Concerning Sacred Depictions and Sacred Objects

By New Martyr Nicholas Varzhansky (+1918)

 

 

In Holy Scripture a great deal is said concerning sacred depictions and sacred objects. Some depictions were absolutely forbidden as being false; one could not make them, possess them or honour them. However, God did command the making of other images and objects, and it was ordained that they should be considered holy and be honoured. First let us consider the false depictions.

False depictions and objects were absolutely forbidden by the Second Commandment of the Law given on Sinai:

"I am the Lord thy God, Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; thou shalt have no other gods before My face. Thou shalt not make unto thee any idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow thyself down to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God" (Ex. 20:2-5; Deut. 5:6-9).

The false depictions are the idols of:

The calf (Ex. 32:4); Moloch (Lev. 18:21); Baal-phegor (Numbers 25:3); Baal (Judges 2:13; 3 [1] Kings 18:21-29); Astarte (Judges 2:13).

The idols are nothing:

"We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but One" (1 Cor. 4-6).

Idols are the works of the hands of men:

"The customs of the people are vanity; they cut down a tree in the forest, they work it with the hands of the carpenter with the help of the axe; they cover it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and the hammer, that it move not. They are as turned columns, but they do not speak; they must needs be borne because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them for they cannot cause evil, and neither is in their power to do good" (Jer. 10:3-5).

The laws of nature do not yield to the idols:

"Every man is mindless in his understanding; every smelter is shamed by his graven image, for what he hath fashioned is false, and there is no breath in them. It is a complete vanity, the work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they shall perish" (Jer. 10:14-15).

The idols cause depravity and abomination:

"The idea of making idols is the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them the dissipation of life" (Wisdom of Solomon 14:12). 

Near the idol of Astarte there was a house of ill-fame. Osias the king "brought" the Astarte "out of the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook of Kedron, and he burned it at the brook of Kedron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof out upon the cemetery of the peoples. And he brake down the houses of ill-fame, which were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove garments for Astarte, and he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah" (4 [2] Kings 23:6-8).

God commands to make true depictions:

"Make ye an ark of shittim wood, two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof" (Ex. 25:10).

"Make thou a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And make thou two cherubims of gold, make thou them of beaten work, at the two ends of the mercy seat. Arid make one cherubim at the one end and the other cherubim at the other end; standing out from the mercy seat make the the cherubims on both its ends, and the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall be one to another; towards the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And place the mercy seat above the ark on high, and in the ark place the revelation, that I shall give thee" (Ex. 25:17-21).

"Moreover make thou the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and cherubims of skillful work make thou on them" (Ex. 26:1).

"And make thou a veil of blue, and purple and scarlet stuff and of fine twined linen; cherubims of skillful workmanship must be made upon it" (Ex. 26:31).

The Ark of the Covenant was itself called Lord:

"When the ark was taken up on the way, Moses said: Arise, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy face! And when the ark rested, he said: Return, O Lord, unto the ten thousand thousands of lsrael!" (Number 10:35-36).

"Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet, for it is holy” (Ps.98:5).

David spoke before the ark and he said: "Before the Lord will I play and will dance, and I will be more abased, and will make myself even more lowly in mine eyes" (2 Kings [Samuel] 6:21-22).

The ark was called God as being the highest holy thing of God:

"O God, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst traverse the wilderness, the earth was shaken and the heavens dropped dew, at the presence of the God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel"(Ps. 67:8-9).

God commands to make sacred objects:

"Make thou an altar of offering, from shittim wood make thou it" (Ex. 30:1).

"Upon it Aaron shall burn sweet-smelling incense every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense thereon; and when Aaron lighteth the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense thereon - a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations" (Ex. 30:7-8).

"And make thou a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work must this candlestick be." "And make thou seven lamps therefor, and set its lamps thereon that they might light over against it" (Ex. 25:31;37).

The tabernacle, the sacred depictions and objects were sanctified and most holy.

"Make thou of it a chrism for sacred anointing, an ointment, compounded by the art of one who compounds ointments; it shall be chrism for sacred anointing; and anoint thou the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all that pertains thereto, and the candlestick and all that pertains thereto, and the altar of incense, and the altar of the whole burnt offering and all that pertains thereto, and the laver and its stand; and sanctify them and it shall be a holy great thing: all who touch them shall be sanctified" (Ex. 30:25-29).

