CHRISTIANNEWS.COM.- Iconodulia or iconodulia is the term used to describe the worship of images.
This practice generates debates between the Protestant denominations of Christianity with the Catholic and Orthodox Church (these last two denominations carry out this practice).
The central point of this debate is that Protestants claim that iconodulia is actually a form of idolatry, and according to the Bible, it is a serious fault to make representations of God on earth and worship them.
From a religious point of view, idolatry is the worship of an idol that takes the place of God and is worshiped as if it were, indicates the portal concept definition.
Idolatry is often accompanieda of some kind of ceremony or rite intended for something other than God.
First images of Jesus
The primitive Christian church did not profess the worship of images, but they did use some symbols that represented them such as the Ichthys (fish), the Labarum (Chi-Rho) and an anchor.
The early church had inherited from Judaism the rejection of the idolatry of images. Let us remember what the Old Testament says in Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make an idol, nor any likeness of what is in heaven above, nor on the earth below, nor in the waters under the earth.”
The oldest representations of Jesus date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries and were found on the walls of the catacombs.
Some of the earliest graphic depictions of Jesus usually showed him as a shepherd.
In December 2021 archaeologists from Israel obtained a ring dating from the third century with the representation of the good shepherd.
When the Christian persecution in the Roman Empire ended with the Edict of Milan (313 AD), the images of Jesus began to have even more importance.
Representations of Jesus placed him in a royal toga and a solar halo, and the son of the Father was also associated with the image of the Good Shepherd, reports an article in Wikipedia called representation of Jesus of Nazareth.
Where does iconodulia come from in the Church?
With the Edict of Milan, the Roman Empire, at the hands of Constantine I, allowed religious freedom and the persecution of Christians ceased.
It should be noted that it was a time when most of the cults were polytheistic and the pagan religious worshiped images, statuettes and various symbols, this was a great challenge for evangelization, reports National Geographic.
The philosophy teacher Marianela Nyville, ensures that the Catholic Church began to use the veneration of images as a way of influencing pagans who could neither read nor write.
The images were the most striking and easiest way to bring the gospel to the poor classes, who did not understand the masses on Sundays, which at that time were in Latin.
“Art finds its place of survival in the Catholic Church”, explained the teacher, paraphrasing the book “The beauty of the current”, by the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer.
The iconodulia was normalized in the Bysantine period, and deepened with the arrival of iconoclasm
Iconodulía vs iconoclasm
Iconoclasm means “rupture of images.” It is the deliberate destruction of icons for religious or political reasons.
A fundamental event that generated a strong defense of the veneration of images was the iconoclastic order of the Byzantine Emperor Leo III.
“León decreed a series of edicts against the cult of images that was called the “iconoclastic reform” or “iconoclastic reform (726-729)”, indicates the portal Wikipedia.
According to the writings, Leo III may have made the decision to profess iconoclasm because of “military setbacks in the fight against the Muslims and the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera, which Leo possibly saw as evidence of God’s wrath against the Church.” for his veneration of images”, indicates an article in Wikipedia
Leo III the Isauric’s first iconoclastic action was when he removed an image of Jesus prominently placed over the Chalcis gate, to be replaced with a cross.
Some of the people designated to make the change in the images were murdered at the hands of inoculums (defenders of the veneration of images).
Apparently, the emperor was surprised at the strong opposition to the destruction of sacred images.
A great majority of the theologians and almost all the monks opposed the iconoclastic measures, and in the western part of the Empire the people refused to obey the edict.
At that time, the Roman Church had a strong iconoclastic character, says the philosophy professor Marianela Nyville.
In Italy, Popes Gregory II and Gregory III maintained a defiant attitude against the iconoclastic emperor, holding several councils to excommunicate from the church those who were in favor of eliminating “sacred” images. This occurred between the years (730 and 732).
Iconoclastic inheritance
Leo’s son, Constantine V, became emperor after his father’s death. He organized the Council of Hieria in 754 where more than 330 bishops who supported iconoclasm participated.
However, the council of Hieria could not appease the practices of iconodulia. The monasteries were strongholds in favor of veneration.
During that moment, Juan Damascene, a monk and theologian, defender of iconodulia in his writings and was the main opponent of the iconoclasts, appears.
However, Constantine reacted with great force and had all the relics thrown into the sea and stopped the invocation of the saints.
Constantine’s son, Leo IV, tried during his tenure to mediate between iconodules and iconoclasts, however, he also took strong action against Christian images.
Subsequently, Constantine’s wife, Irene, who had a reputation for venerating images, became regent and revoked the decrees of the previous iconoclastic council held at Constantinople and Hieria.
The veneration of images lasted throughout Irene’s reign and after the three subsequent terms.
Second iconoclastic period
After more than 30 years in which the veneration of images was allowed, the second iconoclastic period arrived, which lasted from 814 to 842.
Leo V had instituted iconoclasm in the kingdom, possibly because he associated military defeats with idolatry.
The revival of iconoclasm was made official in 815 by a synod held at Hagia Sophia.
After León, came the mandates, also iconoclastic, of the emperors Miguel II and Teófilo, the latter died, leaving Teodora as regent.
Theodora mobilized the iconodules and proclaimed the restoration of the images in 843, ending the iconoclasm movement in the Catholic Church.
Present
Today, the Catholic Church maintains the iconodulia. This denomination argues that the images are only a reminder of spiritual realities.
Likewise, Catholics separate the veneration of images with adoration, assuring that they honor images but do not glorify them.
According to the interpretation of the Catholic Church Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 4:15, the creation of images is not condemned, but the construction of idols, this according to the translation of the word pesel.
However, we can easily see how the Catholic Church shows great devotion to images, as if they were God himself.
For their part, the Protestant denominations preserve the teaching of the primitive church, which avoids the worship of idols at all costs, just as God commands in Deuteronomy: 5:8-9.
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