1/6/2024 0 Comments Orthodox icons![]() ![]() This controversy led to the convening of the 7th Ecumenical Council in 787. In the Eighth Century, a group called the Iconoclasts, under pressure from the encroaching Turks made a move to have the Holy Icons banned and destroyed, causing a great division amongst the Christian Church. The practice of keeping the Holy Orthodox Icons eventually lead to great controversy in the Church. ![]() Among other things, the Orthodox Icon should remind us of the person depicted, that, since death does not end life, the person depicted is “alive in Christ”, and should help us to “imitate their virtues and to glorify God.” These gestures pass over from the Icon to the person depicted. The lighting of a candle, the making of the sign of the Cross, and the kissing of an icon should not be misinterpreted as being made to the physical picture itself. The tendency of people to honor their beloved ones in pictures was reflected in their desire to have the pictures of Christ and the Saints out of respect and honor, for “ the honor which is given to the icon passes over to the prototype“, the person himself. The Christians began to place the icon of Christ in the church, where it was later joined by Orthodox Icons of the Theotokos and all the saints. The Christians emphasized the human nature of Christ in pictures, writings, hymns, and prayers, and thus the portrayal of Christ developed in the course of time into the Orthodox Icon. …the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. The Christians countered this incorrect teaching by emphasizing the reality of Christ as the God-Man, for: The tradition of placing Orthodox Icons in the church and home developed mainly from the necessity in the early second century to counteract the false Gnostic teaching that Christ was only a shadow and not really and fully human.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |