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The Veneration of Icons
In the tradition of the
Byzantine Rite
"We venerateYour sacred image, O Lord, and we beg
forgiveness of our sins."
There is a renewed interest and appreciation
of iconography among Byzantine Catholics in the United States. It is an encouraging
indication of a return to our centuries-old traditions. Out ancestors, accepted
Christianity in the Byzantine Rite, also accepted the practice of venerating holy
icons. Without them our liturgical worship becomes sorely mutilated and loses a
great deal of its solemnity and splendor. Let us them become acquainted with the
history, the meaning and the true spirit of the veneration of icons.
Strictly speaking, an icon (Gr.
eikon-image, picture) is a portable sacred image, painted on a piece of wood according to
the style and techniques of Byzantine art. But in its broader sense, as it will be
considered here, an icon is any sacred image painted, or otherwise reproduced, for the
purpose of veneration. The holy icon should not be considered as an object of
art or decoration, but rather as a sacred object, fostering devotion and piety.
Through the veneration of icons we should feel closer to God and to things divine.
Icons were used in the first centuries of
Christianity, first as an object of decoration or private devotion, and later exposed in
Christian churches for public veneration. Apocryphal writings of the second cenury
relate that the icon of the Blessed Mother painted by St. Luke was the first icon.
According to another legend, Jesus himself gave and "image of His sacred face,"
called the Icon Made Without Hands ("Nerukotvorennyj Obraz"), to the Apostle
Thaddeus, who used it for miraculous healing and the conversion of the Chaldean King Abgar
of Edessa (cf. Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. I, 13). Although these are only legends,
nevertheless they confirm an historical fact that in the East the veneration of icons
originated in the Syro-Palestinian region, the cradle of Christianity.
It seems that the first icons were of the Holy Martyrs
and their deeds which were painted in their oratories, as indicated by the homilies of St.
Basil the Great (d. 379) and St. Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394). Only later, some time
during the fifth century, were the icons of Jesus Christ and of the Blessed Mother
introduced. By the sixth century Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine
Empire, became a great center of sacred art. It was in Constantinople that a special
style of icon-painting was developed which became known as the Byzantine style, and
eventually becoming the pride of Byzantine art.
The golden age of Byzantine art and iconography began
in the middle of the ninth century and ended with the sack of Constantinople by the
Crusaders in 1204. Unfortunately, due to the iconoclasm (violent opposition
against the veneration of icons and sacred objects) of the eighth and ninth centuries,
almost all primitive icons were destroyed. Today, the best collection of holy icons
(the 6th-15th centuries) is preserved at the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine on
Mt. Sinai, which was built by Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century.
The ancestors of the Ruthenians
received Christianity at the end of the ninth century when Byzantine art was in its golden
age and iconography became a generally understood language in the Byzantine Church.
Byzantine art, reaching various peoples and cultures,
necessarily became subject to some changes according to the needs and genius of the
particular countries. Thus, throughout the centuries, we can recognize varous
schools of icon-painting which constitute the national heritage of the given places.
In the Carpathian region we have holy icons dating from
the sixteenth century when the Ruthenian local iconographers (educated mostly in Kiev and
L'viv) started to "nationalize" their style in order to make them more
"popular". The oldest icon, painted by an unknown local artist, is the
icon of the Blessed Mother in the village of Izki, Volove County (end of the 16th c.).
In the opinion of contemporary art-critics this icons is the "highest
achievement of Carpathian painting."
An icon does not represent the Divinity. But, by
its symbolic pictorial language, it testifies to the participation of Christians in the
divine life. Thus, the icon becomes a "manifestation of divine life"
among men, a "transfigured vision" of divine mysteries, a "vision of the
invisible" (Hebr. 11: 1), - indeed, a true "theology in color." The
icons representing the saints, also, to some extent share in their sanctity and glory.
Consequently, they become "vessels of grace," present and working
as in their relics. St. John Damascene offers the following explanation:
"The Saints, during their earthly life, are filled
with the grace of the Holy Spirit. After their departure the same grace remains in
their souls as in their bodies (relics-I Cor. 6:19). The very same grace is present and
active in their sacred image and icons." (P.G. 94, 1249D).
Thus the holy icon becomes a means of communion with
the Saints and a source of special graces and even of miracles. This explains the
existence of many miraculous icons, through which Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother
and the Saints continue to bestow favors and to work miracles.
