Most evangelical churches don’t have icons. They could have an empty crucifix on the front or modern portraits of Jesus in a pastor’s office. This is typical for a lot of Protestant churches that don’t have a high church background, which is comprehensible.
We would see major differences if we walked into an Eastern Orthodox Church or a Roman (or Byzantine) Catholic Church. One of those differences is the portrait kinds of Christ, Mary and the Apostles, the saints, and even figures from the Old Testament. The style is generally known as Iconography, which dates back to the early church and remains to be used. It continues today in high church denominations, including some Protestant ones similar to Lutheran churches and Anglicans.
We may find icons confusing and even concerning if we’re unfamiliar with them. As a former evangelical who became an Anglican Catholic, I understand. I used to be confused and anxious for some time, and it took me just a few years to beat that fear and embrace it.
Even if someone doesn’t embrace Christian iconography, they’ll at the least respect it. However, doing which means having an accurate, authentic understanding of what icons are and where they arrive from.
What Is Iconography?
As previously mentioned, iconography or holy icons depict Christ and church figures in a really precise and traditional way. One may even see it as an ancient art, nevertheless it is way more than that for the high churches of Christianity. As Fr. Geoff Harvey of Good Shepherd Orthodox Church puts it,
“Icons have been described as ‘Theology written in images and color.’ Icons usually are not just pictures — they’re sacred images, which convey spiritual truth in picture form, and are sometimes described as windows to heaven.”
The purpose of iconography just isn’t just having it in a single’s house, like a photograph of 1’s family. Icons aid in worship and prayer. They may appear within the sanctuary of high churches or prayer corners in individual homes. Whatever their location, they assist people give attention to Christ as they reflect on Christ and the saints.
A typical misconception about iconography is that individuals worship them. For example, in the course of the eighth century, Muslims and pagans accused Christians within the Byzantine Empire of idol worship due to their crucifixes and iconography. Not only is that this false nevertheless it has been debunked repeatedly because the early church (we’ll get to that in a bit). This false claim not only inaccurately defines our high church brothers and sisters, nevertheless it results in bearing false witness against them—which the ten commandments warn us to not do.
We will return to how icons are utilized in worship and prayer momentarily. First, we want to know the history of iconography.
When Did Christians Begin Using Iconography?
Before Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity in 313 A.D., Christians were persecuted and underground—metaphorically and physically. They often worshipped in catacombs, a burial ground place that pagans used.
While Christians didn’t agree with a few of these pagan customs, they redeemed the situation by making it a sight of worship by adding Christian paintings and mosaics. Scholars now consider the Christian art present in the catacombs to be the origin of iconography.
The images were easy and sometimes subtle to forestall Roman suspicion. For example, they often used symbols (similar to anchors or the Chi-Rho) to represent Christ or biblical concepts. After the legalization of Christianity, iconography found its place in church buildings.
Why Was Iconography Important to the Church?
Icons also served a vital practical purpose in church history: most individuals were illiterate, so images conveyed Christian ideas to individuals who couldn’t use books. Even when people could read, few Bibles were available. As Fr. Chris Margaritis states in an interview about Orthodox Easter, “for three-quarters of the church life until the 1500s, we didn’t have Bibles.”
Before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, Bibles needed to be translated by hand, making them scarce in available copies. As Margaritis observes later within the interview, the Eastern Orthodox Church still had difficulty accessing printed Bibles because the Muslim-controlled Ottoman Empire ruled southeastern Europe from the 1400s to the 1800s.
Since icons often taught biblical content when nothing else was available, Orthodox churches developed a selected structure: the icons tell the story of the Bible and church history. The left side typically shows icons of the Old Testament figures, the middle shows Gospel stories, and the suitable side shows the early church and later saints. The ceiling often shows a big icon of Christ surrounded by the apostles and prophets—connecting all the things, and the congregation, to Christ and his clouds of witnesses as Hebrews 12:1-2 instructs.
From teaching to prayer and worship, iconography played an important role for the early Christians and continues to assist hundreds of thousands worldwide today.
However, this doesn’t mean icons haven’t been controversial sometimes. Christians have argued about their usage time and time again—and a few, like John Calvin and the Puritans, have stamped out their usage. So, why have Christians argued about icons? How have high church Christians typically responded to the debates?
Why Have Christians Debated Iconography?
Concerns about whether icons had change into something Christians worshipped as an alternative of using them to worship God led to 2 sides: iconoclasts who forbade icons and iconophiles who supported their use.
Byzantine Emperor Leo III forbade iconography usage in 730 A.D., which became generally known as the iconoclast controversy. While some agreed, many in Western Europe under the Bishop of Rome disagreed. One critic was John of Damascus, who wrote the “Discourse on Sacred Images,” a profound defense of iconography.
This growing divide in Christendom eventually led to the second Council of Nicaea, which occurred in 787 A.D. Empress Irene of Athens hosted the council, with over 367 Bishops discussing the iconoclast issue. John of Damascus’ writings and popularity served him well at this meeting, as he famously stated,
“Of old God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was not depicted in any respect. But now that God has appeared within the flesh and lived amongst humans, I make a picture of the God who may be seen. I don’t worship matter but I worship the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned, to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation. I is not going to stop from worshipping the matter through which my salvation has been effected.”
In other words, he claimed that Christians don’t worship icons however the one who’s depicted, i.e., Christ and Christ alone. The council decided to reinstate icons for prayer and worship.
Iconoclasm eventually returned in the course of the latter years of the Reformation. While Martin Luther approved icons, other reformers (similar to Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and eventually the Puritans) thought otherwise. They often removed (sometimes destroyed) icons, including crosses, as they saw any image as a distraction or an idol.
How Can Christians Gracefully Discuss Iconography?
Iconography stays a heated debate between Christians, especially on the web. Both sides have their points. We can understand the Protestant caution to not fall into idolatry. We can even understand the high church emphasis on respecting the church’s history and tradition or artwork that honors God. So, how can we civilly discuss the issue and respect differences?
First, we are able to do our research. If we disagree with one side, we are able to go to direct sources to see their arguments reasonably than biased sources that fit our view. We could make some extent to see expert sources—what historians and clergy advise.
Second, we are able to practice viewing one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to construct relationships and love our neighbors well. Being hostile from the beginning divides and provides ammunition to unbelievers who already consider Christians don’t love one another well.
Third, be open to the opportunity of change. We often assume we have now all our theological opinions found out and airtight, only to search out that generations of Christians have held other perspectives. Even in case your mind just isn’t completely modified, your heart towards others may be.
Take it from me. I used to be an Evangelical Christian for over 20 years who consistently criticized Christians who used icons. In 2022, I humbly switched sides after studying high church Christianity and have become an Anglican Catholic who openly uses and loves iconography.
In a digital age with countless resources, allow us to use knowledge to know and respect others. You may even learn something recent.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Oleksandr Hryvul
Trey Soto holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from Biola University and an M.A. in Communication Management from the University of Denver. He is a photographer, a author, and a podcast host at T.V. Trey Podcast. You can see more of his work on his Wix portfolio.
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