The issue of icons, which arose in Byzantium at the end of the seventh century, appears in Canon Eighty-Second of the Laws of the Council of Trullo (The Dome). The importance of this text is that it sheds light on the Christological issue.

Text of Law Eighty-Second of the Laws of the Council of Trullo:

“In some of the honored icons we see an image of a lamb and the one pointing at it with his finger. The lamb was considered a symbol of grace. The ancient law referred to Christ our God, who is the true Lamb. But since the ancient drawings and shadows were taken as symbols of truth. We in the Church prefer “grace and truth” and have given them to complement the law. In order for the full body to appear prominent, at least in an eye-colored photo. We command that the Lamb who took away the sins of the world be displayed in pictures from now on in human form instead of the old image of the Lamb. Thus, everyone will understand the depth of the humility of God the Word, and we will be able to bring back to our memories his bodily walk among us, his saving suffering, and his sacrificial death for the whole world.”

 The image of Christ the Lamb appeared to the fathers of the Trullo Council as a prophecy about the historical incarnation that could not express itself symbolically. The lamb is a symbol of Christ, and we cannot draw the symbol of the symbol with the image of a lamb. Rather, there is a need to highlight Christ in “human form.”

Icon Warriors:

Germanus I (715-730), Patriarch of Constantinople, opposed those who protested against icon painting, its warriors, and those who presented arguments against it, starting from the palace of Leo III. He showed hostility toward icons and issued decisions to remove them from churches. We summarize his response as follows: “For the sake of eternal remembrance of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh and His sufferings.” And his saving death and his redemption for the world resulting from his death, we have received a tradition to depict him in his human form, which means his visible divine appearance. It is concluded from this that we thus highlight the humility of God the Word.”[1].

Germanus became the first Orthodox to confront the iconoclasts in Byzantium, and after him Saint John of Damascus assumed the task of defending icons and highlighting their importance ideologically and spiritually, but the pressures of the emperor forced the old pontiff not to complete his mission. So the defense of icons moved to a geographically distant area, to Saint John of Damascus, the monk who lived and wrote in the part resulting from the Arab occupation. This venerable monk at the Monastery of Saint Saba in Palestine, in his three articles: “Defending Icons,” contributed to unifying Orthodox opinion throughout the Byzantine world. The first article to emphasize the Christological document: “The Lord’s drawing of the invisible is not in relation to the fact that He is invisible, but rather in comparison to the fact that He became visible when we shared flesh and blood.”[2].

John lived primarily on the change that occurred in the relationship between God and the visible world when he became a human of his own free will. God became visible because He received material existence by giving matter good work and good value.

Saint John says: “In the Old Testament, God had no body or form, so He could not be represented in any way. But today, since God appeared in the flesh and lived among people, I am able to paint what is visible in God. “I do not honor matter, but I honor the Creator of matter. Who became material because of His love for me. Who endured and accepted life in the body, thus completing my reconciliation through matter.”[3]

In addition to this main belief, Saint John used other, less precise, secondary themes. For example, he relied on the fact that the Old Testament was not completely against icons, because it used some images, especially in worship inside the temple, which Christians could consider as an introduction to the depiction of Christ. The iconoclasts were shamed for likening the icon to the archetype. Their icon is “God.” In this regard, I consider that the methods of Neoplatonism and Origenism used by the iconoclasts are in favor of the Orthodox and support them as well: only the Son and the Spirit are the “natural icon” of the Father. Therefore, they are equal to him. While other images differ fundamentally from him. But they are not idols.

This discussion about the nature of the icon was used to highlight the importance of honoring and defining icons. The matter was accepted by the Seventh Ecumenical Council in the year seven hundred and eighty-seven (787) (the second council of the city of Nicaea). The image and icon are distinguished from the original divine model. We can distinguish it by honorary prostration. Honor goes back to its origin and not worship, because worship is directed only to God [4].

This affirmation, deriving its authority from the Ecumenical Council, clearly forbids the worship of icons, of which we are often accused.

Regarding this topic, the misunderstanding is old and stems from difficulties in translation. The Greek phrase " prosNÚõElslS(Honorary prostration) was translated into Latin as “worship,” in the translation of the Acts of the Councils, which Charlemagne used in his famous “Caroline” books. But after a while, Thomas Aquinas understood the phrase and agreed with the Second Council of Nicaea.
Saint John of Damascus talks about honoring the saints in the church. According to his opinion, this honor is linked to the worship of God, as there is a relationship between the Creator and creatures: oÚsευἱ  ỏε

This general principle applies to honoring saints and their relics and to honoring icons in general. We honor the saints because they are God’s servants, children, and heirs by grace, friends of Christ, and living temples of the Holy Spirit. This honor goes back to God Himself, as He is glorified in His saints and in His faithful servants, whose good deeds we enjoy. In fact, the saints are intercessors for the entire human race.”————-”

—– But we must be careful not to count them as dead. They are always alive, and their very bodies and their very remains deserve our veneration.

