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and blood? Either abolish the reverence and veneration of all these things, or yield to the ecclesiastical tradition and the veneration of images, which are sanctified by the name of God and God's friends and for this reason are overshadowed by the grace of the divine Spirit. If you forbid images on account of the Law, it is time for you also to keep the Sabbath and be circumcised—for the Law commands these things unyieldingly—and to keep the whole Law and not to celebrate the Lord's Pascha outside Jerusalem—but know that, if you keep the Law, Christ will be of no benefit to you—it is time for you also to take your brother's wife in marriage and to raise up seed for your brother and not to sing the Lord's song in a foreign land. But away with that; «for you who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace.» 1,21͂2,15 We depict Christ the king and Lord, not stripping him of his army; for the army of the Lord are the saints. Let the earthly king strip himself of his own army and then his own king and Lord. Let him put away the purple robe and the diadem and then let him take away the reverence for those who fought valiantly against the tyrant and ruled over the passions. For if they will be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ and sharers of the divine glory and kingdom, how could the friends of Christ not also be partakers of glory on earth? «I do not call you servants,» says God, «you are my friends.» Shall we, then, deprive them of the honor given to them by the Church? O audacious hand! O daring mind that opposes God and acts against His commandments! You do not venerate an image; do not venerate the Son of God either, «who is the image of the invisible God,» a living image and an unchangeable character. 2,15 The temple which Solomon built was consecrated with the blood of irrational animals and was adorned with images of irrational animals: lions and oxen and palm trees and pomegranates. But now the Church is consecrated with the blood of Christ and of His saints, and is adorned with the image of Christ and of His saints. Either abolish the veneration of all matter, or do not innovate, «nor remove the ancient landmarks which your fathers have set,» and I do not mean those before the incarnate presence of Christ our God, but those after his coming. For, finding fault with the traditions in the Old Covenant, God says: «I gave them statutes that were not good» because of their hardness of heart. Therefore, «when the priesthood is changed, there is of necessity a change in the law as well.» 1,21 I venerate the image of Christ as of God incarnate, that of the Lady of all, the Theotokos, as of the mother of the Son of God, those of the saints as of friends of God who resisted sin unto death and imitated Christ by the shedding of their blood for him who first shed his own blood for them, and of those who lived in his footsteps. I set down in writing their heroic deeds and sufferings so that through them I may be sanctified and stirred up to zealous imitation. And these I treat with reverence and veneration; «for the honor of the image passes on to the prototype,» says the divine Basil. If you build churches to God's saints, build also their trophies. In ancient times a temple was not raised in the name of men, the death of the righteous was not celebrated, but mourned, and he who touched a corpse was considered unclean, even that of Moses himself. But now the memorials of the saints are celebrated; the corpse of Jacob was mourned, but the death of Stephen is festally celebrated. Therefore, either abolish the festal memorials of the saints, which are held contrary to the old law, or permit also the images, which are, as you say, contrary to the law. But it is impossible not to celebrate the memorials of the saints; for the choir of the holy apostles and God-bearing fathers commands that these things be done. For since God the Word became flesh, being made like us in all things except sin, and was unconfusedly mingled with our nature and unchangeably the