All the sacred objects and depictions were made not only by God's command, but also according to the pattern revealed by Him:

"Make thou them according to that pattern, which was shown thee on the mountain" (Ex. 25:40).

True depictions were not only found in the tabernacle, but also in the Temple of Solomon:

"He made two cherubims of olive wood, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherubim, and five cubits the other wing of the cherubim; from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherubim was ten cubits; both the cherubims were of one measure and of one form. The height of one cherubim was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherubim. And he set the cherubims in the centre of the inner part of the temple. The wings of the cherubims were stretched forth, and the wing of one touched one wall and the wing of the other cherubim touched the other wall; and the other wings came together wing upon wing in the midst of the temple. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. And on all the walls of the temple around he made various depictions of cherubims, and of palm trees, and of open flowers, within and without" (3 [1] Kings 6:23 -29).

The Lord sanctified this Temple and approved Solomon on its account:

"The Lord appeared unto Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gabaoth. And the Lord said unto him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou has made before Me (I have done all according to thy prayer). I have hallowed this temple, which thou hast built, that My name might continue there unto the age; and Mine eyes and My heart shall be there in all days… But if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye or your sons, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes that I have given you, but go and begin to serve other gods and worship them, then will I cut off Israel from the face of the land, which I have given it, and the temple which I have sanctified for My name will I turn away from My face, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this temple, which is high, everyone that passeth by shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say: Why hath the Lord acted thus with this land and with this temple? And they shall say: Because they forsook the Lord their God, Who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and did take unto themselves other gods and worshipped them and served them; therefore hath the Lord brought all this calamity upon them" (3 [1] Kings 9:2-3, 6-9).

There were sacred depictions in the true temple seen in vision by the Prophet Ezekiel:

"Show them the form of the temple and the fashion thereof… and all the images thereof" (Ezek. 43:11).

Idols were always distinguished from true depictions. The Lord sanctified the temple with its true depictions, but when Solomon introduced false depictions the Lord condemned him:

"And Solomon began to serve Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milchom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did what was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord, and followed not the Lord wholly, as had David his father. Then did Solomon build an idol-temple to Chalmos, the abomination of the Moabites, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and to Moloch the abomination of the Ammonites. And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and offered sacrifices unto their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of lsrael, Which had appeared unto him twice, and commanded him that he not follow after other gods, but he did not fulfil that which the Lord (God) had commanded him. And the Lord said unto Solomon: Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it unto thy servant" (3 [1] Kings 11:5-11).

The Hebrews used to worship and bow down before sacred objects:

"I shall worship toward Thy holy temple" (Ps. 5:8).

"I will worship towards Thy holy temple" (Ps. 137:2).

At the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron "fell upon their faces" (Number 20:16).

Jesus of Navi [Joshua] "fell to the earth upon his face before the ark" (Josh. 7:6).

They lit lamps before these sacred objects, following the teaching of the Lord Himself Who said unto Moses: 

"Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold … and thou shalt make seven lamps therefore, and place its lamps thereon, that they might give light over against it. And the tongs thereof and the snuffers thereof shall be of pure gold … and look that thou make them after the pattern which was showed thee on the mount" (Ex. 25:31, 37-40; see Ex. 27:20, 21; 30:8; Lev. 24:2; 2 Chronicles 4:40).

They burned incense as the Lord commanded Moses:

"Thou shalt make … censers … and thou shalt make an altar to offer incense thereon… and Aaron shall burn thereon fragrant incense" (Ex. 25:29, 30:1,7).

Candles and offerings in the temple of the Lord were not denied even in the New Testament, for the Saviour says (Matt. 5:21-24): if thou bring thy gift to the altar and the rest; and see also Hebrews 13:10; the Saviour's tribute money for the temple (Matt. 17:24-27); the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-44).

Miracles were worked through sacred object:

The Ark was taken by the Philistines into the temple of Dagon and for this reason Dagon was overthrown, and the Philistines were punished with grievous tormenting haemorrhoids (1 Kings [Samuel] 5:1-6).

"And He (the Lord) smote the inhabitants of Bethsamis, because they had looked upon the ark of the Lord, and He smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter" (1 Kings [Samuel] 6:19).

"Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God (to steady it) and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. But the Lord was angered against Uzzah, and God smote him for his boldness, and he died there by the ark of God" (2 Kings [Samuel] 6:6-7).

The Saviour did not condemn the true depictions in the Temple of Jerusalem, but on the contrary He said:

"My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer" (Mark 11:17; Matt. 21:13; Luke 19:46; John 2:16).