These are his ideas that he addressed in the book “The Orthodox Faith” and in the dialogues on icons [5]. He believes that all honoring the saints goes back to Jesus Christ. Honor is given to him, through his saints, their remains, and the things related to them, as well as the Holy Cross and the tools of the Master’s torture, as well as through the places that were sanctified by the presence of the Lord Jesus in it, and by their contact with him, and by the Virgin.[6]. Especially in his defense of icons, which he wrote against iconoclasts and iconoclasts, in which he collected all the sources of his theology in three defenses of icons. Then he summarized it in presenting the Orthodox faith (1, 17, 16).

All his arguments aim to clarify these three points:

• 1 - “There is no representation of the essence of God, but of the incarnate Word.
• 2 - “Honoring icons goes back to their origin.
• 3 - “The icon is a picture book.”

Sacred photography was created with the aim that honoring holy icons is a permissible honor from the theological point of view, and that this honor gives us many blessings, and it acknowledges that we cannot create an image of God that represents Him as He is in His essence. In his invisible, incorporeal, indescribable and infinite nature. If someone tried to draw such a picture, it would be a false picture that has no basis in truth, and this principle is indisputable. Not only according to Damascus, but also among all Byzantine Orthodox theologians who defended icons. Saint John of Damascus addressed harsh words to those trying to represent divinity itself, because such an attempt is the height of stupidity and impiety.

We do not find clarity like this in the West. He acknowledges that the Bible refuses to represent God in images and asks whether the invisible and indescribable God cannot be depicted. Who prevents us from depicting God incarnate from the Virgin His Mother, and from depicting the Mother of God, the saints, and the holy angels? Not only did they appear in visible forms, but especially their energies became apparent, making them capable of being described and drawn. [7]. Sacred iconography has a basis in the truth of things. So, contrary to the so-called iconoclasts, such iconography is not forbidden in the Bible. The Old Testament forbids invented idols but creates an abundance of images. However, we are not under the law, because we have entered into the maturity of Christ. Through his incarnation, God became visible, and in a way he invites us to portray his visible image. Wasn't he the first to make an icon? For He begot the Word before the ages, the perfect image of His essence. Wasn't man made in his own image and likeness? Does it not carry within itself the ideas and images of all things? He wanted the Old Testament to be a picture of the New Testament, and therefore if it is permissible to make icons that represent these truths, then it is permissible to honor them as well.

What Saint John of Damascus said is the Orthodox tradition. If the iconoclasts were right, then the Church was deceived all that time, and this is unreasonable, and this opinion constitutes a condemnation of heretics. They cannot claim that depicting and honoring icons is a form of idolatry, while we should direct our worship to God alone.
Respect and honor for the icon do not address the icon as a simple material, but as an image. This means they show the archetype. This is honor (ΠροσηÚυησις ) He does not stop at the icon, but through it he reaches the first element, according to the words of Saint Basil the Great: “Honoring the icon goes back to its first element.”

If we honor our Lord Jesus Christ, his mother, and the saints, why do we not honor their icons? This is what Saint John of Damascus said to Emperor Leo of Isaurus: “Either you cancel the celebration of the feasts of the saints and allow us to honor their icons.”[8]. Our theologians explain very clearly that worshiping and honoring God takes place in several ways.

There is prostration of worship, which is not permissible for anyone other than God, who is the greatest and master of all creatures. It is worship “ή ησις ηατά λατρείαυ ή λατρεία”  After this extraordinary worship, there are many and different signs of thanksgiving, respect and honor given to creatures because of some of their characteristics given to them, such as honorary prostration, for example, before the relics of a saint, an icon, a holy person, and things designated for divine service, for their majesties, and for any person, because he is the image of God. In this way, venerable prostration of the icon is considered normal.

Considering and respecting the icon gives believers thousands of blessings:

• The icon is a book for those who are unable to read. It reminds us of the entire history of salvation, of God’s work, and of the secrets of His divine management.
• - It is a silent teaching to imitate the example of the saints.
• - It is a channel for the flow of divine blessings. It is a link to grace, and through it, God distributes His goodness and gifts to us. It shares, in some way, the strength and goodness of the first model that it represents. We can say that divine grace and divine work reside and reside in the icon as they reside in the holy remains.
  Since their lives on earth, the saints were filled with the Holy Spirit, and after their death, the divine grace that comes from the Holy Spirit did not depart from their souls, nor from their bodies in the graves, nor from their sacred icons. Not because it is inherently with them, but because through them, blessings work[9].

This is not the idea of Al-Dimashqi alone, but rather the ideas of all the Orthodox fathers, the opinion adopted by the Church at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which defended the honoring of icons and gave us such recommendations.

What the Orthodox wanted to say is that God accepts our honor and rewards us with miracles sometimes, when we honor Him by honoring the holy icons and the remains of the saints.

Archimandrite Panteleimon Farah
Quoted from Orthodox Heritage Magazine

For more information, see the Seventh Ecumenical Council in the History and its Second Era section

[1] Germain I, De haersibus et Synodis; PG 98, 80a

[2] Jean Damascene, or. I; PG 94, 1236C

[3] Jean Damascene, PG 94, 1245A

[4] Mansi, xIII, col. 377 D

[5] “In icons.” 40, III, column 1356.

[6] See especially “On Faith.” 33, III.

[7] “On Faith” 11, 4, II.

[8] І, 21, col. 1253

[9] “Icons” І, 19, c