfigured in Christ, St Theodore's message remains remarkably pertinent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1297104 in Books
• Published on: 1981-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 115 pages

Language Notes
Text: English, Greek (translation)

Customer Reviews

The Holy Icons and the Incarnation
C.S. Lewis once wrote on the importance of reading primary sources. This little book is an excellent example of how much reading translations of the early Church fathers can help Christians today. St. Theodore is writing to defend the veneration of the Icons from the second wave of Iconoclasm in the 8th century, in which the iconoclasts had developed a more sophisticated theological attack on the Icons. Theodore the Studite deals with the accusation of idolatry, drawing his defence from the Holy Scriptures. Then he solidly bases the veneration of icons on the Incarnation, saying "He who had created everything became matter (that is, flesh)." He meets the iconoclasts' own arguments, demonstrating that iconoclasts must either be docetists (not believing that the Incarnation was real) or monophysites (Christ's human nature being submerged into His Divinity). He also maintains that Christ is still circumscibable after his Resurrection. While Theodore repeats arguments previously made, such as John of Damascus' distinction between worship and veneration, - saying that we worship only God, but we venerate the images of Christ and His saints, - he also articulates further the connection between the Incarnation and the depiction of Christ in the Icons. Easy to read, this book shows how the veneration of the Icons of Christ and the saints comes directly from an Orthodox understanding of who Christ is and what the incarnation means.

Veneration of Icons in Eastern Orthodoxy.
_On the Holy Icons_ by St. Theodore the Studite is an interesting, if extremely dense, treatise defending the Eastern Orthodox tradition of icon veneration. Theodore was a monk from Constantinople who managed several monasteries in the Byzantine Empire during the infamous iconoclast controversy which raged in Byzantium during the eighth and ninth centuries. This English translation (1981) from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press features an introduction by Catherine Roth where she outlines the issues behind the iconoclast controversy and the premises of Theodore's polemics from the side of Orthodoxy. Roth succinctly notes how Theodore "elaborates on the relation of the image to the prototype. The image belongs to the Aristotelian category of relative things, and so it directs the attention from itself to its prototype. The image and the prototype different in essence, but share the same likeness and are called by the same name. Insofar as the image is like its prototype, the prototype may be venerated in the image" (12). This applies to the iconoclast case that the veneration of Orthodox believers to icons is a form of or equivalent to idolatry. If an icon is venerated, Christ is still being worshiped. The actual veneration paid toward the icon is not the same as worship offered to God but an honor and form of high respect to the One who is depicted thereon. Theodore organizes his polemics into three sections. The first section gives an apology for the Orthodox position on icons, defining what exactly is being done when an Orthodox believer venerates an icon. It is similar to the same veneration paid to the sign of the cross, which was maintained by the iconoclasts. Theodore also goes to extreme length in order to prove that the Incarnate Christ was "circumscribable" and thus having the quality to be depicted using physical artistic forms. Christ was a man who lived and walked on earth, was seen by men, wore clothing, ate food and continued to do so even after His resurrection. Therefore, the Incarnate Word was of circumscribable essence and can be pictured with legitimacy. At the end of the first section, Theodore anathematizes as heretics those who deride and condemn the Orthodox veneration of icons. Theodore's second section presents a hypothetical dialogue between a heretic (iconoclast) and an Orthodox on the Biblical and patristic theology behind the issue in question. The third section goes on further to define, using specific examples from the Gospels, of Christ's ability to be circumscribed. Throughout all of the treatises, Theodore also painstakingly differentiates between icon veneration and worship of God. The honor given to the icon is honor given to Christ, and conversely, the dishonor shown toward icons is also a dishonor to Christ. Theodore uses an interesting example of Jews desecrating an icon of Christ in imitation of the sufferings undergone by Christ during His trial and crucifixion. Needless to say, the Mother of God and other saints are depicted in icons as well and veneration is shown to them. Their images are also worthy of veneration because they have partaken in God's divine grace and have become "sons of God" in a figurative sense. In all, I recommend _On the Holy Icons_ as a technical introduction to the topic for those interested in the general question of using art forms in Christian worship.

The Byzantine Controversy on Marginal Christianity

"The case for the icons as presented by Theodore of Studios was an amalgam of superstition, magic, and scholasticism," Adolf von Harnack


Cult of Holy Icons:
It was in the course of making the case for the icons that Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, spoke about the melody of theology. J. Pelikan, the eminent Orthodox expert on Church history of doctrine, wrote in the Icon entry, of his Theological Dictionary, that Harnack did recognize, and regret, that "all of orthodoxy is summarized in the cult of images."
The Trullan Synod of constantinople in 692, stated that it was wrong to depict Christ in images or portray Him as a lamb. The seventh Ecumenical Council stated that the Church, even depicting the Lord through His human form, must not separate His divinity from His flesh, and should be brought out in the icon as well, an inconceivable Byzantine illusion! (please read carefully Fr. Coniaris', 'Introducing The Orthodox Church'; What we believe about icons, pp. 171- 177)

Studios' on Icons:
Theodore of Studios repeated, in principle the themes of his predecessor John of Damascus, on the marginal issue of icon veneration, in the midst of the 8/9th century iconoclastic controversy, adding almost no genuine theological themes.
The allegation that iconoclasm, a serious error, alienates its followers from God-as much as any other heresy- is a medieval Byzantine eccentricity. Veneration of icons was an unqualified abuse of its early intended use by the Church of Alexandria, originally, of visual teaching on biblical themes and events for its illiterate congregations, as proven by the era of pre-icon murals in Deir Bawit, in upper Egypt. It is vital for those interested in an intelligible discussion of the theological cause roots of the debate to read God's Human Face: The Christ Icon by Christopher Schonborn, or the Brief E-Article by Myroslaw Tataryn.

Icon's Theology Critique:
"Alternatively, one might argue that Christ is God, but he is also a man. The images, then, represent his human nature only. The Orthodox explicitly reject this option as Nestorian. Daniel Clendenin writes, "It is not solely [Christ's] human nature that is portrayed in an icon (separating the human nature from the divine nature would be Nestorianism); rather, 'the total divine-human person of Christ' is portrayed." Clendenin rightly asserts that any attempt to portray only Christ's human nature does Nestorian violence to the union of that nature with the divine. ..." William J. Baldwin

Theodore of Studios:
A controversial Byzantine monastic leader (759-826) and zealous defender of the veneration of images. In 781 Theodore entered the Saccudion monastery, where his uncle Plato was the abbot, Theodore was ordained priest and succeeded his uncle. Later, he left Saccudion, and took charge of Studium monastery, at Constantinople. He reorganized the Studium and appended the rules of St. Basil with specific regulations, encouraged learning and the arts, founding a school of calligraphy.
Theodore was a political figure, he was involved in many disputes, and denied the emperor's right to interfere in ecclesiastics, and was consequently exiled. He tried to reform the the Byzantine monastic life, which was in serious decay. He did not return to the Studium, and died without having attained his ideals.