The apostles prayed and worshipped in this Temple:

"That thou mayest understand," said the Apostle Paul, "that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship" (Acts 24:11).

The Lord appeared to the Apostle Paul in the Temple showing that prayers offered in churches with sacred depictions are acceptable to God:

The Apostle Paul says: "When I was come again unto Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance and saw Him (Christ)" (Acts 22:14-18).

The Lord promised to reveal Himself to those who would keep His Commandments:

"He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him" (John 14:21). This implies that the prayer of the Apostle Paul in the Temple before the icons was acceptable in that the Lord once appeared to the Apostle Paul during such prayer.

The Lord founded the New Testament Church and in the true Church there are sacred objects such as the holy icons:

Prior to the Second Coming, the Antichrist will come, the "man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is holy, so that he shall sit in the temple of God, as God, shewing himself to be God" (2 Thess. 2:3-4).

This means that before the coming of Christ, the Christians will have churches of God, and in them will be holy things "called God". 

These holy things "called God" as the Apostle says are the holy icons. [1] We depict:

●        God the Father, as the Prophet Daniel saw Him, as the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9). [2]

●        The Son of God - the Incarnate Word, as the Holy Apostles beheld Him (John 1:14).

●        The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, as He descended on the Saviour "in bodily form" (Luke 3:22).

We also have depictions of the Mother of the Lord, the Holy Angels, the Holy Apostles and of all who pleased God. For us, the icons are primarily for the remembrance of God, of the sacred events, of the instructive lives of the Lord and of the saints. Also, icons set forth the teachings of God and invoke religious feelings in us. Through icons we glorify God as we do through sacred singing and music. Christians have always had icons, and there never was a time when the Christians had absolutely no icons. This is shown not only by Scripture but also by the whole history of the Church. The Roman Catacombs, in which the Christians used to pray at the beginning of the Faith of Christ on earth, are abundant in icons.

Wherefore we must ask the sectarians: How can they be they Christians if they have no divine holy things? How is it that they have no holy icons?

A Selection of Refutations of the Dissenters

The Dissenters say: Exodus 20:4-5; images are forbidden, which means that icons are forbidden.

The Orthodox reply: It is idols of false gods that are forbidden. Through true depictions we remember and glorify the true God. These depictions are not forbidden: Ex. 25:8-10, 17-21; 26:1,31 etc.

The Dissenters say: Esaias [Isaiah] 17:7-8.

The Orthodox reply: This concerns the idols of Astarte and Baal and their altars, not true depictions.

The Dissenters say: Esaias 31:7.

The Orthodox reply: This concerns idols.

The Dissenters say: Esaias 42:8; 48:11.

The Orthodox reply: Here is says that the True God will not give His glory to a false god (an idol).

The Dissenters say: Esaias 44:8-28.

The Orthodox reply: Here it speaks about the making of idols, about their being unnecessary and vain, but it says nothing here about true representations. Moreover, here the Lord promises the building of the Temple of Jerusalem (Esaias 44:28.) showing that material sacred objects are permitted.

The Dissenters say: Jeremias 2:26-28.

The Orthodox say: We do not forget God, but rather strive to remember Him by His depictions.

The Dissenters say: “Thus saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord, neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they approach it, neither shall that be done any more” (Jer. 3:16).

The Orthodox reply: We do not mourn the loss of the ark because now we have Christ God. It is clear though that the commandments forbidding idols were not violated by sacred depictions or by the ark, the cherubims and the rest.

The Dissenters say: Deut. 4:15-17. All representations are therefore categorically forbidden.

The Orthodox reply: Here it speaks of the likenesses and idols of other gods. Moreover the True God is a jealous God and will not have mercy when man begins to serve other gods. However the Orthodox do not make false idols, only true depictions of the one true God. Similarly we depict the good servants of the one God, the holy Angels and the saints. A depiction of God is not a substitute for God, but recalls Him and instructs concerning the true God, just as a portrait of the king does not replace, but rather brings to mind, the earthly king.

The Dissenters say: Jer. 10:3-15.

The Orthodox reply: Here it concerns idols, and not true depictions, which are permitted (see Ex. 25:8-10, 17-21).

The Dissenters say: See the Book of Jeremias.

The Orthodox reply: This concerns idols and not true representations, which are permitted.

The Dissenters say: Acts 17:24-31.

