St John Damascene on Holy Images (πρὸς τοὺς διαβάλλοντας τᾶς ἁγίας εἰκόνας). Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption (κοίμησις)John of Damascus, Saint
Religion
St John Damascene on Holy Images (πρὸς τοὺς διαβάλλοντας τᾶς ἁγίας εἰκόνας). Followed by Three Sermons on the Assumption (κοίμησις)
John of Damascus, Saint
Icons -- Cult; Idols and images -- Worship; Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint -- Assumption -- Sermons -- Early works to 1800
As we are treating of images and their worship, let us draw out the
meaning more accurately and say in the first place what an image is; (2)
Why the image was made; (3) How many kinds of images there are; (4) What
may be expressed by an image, and what may not; (5) Who first made
images. Again, as to worship: (1) What is worship; (2) How many kinds of
worship there are; (3) What are the things worshipped in Scripture; (4)
That all worship is for God, who is worshipful by nature; (5) That
honour shown to the image is given to the original.
1st Point.—_What is an Image?_
An image is a likeness and representation of some one, containing in
itself the person who is imaged. The image is not wont to be an exact
reproduction of the original. The image is one thing, the person
represented another; a difference is generally perceptible, because the
subject of each is the same. For instance, the image of a man may give
his bodily form, but not his mental powers. It has no life, nor does it
speak or feel or move. A son being the natural image of his father is
somewhat different from him, for he is a son, not a father.
2nd Point.—_For what purpose the Image is made._
Every image is a revelation and representation of something hidden. For
instance, man has not a clear knowledge of what is invisible, the spirit
being veiled to the body, nor of future things, nor of things apart and
distant, because he is circumscribed by place and time. The image was
devised for greater knowledge, and for the manifestation and
popularising of secret things, as a pure benefit and help to salvation,
so that by showing things and making them known, we may arrive at the
hidden ones, desire and emulate what is good, shun and hate what is
evil.
3rd Point.—_How many kinds of Images there are._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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