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καὶ αἷμα; Ἢ πάντων τούτων ἄνελε τὸ σέβας καὶ τὴν προσκύνησιν ἢ παραχώρει τῇ ἐκκλησιαστικῇ παραδόσει καὶ τὴν τῶν εἰκόνων προσκύνησιν θεοῦ καὶ φίλων θεοῦ ὀνόματι ἁγιαζομένων καὶ διὰ τοῦτο θείου πνεύματος ἐπισκιαζομένων χάριτι. Εἰ διὰ τὸν νόμον τὰς εἰκόνας ἀπαγορεύεις, ὥρα σοι καὶ σαββατίζειν καὶ περιτέμνεσθαι-ταῦτα γὰρ ἀπαραχωρήτως ὁ νόμος κελεύει-καὶ πάντα τὸν νόμον τηρεῖν καὶ μὴ ἑορτάζειν τὸ πάσχα κυρίου ἔξω Ἱερουσαλήμ- ἀλλὰ γνῶτε, ὡς, ἐὰν τὸν νόμον τηρῆτε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ-, ὥρα σοι καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ γυναῖκα πρὸς γάμον ἄγεσθαι καὶ ἐγείρειν σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ καὶ μὴ ᾄδειν τὴν ᾠδὴν κυρίου ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας. Ἀλλ' ἄπαγε· «οἵτινες γὰρ ἐν νόμῳ δικαιοῦσθε, τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε.» 1,21͂2,15 Ἱστοροῦμεν Χριστὸν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ κύριον οὐ γυμνοῦντες αὐτὸν τοῦ στρατεύματος· στρατὸς γὰρ τοῦ κυρίου οἱ ἅγιοι. Γυμνωσάτω ἑαυτὸν τοῦ οἰκείου στρατεύματος ὁ ἐπίγειος βασιλεὺς καὶ τότε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλέα καὶ κύριον. Ἀποθέσθω τὴν ἁλουργίδα καὶ τὸ διάδημα καὶ τότε τῶν κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου ἀριστευσάντων καὶ βασιλευσάντων τῶν παθῶν τὸ σέβας περιαιρείτω. Εἰ γὰρ κληρονόμοι θεοῦ καὶ συγκληρονόμοι Χριστοῦ καὶ τῆς θείας δόξης καὶ βασιλείας κοινωνοὶ ἔσονται, πῶς οὐχὶ καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ γῆς δόξης συμμέτοχοι γένωνται οἱ φίλοι Χριστοῦ; «Οὐ λέγω ὑμᾶς δούλους», φησὶν ὁ θεός, «ὑμεῖς φίλοι μού ἐστε.» Τῆς οὖν δεδομένης αὐτοῖς παρὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τιμῆς στερήσωμεν αὐτούς; Ὢ θρασείας χειρός. Ὢ τολμηρᾶς γνώμης ἀνταιρούσης θεῷ καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀντιπραττούσης προστάγμασιν. Οὐ προσκυνεῖς εἰκόνι, μηδὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ προσκύνει, «ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ» ζῶσα καὶ χαρακτὴρ ἀπαράλλακτος. 2,15 Ὁ ναός, ὃν ὁ Σολομὼν ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἀλόγων αἵμασιν ἐνεκαινίσθη καὶ ἀλόγων εἰκόσιν ἐκαλλωπίσθη, λεόντων καὶ βοῶν καὶ φοινίκων καὶ ῥοΐσκων. Νῦν δὲ Χριστοῦ αἵματι ἡ ἐκκλησία ἐγκαινίζεται καὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ Χριστοῦ εἰκόνι καὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ καλλωπίζεται. Ἢ πάσης ὕλης προσκύνησιν ἄνελε ἢ μὴ καινοτόμει «μηδὲ μέταιρε ὅρια αἰώνια, ἃ ἔθεντο οἱ πατέρες σου», οὐ τὰ πρὸ τῆς ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν λέγω, ἀλλὰ τὰ μετὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν αὐτοῦ. Περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ παραδόσεων μεμφόμενος ὁ θεός φησιν· «Ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς προστάγματα οὐ καλὰ» κατὰ τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν αὐτῶν. Ὥστε «μετατεθείσης τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ νόμου μετάθεσις γέγονεν». 1,21 Προσκυνῶ Χριστοῦ εἰκόνι ὡς σεσαρκωμένου θεοῦ, τῆς δεσποίνης τῶν ἁπάντων τῆς θεοτόκου οἷα μητρὸς τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, τῶν ἁγίων ὡς φίλων θεοῦ τῶν μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικαταστάντων πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ Χριστὸν μιμησαμένων τῇ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἐκχύσει τοῦ αἵματος τὸ οἰκεῖον αἷμα ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν προεκχέαντος καὶ τῶν κατ' ἴχνος αὐτοῦ πολιτευσαμένων. Τούτων τὰς ἀριστείας καὶ τὰ πάθη ἀναγράπτους καθίστημι ὡς δι' αὐτῶν ἁγιαζόμενος καὶ πρὸς ζῆλον μιμήσεως ἀλειφόμενος. Καὶ ταῦτα δι' αἰδοῦς ἄγω καὶ προσκυνήσεως· «ἡ γὰρ τῆς εἰκόνος τιμὴ πρὸς τὸ πρωτότυπον διαβαίνει», φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Βασίλειος. Εἰ ναοὺς ἐγείρεις ἁγίοις θεοῦ, καὶ τὰ τούτων ἔγειρε τρόπαια. Οὐκ ἠγείρετο πάλαι ναὸς ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων ὀνόματι, οὐχ ἑωρτάζετο τῶν δικαίων ὁ θάνατος, ἀλλ' ἐπενθεῖτο, καὶ ὁ ἁπτόμενος νεκροῦ ἀκάθαρτος ἐλογίζετο, καὶ Μωσέως αὐτοῦ. Νῦν δὲ τῶν ἁγίων ἑορτάζεται τὰ μνημόσυνα· ἐπενθήθη ὁ νεκρὸς τοῦ Ἰακώβ, ἀλλ' ὁ Στεφάνου πανηγυρίζεται θάνατος. Ἢ τοίνυν καὶ τὰς πανηγυρικὰς μνήμας τῶν ἁγίων ἄνελε παρὰ τὸν παλαιὸν νόμον ἀγομένας ἢ καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας παρὰ τὸν νόμον, ὡς σὺ φής, οὔσας συγχώρησον. Ἀλλ' ἀμήχανον μὴ ἑορτάζειν τὰ τῶν ἁγίων μνημόσυνα· ὁ γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων καὶ θεοφόρων πατέρων χορὸς ταῦτα προστάττει γίνεσθαι. Ἀφ' οὗ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο ὁμοιωθεὶς ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἀσυγχύτως ἐκράθη πρὸς τὸ ἡμέτερον καὶ ἀμεταβλήτως τὴν