The Orthodox reply: We do not think that the Divinity is gold, silver, or stone carved by men. But we ask the question: Is God actually paper, printed with letters? No. But we use paper to refer to God by writing the name ‘God’. Is God actually an angel or a stranger? No. But God appeared in the form of three strangers (see Genesis, chapter 18) and in the form of an Angel (see Judges, chapter 6).

Yes, we depict God in those forms in which He appeared to people; and Christ in the appearance that He had when he lived on earth; the Holy Spirit, as He appeared in a bodily form, in the form of a dove (Luke 3:22); God the Father in the appearance of the "Ancient of Days" that is as an Elder, as was seen in the vision of the Prophet Daniel (7:9) and also the angels, the Mother of God and the saints.

The Dissenters say: Romans 1:21-23. The Apostle forbids sacred depictions.

The Orthodox reply: The Church has never changed the glory of the incorruptible God. The sacred depictions, they do not stand with us "in place of the Creator," as do idols with the pagans. Just as a portrait of the king does not replace the king, so sacred depictions do not replace Christ God, Whom the holy icon commemorates.

The Dissenters say: Psalms 113 and 134.

The Orthodox reply: Here Scripture speaks of idols.

The Dissenters say: John 1:18. No one has seen God at any time and it is completely impossible to represent Him.

The Orthodox reply: It is possible, because "the Only Begotten Son, Which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath revealed Him" (John 1:18). "And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him" (Luke 3:22). So we represent the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, as the Lord manifested Himself.

The Dissenters say: It is not necessary to speak of Old Testament depictions because Hebrew 9:5 now applies.

The Orthodox reply: Then don't read about them in the Bible, and cross these references out! But this one cannot do, but one must rather read Chapter Nine of Hebrews intelligently, and not like sectarians. The Apostle Paul spoke of the Old Testament sacred objects which were well known to the Jews, to whom this epistle was sent, not in order to deny them, which is inadmissible, but rather to instruct the Jews that it is possible to flee idols and yet to hold to physical sacred objects such as was God's command to Israel.

The Dissenters say: Why don't all icons work miracles?

The Orthodox reply: Why did not all the clothes of the Apostles work miracles, but only the Apostle Paul's "handkerchiefs and aprons" (Acts 19:12)?

The Dissenters say: If the icons are gods, then they should cry out when we hack at them and should strike those who mock them. This does not happen, which means that icons are not gods.

The Orthodox reply: No one recognizes them as gods, but only as sacred depictions. We should not be surprised that blasphemers of the icons are not immediately punished. Likewise, the soldiers and servants of Caiaphas hit Christ, spat at and mocked Him, but were not immediately punished; these acts, however, resulted in divine punishment after death. In like manner those sectarians who blaspheme will be visited with punishment.

In conclusion we say that the verses in Scripture that refer to idols do not refer to icons. Regarding idols: we do not have them in church. 

 

1. St. Nicholas’s meaning is clearer when we consider that the Russian word for 'icon corner' is bog – the same word as that used for God in Church Slavonic. St. Nicholas is not of course saying that icons are gods. An icon can never be consubstantial with the prototype because it has a different nature. The idea that two objects can be identical and yet different is explained by St. Theodore the Studite: ‘As in the Trinity Christ differs from the Father in hypostasis, so He differs from His own image in nature’.

The icon and the prototype are however connected – there is a participation of one in the other. An icon is connected to the person painted on it because the honour given to the image is transmitted to the prototype (the person painted on it). St. John of Damascus explains: ‘Matter is endued with a divine power through prayer made to those who are depicted in image. Purple by itself is simple, and so is silk, and the cloak which is made of both. But if the king put it on, the cloak receives honour from the honour due to the wearer. So is it with matter. By itself it is of no account, but if the one presented in image be full of grace, men become partakers of his grace according to their faith.’

The Fathers of the Seventh Oecumenical Council clearly state that we offer ‘relative worship’ to the icons. The original Greek word can also be translated as ‘venerate’. ‘Absolute worship’ or ‘adoration’ is offered to God alone.

2. The Father is shown as the Ancient of Days in many older icons but the 1667 Council of Moscow condemned this practice. The dispute over whether the Son or the Father should be shown as the Ancient of Days still continues however. 

Sources:

https://brookwoodblogger.blogspot.com/2018/10/concerning-sacred-depictions-and-sacred.html

https://brookwoodblogger.blogspot.com/2018/11/concerning-sacred-depictions-and-sacred.html