Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 18

The Month of October

Day 18

49. On the Veneration of Holy Icons

(The Life of Saint Luke the Apostle and Evangelist)

In His second commandment, the Lord did not simply say, “You shall not make for yourself an idol,” but also added, “or any likeness.” Hence the question arises: may and ought we to venerate holy icons? We answer you, brethren, that holy icons most certainly may and ought to be venerated. This is evident from the following.

First, God Himself, who gave the words quoted above in His second commandment, nevertheless commanded Moses to place two golden cherubim in the Tabernacle, above the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, in the Book of Exodus, we read: “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘And you shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end … And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward … and their faces shall be turned toward one another’” (Exodus 25:18–20).

Second, it is evident that holy icons ought to be venerated from the fact that God Himself appointed the Ark of the Covenant, with the cherubim spreading their wings above it, as an object of special honor and reverence. The Jews indeed rendered such reverence to the Ark. For example, in the Book of Joshua, we read: “Joshua tore his clothes and fell on his face … to the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and lay there until evening, he and the elders of Israel” (Joshua 7:6).

Third, it is evident that icons ought to be venerated from the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself imprinted His face upon a cloth for Abgar, the prince of Edessa. When a certain Ananias delivered Abgar’s letter to the Lord and the Lord had read it, He asked for water and a cloth. He washed Himself and wiped His face with the cloth, upon which His most pure face was clearly imprinted. The Lord commanded that this image of Himself, made without hands, be given to Abgar, and Ananias delivered it to him. When Abgar received it, he was healed of the illness that had afflicted him for many years and was baptized, together with his entire household.

Fourth, it is further evident that holy icons may and ought to be venerated from the fact that the Evangelist Luke painted them. Thus, his Life relates:

“He first painted, by the art of painting, an image of the Most Holy Theotokos holding in Her arms the Infant, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is before all ages. He also painted two other icons of the Most Holy Theotokos and brought them to the Mother of the Lord to see whether they were pleasing to Her. When She saw these images of Herself, She spoke once more with Her most pure lips: ‘May the grace of Him who was born of Me, and My own grace, be with these icons.’ Likewise, Saint Luke painted images of the Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul upon wooden panels. Through him, this good and most pure work—the painting of holy icons—began throughout the world.”

Fifth and finally, it is evident that icons may and ought to be venerated from the decrees of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod. When Empress Irene, the wife of the Greek Emperor Leo IV, convened the Seventh Ecumenical Synod at Nicaea in 787, the Synod first decreed that icons of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, the Holy Angels, and the Saints should be used in churches and homes. It further decreed that they should be honored through veneration, kissing, the lighting of lamps before them, and the offering of incense before them. “For the honor,” the Synod declared, “given to the image passes to the prototype, and whoever venerates an icon venerates the person depicted in it.”

From all that has been presented in proof, brethren, the truth should now be clear: holy icons may and ought to be venerated. But one question remains: how ought we to venerate them? Know, then, that when we look upon holy icons and honor them, our minds must be lifted up to God and His Saints. For in icons we honor neither the wood, nor the paints, nor the artistic craftsmanship, but the persons depicted—not for the material images themselves, but for the sake of those whom they represent. We must approach the icons with reverence and bow before them, while directing our veneration toward God and His Saints, who intercede for us before Him.

The Holy Fathers teach us to act in this way toward icons. Here, for example, is what Saint John of Damascus says: “We fall down and venerate, not the material, but the One who is depicted; for we do not venerate the material from which the Gospel or the Cross is made, but that which they represent” (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, Chapter 16).

From these words, learn to lift your souls through the images to those who are depicted and to the Prototype of all perfection and holiness—the Triune God. This is the true veneration of icons, in accordance with the teaching of the Orthodox Church and therefore conducive to your salvation. Amen.

Questions for Discussion 49:

1. What did God command Moses to place in the Tabernacle above the Ark of the Covenant?

2. As what did God appoint the Ark of the Covenant, with the cherubim spreading their wings above it?

3. When was Prince Abgar healed of the illness that had afflicted him for many years?

4. According to the words of the Most Holy Theotokos to the Evangelist Luke, what would be granted to the icons painted by Luke?

5. According to the Seventh Ecumenical Synod, whom does the person who venerates an icon actually venerate?

 

Source: The Cheti-Minei: Homilies for Every Day of the Year (Book 1: September, October, November) by Archpriest Viktor Guryev. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 1896. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.