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who contended in the martyrdom of their conscience, who “went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth;” the prophets before grace, patriarchs, righteous men, who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord. Contemplating the way of life of all these, let us emulate their faith, love, hope, zeal, life, endurance of sufferings, their patience unto blood, so that we may also share with them in the crowns of glory. 89 Concerning icons. Since some find fault with us for venerating and honoring the icon of our Savior and of our Lady, and also of the other saints and servants of Christ, let them hear that from the beginning God made man in His own image. For what reason, then, do we venerate one another, if not because we are made in the image of God? For as the God-bearing Basil, who is great in divine things, says, “the honor of the icon passes to the prototype;” and the prototype is that which is imaged, from which the derivative is made. For what reason did the Mosaic people venerate the tabernacle round about, which bore an image and type of heavenly things, or rather of the whole of creation? For God says to Moses: “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.” And the Cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat, are they not the work of men’s hands? And what of the famous temple in Jerusalem? Was it not handmade and constructed by the art of men? But the divine scripture condemns those who worship graven images, and also those who sacrifice to demons. Both Greeks sacrificed, and Jews sacrificed; but the Greeks to demons, and the Jews to God. And the sacrifice of the Greeks was rejected and condemned, but that of the righteous was well-pleasing to God. For Noah sacrificed, and “God smelled a sweet savor,” accepting the fragrance of his good intention and goodwill toward Him. Thus the graven images of the Greeks, since they were representations of demons, are rejected and forbidden. Moreover, who can make a likeness of the invisible and bodiless and uncircumscribable and formless God? Therefore, it is the height of madness and impiety to give form to the divine. Hence in the Old [Covenant] the use of icons was not common. But since God, through the bowels of His mercy, truly became man for our salvation, not as He appeared to Abraham in the form of a man, nor as to the prophets, but truly became man in substance and lived upon the earth “and conversed with men,” worked miracles, suffered, was crucified, rose again, was taken up, and all these things truly happened and were seen by men, they were written for our remembrance and teaching, we who were not present then, so that though we have not seen, by hearing and believing we might attain the blessing of the Lord. But since not all know letters nor have leisure for reading, the fathers saw fit for these things to be depicted in icons as certain heroic deeds, for a brief reminder. Of course, often when we do not have the Lord’s passion in mind, upon seeing the icon of Christ’s crucifixion, we are brought to the remembrance of the saving passion, and falling down we venerate not the material, but that which is imaged, just as we do not venerate the material of the Gospel nor the material of the cross, but its form. For what is the difference between a cross that does not have the form of the Lord and one that does? Likewise also for the Mother of God; for the honor paid to her is referred to Him who was incarnate of her. Similarly, the heroic deeds of the saints also incite us to courage and zeal and imitation of their virtue and for the glory of God. For as we said, the honor shown to our well-disposed fellow servants is a proof of goodwill toward our common Master, and the honor of the icon passes to the prototype. And it is an unwritten tradition, just as is venerating towards the east, to venerate

