Aniconism in the first centuries of Christianity

This 3rd chapter of Early Christian Attitudes toward Images reviews the literature and artistic monuments from the first three centuries of Christian history. What do these witnesses tell us about the attitudes of early Christians toward images? Were they aniconic and iconophobic, as some say, or were they able to distinguish between idolatrous and non idolatrous art and baptize the latter as a means of preaching the Gospel in forms and colors?

Journal For the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2013

This study offers an overview of the opposing attitudes towards the image worship in the Early Christianity and the Late Antiquity. It shows that a dichotomy between creation and veneration of images on one side and iconoclastic tendencies on the other side persisted in the Christian tradition throughout the first seven centuries. While the representations of holy figures and holy events increased in number throughout the Byzantine Empire, they led to a puritanical reaction by those who saw the practice of image worship as little removed from the anthropomorphic features of polytheistic religious cults. Hence, as the role of images grew so did the resistance against them, and the two contrasting positions in the Christian context initiated the outbreak of the Iconoclastic Controversy, when the theological discourse concerning icons became ever more subtle, culminating in the development of the iconophile and iconoclastic teachings on the holy images. Both the iconophile and the iconoclasts based their apologia on passages from the Synoptic Gospels, evidence of the artistic tradition as well as florilegia or systematic collections of excerpts from the works of the Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers of the early period in support of their claim; much of this evidence is surveyed in this paper, although the Iconoclastic Controversy is not analysed.

This paper examines the evolution of the Greek letter Chi (X) as a symbol of Christ and its connection to Christian and pre-Christian traditions, with a focus on its integration into the development of the cross as the central Christian emblem. Beginning with Chi’s pre-Christian significance in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly in Plato’s Timaeus, where it represents the cosmic intersection of the celestial equator and ecliptic, the study explores how early Christians adopted this symbol to articulate theological truths. The Chi, often combined with Rho to form the Christogram Chi-Rho (☧), became a cornerstone of early Christian iconography, symbolizing Christ’s name and cosmic sovereignty. The paper further traces the transition from abstract Christograms to the physical cross as a symbol of atonement and redemption, emphasizing Constantine’s pivotal role in popularizing the Chi-Rho after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Variants of the cross, including T-shaped and X-shaped designs, are explored alongside their theological and cultural significance. Modern interpretations of Chi, such as its use in abbreviations like “Xmas” and “Xtian,” reflect its enduring relevance while highlighting misconceptions and cultural shifts. This study also critiques the veneration of icons while advocating for the preservation of art and symbol as cultural heritage. By tracing the journey of Chi (X) and the cross from antiquity to the present, the paper underscores their theological importance and their role in bridging historical, cultural, and denominational divides, offering insights into the adaptability and enduring significance of Christian symbols in a pluralistic world.

This first chapter of Early Christian Attitudes Toward Images sets out the problem: Were the Christians of the first three centuries aniconic and iconophobic, that is without any images and opposed to them as idols? The Hostility Theory says yes they were on both accounts. Further chapters, will attempt to prove the Hostility Theory false.

This article is primarily concerned with the question of understanding of notions and phenomena such are idolatry, iconolatry, and image in the framework of religious culture in European and Levant history from classic – antique age until late modern times. Since the topic is broad, the article is composed as a short discussion about main ideas and problems connected to the understanding and the interpretations of the notion of idolatry and images that were and are presented in public and scholar discourse. Theoretical basics for his article were taken from the work of several prominent post-modern scholars and researchers of scientific and academic fields of visual culture and art history such as Hans Belting, Michael Baxandall, David Freedberg, Peter Burke. In addition to this, the semiotic approach, as well as theory of media and communication was also engaged in the analysis conducted in the article. Keywords: Images, Christianity, cult, object, icons, visual

This second chapter of Early Christian Attitudes Toward Images sets out the Jewish attitude to images in Biblical and post Biblical times. It tries to show that Judaism is able to distinguish between idolatrous and non-idolatrous art and to make use of the latter for its own purposes.

PRIVATPORTRÄT Die Darstellung realer Personen in der spätantiken und byzantinischen Kunst, 2020

In late-antique theological discourse, copying portraits of the saints – painting icons from icons, as Basil of Caesarea describes – proves a consistent metaphor for the spiritual perfection of the soul. Christians followed the saintly exemplars, endeavoring to trace the life of the spiritually accomplished in their own lives, to paint their souls with all the colors of virtue, indeed, to become icons of icons. We may dismiss this as mere rhetorical flourish. Yet there were underlying notions about the ability of portraiture to reveal spiritual transformation that influenced this theological trend. This paper examines the idea of saints as icons and looks at the role actual painted portraiture may have had in shaping conceptions about both metaphorical and real icons.

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Sacred images, both in the Western and Eastern traditions, distinguish Christianity in a preponderant way compared to all other religions, especially as regards the Orthodox. The images and symbols describe, in their artistic form, the divine word similar to a "color theology" representing a "window on infinity", as well as reflect "an image of the kingdom of God". Since its origins in Christianity, man has tried to integrate the evangelical announcement, oral and written, through images, for this reason Christian art has initially inherited some typical forms of the Greco-Roman styles, which soon took on their main character. Theological character that we know today as "sacred art", with its own rules and traditions. Sacred art is an integral part of the architecture of churches and places of worship, but not only that, it assumes its role of fundamental support in the liturgy. Art is designed, first, to be "read" and to deduce the theological and spiritual message contained therein; this happens by approaching images, figures, objects and colors, tending to decode the biblical-theological background underlying the expressive potential of visual language, essentially composed of a marked symbolism. Christian art, in its oriental iconographic form, is particularly charged with this symbolism; it represents the vocabulary, grammar and syntax that the iconographer has at his disposal to fit into the constant process of developing a real "living language", that of God. The essay approaches sacred art in an attempt to act as a bridge between West and East from different perspectives: historical, theological, liturgical and artistic; aims to make people familiar with the history of Christian art, and in general with oriental iconographic art, in order to learn the fundamental characteristics of the theology of images, and also to understand the main interpretations for the spiritual life. The essay unfolds on some main axes, at first it examines the characteristics of the history of Western art compared with Eastern iconographic art, including the origin of Christian art and the development of its fundamental characteristics; subsequently he approaches the theology of the icon, studied mainly through iconoclasm, with a particular emphasis on the patristic texts of John Damascene and the declarations of the VII Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 787), as well as the triumph of Orthodoxy (843). Finally, it offers a possible interpretation of iconographic symbolism, with attention to the main types of icons of the Christ Pantocrator, the Acheropita and the Anastasis icon.