I was brought up Catholic, changed to Anglican when I got married, and then graduated from Global Awakening, a charismatic mission based ministry school, and I love each of these denominations for how they have helped to deepen and expand my faith.
This month’s blog could be called, “What Happened to Icons in the Protestant Church?” Of course, many Protestant Churches today do have icons and other religious art in them today, and there is a general movement towards more ecumenical understanding among denominations today. But, for my own benefit, and also for yours, I think it’s worth delving into some of the historical relationships between Protestantism and holy imagery.
THEOLOGY OF THE ICON
The theology of the icon is based on the Incarnation, the revelation of the Image of God in the human form of Jesus Christ. This first icon was one made without human hands and revealed in the temple of Christ’s body. By imitating the divine artist, the iconographer not only participates in sacred creation, but theologically asserts the reality of Jesus’ humanity.
Theology, the study of God in words, and iconography, the study of God in images, are two major expressions of one single faith, or we might say that an icon is a visible gospel.
However, in the early days of the Protestant Reformation, while Martin Luther was quite tolerant of images in churches, John Calvin, another leading theologian of the Protestant Reformation, was vigorously opposed to images in the church. For Calvin, God was invisible and hidden, therefore it is impossible to visually depict God.
This belief is similar to Eastern Orthodoxy in the belief that God cannot be represented in the icons. But additionally, the Orthodox believe that because God’s Son took on human flesh in the Incarnation, it is possible to depict the Son of God in icons. Did John Calvin ever read John of Damascus’ defense of icons?
HISTORY OF ICONS IN THE CHURCH
In Eusebius’ 4th Century “History of the Church”, mention is made of colored portraits that were made of Christ and his apostles, The presence of icons in the early church implies that icons were an integral part of the early Christian tradition. The presence of sacred images in both church and synagogue tells us that the early Church did not invent icons but carried them over from its Jewish predecessors. This also indicates that the presence of icons in Orthodox churches today represents a profound continuity with Jewish worship. If icons have Jewish roots, Calvin’s historical arguments are rendered nonsensical.
However, in the Western Church, during and after the Renaissance, religious art became so affected by humanism that it ceased to keep God as the main focus but instead the achievement of artists of the day became spectacular creations for their own sake. The extravagance of religious art was compounded by the absence of a regulating principle. Eastern artistic tradition had an art-manual sand a shared understanding about proper iconography, in the West there was no centralization of its artistic tradition, thus leading to excesses that contributed to Calvin’s desire to abolish church art.
CALVINISM
Calvinism had other theological ideas and principles not commonly shared with other Protestant denominations, such as the doctrine of predestination and human depravity. According to the Calvinist, man cannot choose good, cannot obey, cannot believe, but can only choose to do evil. Calvin was largely opposed to art and music in the service of religion and vestiges of his doctrines remain like dark shadows over Protestantism at times.
Lutheran Churches allow the presence of images as long as they have a pedagogical or decorative purpose. Anglicans have two places in the Book of Common Prayer where the meaning of the second commandment could be construed as against using icons in worship.
Historically , the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicea decisively affirmed the use of icons for worship and recognized that icons are an integral part of the historic Christian Faith.
Diversity and controversy are simply facts of life, even within religious beliefs. However, I believe that the icon of God exists in each of us for we are made in God’s image. This gives man the ability to communicate with God, to be transformed by His presence, and become like God, participating in His divine character. The Icon can serve as a bridge of prayer between God and the human person, and an icon gives the viewer the occasion to commune with the divine.
“Icons of the sacred not only set an atmosphere for prayer, but by contemplating the holiness of the person represented in the icon, one can experience the presence of God which is “contagious.” One becomes aware of praying and worshipping in the presence of angels and saints. Icons are used to enhance the beauty of the church, but also to teach us about our faith initially and then to remind us of this teaching. By bringing us in contact with holy persons, we are enthused to imitate them, helping to transform and sanctify us. Ultimately the icon is a means of worshipping God and venerating his saints.”
I hope that this article has helped to stimulate your faith and curiosity. Below are links to three articles I have used extensively in this article. Reading these articles will give a much more comprehensive and detailed view of the ideas presented here.
May God bless you in your understanding , until next month,
Christine Simoneau Hales
https://www.newchristianicons.com
LINKS TO ARTICLES:
American Association of Iconographers 