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μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως διαθλήσαντας, οἱ «περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, κακοχούμενοι, ἐν ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος»· τοὺς πρὸ τῆς χάριτος προφήτας, πατριάρχας, δικαίους τοὺς προκατηγγελκότας τὴν τοῦ κυρίου παρουσίαν. Τούτων πάντων ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν πολιτείαν ζηλώσωμεν τὴν πίστιν, τὴν ἀγάπην, τὴν ἐλπίδα, τὸν ζῆλον, τὸν βίον, τὴν καρτερίαν τῶν παθημάτων, τὴν ὑπομονὴν μέχρις αἵματος, ἵνα καὶ τῶν τῆς δόξης στεφάνων αὐτοῖς κοινωνήσωμεν. 89 Περὶ εἰκόνων Ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες ἡμῖν καταμέμφονται προσκυνοῦσί τε καὶ τιμῶσι τήν τε τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν εἰκόνα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἁγίων καὶ θεραπόντων Χριστοῦ, ἀκουέτωσαν, ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' οἰκείαν εἰκόνα ἐποίησε. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἀλλήλους προσκυνοῦμεν, εἰ μὴ ὡς κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ πεποιημένους; Ὡς γάρ φησιν ὁ θεοφόρος καὶ πολὺς τὰ θεῖα Βασίλειος, «ἡ τῆς εἰκόνος τιμὴ ἐπὶ τὸ πρωτότυπον διαβαίνει»· πρωτότυπον δέ ἐστι τὸ εἰκονιζόμενον, ἐξ οὗ τὸ παράγωγον γίνεται. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ὁ Μωσαϊκὸς λαὸς τῇ σκηνῇ κυκλόθεν προσεκύνει εἰκόνα καὶ τύπον φερούσῃ τῶν ἐπουρανίων, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ὅλης κτίσεως; Φησὶ γοῦν ὁ θεὸς τῷ Μωσεῖ· «Ὅρα, ποιήσεις πάντα κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει». Καὶ τὰ Χερουβὶμ δὲ τὰ σκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον οὐχὶ ἔργα χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων; Τί δὲ ὁ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις περιώνυμος ναός; Οὐχὶ χειροποίητος καὶ ἀνθρώπων τέχνῃ κατεσκευασμένος; Ἡ δὲ θεία γραφὴ κατηγορεῖ τῶν προσκυνούντων τοῖς γλυπτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν θυόντων τοῖς δαιμονίοις. Ἔθυον μὲν καὶ Ἕλληνες, ἔθυον δὲ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι· ἀλλ' Ἕλληνες μὲν δαίμοσιν, Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ τῷ θεῷ. Καὶ ἀπόβλητος μὲν ἡ τῶν Ἑλλήνων θυσία ἦν καὶ κατάκριτος, ἡ δὲ τῶν δικαίων τῷ θεῷ εὐαπόδεκτος. Ἔθυσε γὰρ Νῶε, καὶ «ὠσφράνθη ὁ θεὸς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας», τῆς ἀγαθῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας τὸ εὐῶδες ἀποδεχόμενος. Οὕτω τὰ μὲν τῶν Ἑλλήνων γλυπτά, ἐπεὶ δαιμόνων ἦσαν ἐξεικονίσματα ἀπόβλητά τε καὶ ἀπηγορευμένα τυγχάνουσι. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τοῦ ἀοράτου καὶ ἀσωμάτου καὶ ἀπεριγράπτου καὶ ἀσχηματίστου θεοῦ τίς δύναται ποιήσασθαι μίμημα; Παραφροσύνης τοίνυν ἄκρας καὶ ἀσεβείας τὸ σχηματίζειν τὸ θεῖον. Ἐντεῦθεν ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ οὐκ ἦν τετριμμένη ἡ τῶν εἰκόνων χρῆσις. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ θεὸς διὰ σπλάγχνα ἐλέους αὐτοῦ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν, οὐχ ὡς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὤφθη ἐν εἴδει ἀνθρώπου, οὐχ ὡς τοῖς προφήταις, ἀλλὰ κατ' οὐσίαν ἀληθῶς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος διέτριψέ τε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς «καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη», ἐθαυματούργησεν, ἔπαθεν, ἐσταυρώθη, ἀνέστη, ἀνελήφθη, καὶ πάντα ταῦτα κατὰ ἀλήθειαν γέγονε, καὶ ὡράθη ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐγράφη μὲν εἰς ὑπόμνησιν ἡμῶν καὶ διδαχὴν τῶν τηνικαῦτα μὴ παρόντων, ἵνα μὴ ἑωρακότες, ἀκούσαντες δὲ καὶ πιστεύσαντες τύχωμεν τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τοῦ κυρίου. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ πάντες ἴσασι γράμματα οὐδὲ τῇ ἀναγνώσει σχολάζουσιν, οἱ πατέρες συνεῖδον ὥσπερ τινὰς ἀριστείας ἐν εἰκόσι ταῦτα γράφεσθαι εἰς ὑπόμνησιν σύντομον. Ἀμέλει πολλάκις μὴ κατὰ νοῦν ἔχοντες τὸ τοῦ κυρίου πάθος, τὴν εἰκόνα τῆς Χριστοῦ σταυρώσεως ἰδόντες, τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους εἰς ἀνάμνησιν ἐλθόντες, πεσόντες προσκυνοῦμεν οὐ τῇ ὕλῃ, ἀλλὰ τῷ εἰκονιζομένῳ, ὥσπερ οὐ τῇ ὕλῃ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου οὐδὲ τῇ τοῦ σταυροῦ ὕλῃ προσκυνοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἐκτυπώματι. Τί γὰρ διαφέρει σταυρὸς μὴ ἔχων τὸ τοῦ κυ ρίου ἐκτύπωμα τοῦ ἔχοντος; Ὡσαύτως καὶ τῆς θεομήτορος· ἡ γὰρ εἰς αὐτὴν τιμὴ εἰς τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς σαρκωθέντα ἀνάγεται. Ὁμοίως καὶ τὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδραγαθήματα ἐπαλείφοντα ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀνδρείαν καὶ ζῆλον καὶ μίμησιν τῆς αὐτῶν ἀρετῆς καὶ δόξαν θεοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ ἔφημεν, ἡ πρὸς τοὺς εὐγνώμονας τῶν ὁμοδούλων τιμὴ ἀπόδειξιν ἔχει τῆς πρὸς τὸν κοινὸν δεσπότην εὐνοίας καὶ ἡ τῆς εἰκόνος τιμὴ πρὸς τὸ πρωτότυπον διαβαίνει. Ἔστι δὲ ἄγραφος ἡ παράδοσις ὥσπερ τὸ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς προσκυνεῖν, τὸ προσκυνεῖν