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Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
s (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, εἰκόνα – ''
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
(image)'' + el, δοῦλος – ''servant''), meaning "one who serves images (icons)". It is also referred to as iconophilism (also iconophily or iconophilia from el, εἰκόνα – ''
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
(image)'' + el, φιλέω – ''love'') designating a positive attitude towards the religious use of icons. In the history of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
, iconodulism (or iconophilism) was manifested as a moderate position, between two extremes:
iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...
(radical opposition to the use of icons) and
iconolatry Iconolatry (Greek: εἰκών, ''eikon'', 'picture or image', + λατρεία, '' latreia'', 'veritable (full) worship or adoration') designates the idolatric worship or adoration of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconolatry was manif ...
(idolatric veritable (full) adoration of icons).


History

In contrast to moderate or respectful
adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, or love in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something". Ancient Rome In classical Rome, adorat ...
, various forms of
latria Latria or latreia (also known as latreutical worship) is a theological term (Latin ''Latrīa'', from the Greek λατρεία, ''latreia'') used in Catholic theology and Eastern Orthodox theology to mean adoration, a reverence directed only t ...
of icons (''iconolatry'') were also starting to appear, mainly in popular worship. Since veritable (full) adoration was reserved for God alone, such an attitude towards icons as objects was seen as a form of
idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the ...
. In reaction to that, the idolatrous misuse of icons was criticized and by the beginning of the 8th century some radical forms of criticism (''iconoclasm'') were also starting to emerge, arguing not only against adoration of icons, but also against any form of adoration and use of icons in religious life. The iconoclastic controversy emerged in the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and lasted through the 8th and the 9th centuries. The most famous ''iconodules'' (proponents of the veneration of icons) during that time were saints
John of Damascus John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and ...
and
Theodore the Studite Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. ...
. The controversy was instigated by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III in 726, when he ordered the removal of the image of Christ above the Chalke Gate of the imperial palace in Constantinople. Lowden, John. (1997) ''Early Christian and Byzantine Art''. London:
Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional o ...
, p. 155.
A wider prohibition of icons followed in 730. St. 
John of Damascus John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and ...
argued successfully that to prohibit the use of icons was tantamount to denying the
incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
, the presence of the Word of God in the material world. Icons reminded the church of the physicality of God as manifested in
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
. Kissing and respected worship ( el, «ἀσπασμόν καί τιμητικήν προσκύνησιν»; lat, «osculum et honorariam adorationem»), incense and candles for icons was established by the
Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...
(Seventh
Ecumenical Council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...
) in 787. The Council decided that icons should not be destroyed, as was advocated and practiced by the iconoclasts, nor veritable (full) worshiped or adored ( el, «ἀληθινήν λατρείαν»; lat, «veram latriam»), as was practiced by iconolatrists, but they needed to be kissed and they needed respectful worship as symbolic representations of God, angels or saints. Such a position was approved by
Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...
, but due to mis-translations of conciliar acts from Greek into Latin, a controversy arose in the Frankish kingdom, resulting in the creation of
Libri Carolini The ''Libri Carolini'' ("Charles' books"), more correctly ''Opus Caroli regis contra synodum'' ("The work of King Charles against the Synod"), is a work in four books composed on the command of Charlemagne in the mid 790s to refute the conclusions ...
. The last outburst of iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire was overcome at the Council of Constantinople in 843, which reaffirmed the adoration of icons in an event celebrated as the
Feast of Orthodoxy The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat ...
. The
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
(XIX Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church) in 1563 confirmed iconodulism. But this council, unlike the Council of Nicaea, used a different expression in relation to icons: "honour and veneration" ( lat, honorem et venerationem). Its decree reads: "we kiss, and before which we uncover the head, and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints, whose similitude they bear" ( lat, «ita ut per imagines, quas osculamur, et coram quibus caput aperimus, et procumbimus, Christum adoremus, et Sanctos quorum illae similitudinem gerunt, veneremur»).The Council of Trent. The Twenty-Fifth Session. On the invocation, veneration, and relics of saints and of sacred images./ The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent, / Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848), 232-89.
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See also

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Byzantine iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...
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Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...
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Iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
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Idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the ...
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Iconolatry Iconolatry (Greek: εἰκών, ''eikon'', 'picture or image', + λατρεία, '' latreia'', 'veritable (full) worship or adoration') designates the idolatric worship or adoration of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconolatry was manif ...


References


Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Byzantine Iconoclasm Christian terminology pl:Ikonodulia