In the Subcarpathian region there are several
miraculous icons of the Blessed Mother, the most important of which are in Klokochovo
(from the middle of the 17th c.), in Mariapovch (by artist S. Papp, 1676), and in Krasnyj
Brod (by the Basilian artist, M. Spalinskyj, 1769). The miraculous icon at the Basilian
Monastery in Mukachevo is not of local origin. It was painted in Constantinople,
1453 and was donated by Pope Pius XI to the Eparchy of Mukachevo on 1926.
In the Old Testament, due to the
danger of idolatry, God forbade the Jews to worship the "carved image or
likeness" of any creature (Ex. 20:4-5; expl. Duet. 4:15-20). In the first
centuries the Christians, too, in the face of paganism and idolatry, adhered to these
Mosaic ordinances. The frescoes from the second and third centuries found in the
catacoumbs served only as decoration. But after the victory of Christiany over
paganism (313 A.D.), when Christiany theology was sufficiently developed, the Fathers of
the Church gradually admitted the public veneration of icons. The
iconoclastic fury of Emperor Leo the Isaurian (717-741), during which the leading
defenders of the icons were St. Germanus of Constantinople (d. 733) and St. John Damascene
(d. 749) made the Church define her teachings. In reply, at the seventh Ecumenical
Council of Nicea (787), the Chuch's teaching concerning the veneration of icons was
solemnly proclaimed.
The Fathers explained that the veneration of icons,
theologically, was based on the mystery of incarnation, since in the person of Jesus
Christ we received revelation not only of the "Word of God" (Jn. 1:1-14), but
also of the "Image of God," as attested by St. Paul saying that Jesus is the
"image (eikon) of the unseen God." (Col.1:15) Jesus Himself testified :
" To have seen Me is to have seen the Father!" (Jn. 14:9)
The following is the teaching of the Church on
holy icons:
The Mosaic Law (Gen 20:4-5) was a temporary
provision against idolatry which, in time, lost its relevance.
Jesus, by taking human flesh (by His
incarnation) revoked the prohibition of the Old Testament, since He became the
"visible image (eikon) of God," manifesting "God's glory" on His face.
(II Cor. 4:4-6)
Jesus Christ, by His glorious resurrection,
also glorified His human nature, which reflected His divinity. (comp. Transfiguration, Mt.
17:2)
God created man to His own "image (eikon)
and likeness" (Gen. 1:26) and, after the fall of Adam, our Saviour Jesus Christ
restored our human nature to its pristine glory. (II Cor. 3:18)
The honor given to an icon is only veneration
(proskynesis) and not adoration (douleia), which is given to God only.
The honor extended to an icon by a bow, a
prayer, a kiss, incense or the burning of a candle is relative, i.e. it "passes on to
him who is represented on it (to its prototype)" (cf. St. Basil, On the Holy Spirit,
18).
Our ancestors venerated holy
icons not in their churches, but also in their homes. These were called-devotional
icons, believed to protect their homes and to secure for them the continuous flow of God's
blessings. These icons usually occupied a prominent place in every home and were
decorated with an embroidered cloth and flowers. A hanging vigil lamp or votive
candle added to the spiritual atmosphere of the room. Any visitor entering the home
was expected to take off his hat and to pay homage to the icon before he would greet the
host.
The ancient rules of Christian house-keeping from the
sixteenth century, entitled "Domostroj" (House-keeping), reminded our ancestors:
"The Christian should have, in every room of his house, a holy and
venerable icon or image, decorated with a veil (embroidery), and provided with a votive
lamp (candle). The lamp should be burning as prayers are said as a sign of
veneration and proper respect.."
This traditional and praiseworthy devotion to the home
icon is being recommended in our religious education classes throughout the Metropolitan
Province of Pittsburgh in the form of an "Icon Corner." Hopefully, it will
win the support of parents and become a prayer shrine for the entire family.
TROPARION (Tone 2)
(Sunday of the Veneration of Icons)
We venerate Your sacred image, O gracious Lord, and we
beg forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for in Your body You voluntarily deigned to
ascend the cross, to deliver from the bondage of enemy those whom You have created.
We, therefore, gratefully cry out to You: "O Savior, by your
coming to save the world, You have filled all of us with joy!"
KONTAKION (Tone
8)
The indescriable Word of Father, through His
incarnation in You, O Mother of God, became describable and, having restored our defiled
image to its pristine form, raised us to the participation of God's goodness. This
we, professing our salvation, prove with our words and deeds.
"No matter how perfect one is, he always needs a
page of Scripture (Bible). In the same manner one also needs the holy images,
painted in accordance with the Scriptures, Therefore, we venerate and honor them
both in the same way!" (St. Theodore Studite, d. 826).
 
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