1. Although it is best for us to be ever aware of our unworthiness and to confess our sins before God, nevertheless it is good and necessary to speak when the times demand it, for I see the Church which God founded on the apostles and prophets, her cornerstone being Christ His Son (Eph. 2: 20), tossed on an angry sea, beaten by rushing waves, shaken and troubled by the assaults of evil spirits. Impious men seek to rend asunder the seamless robe of Christ and to cut His Body in pieces: His Body, which is the Word of God and the ancient tradition of the Church. Therefore I deem it unreasonable to keep silence and hold my tongue, remembering the warning of Scripture: "If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him"(Heb. 10: 38), and "If you see the sword coming and do not warn your brother, I shall require his blood at your hand" (Ezek. 33: 8[paraphrase]). Fear compels me to speak; the truth is stronger than the might of kings. I heard David, the ancestor of God, singing: "I will speak of Thy testimony before kings, and shall not be put to shame" (Psalm 119: 46). Therefore I am stirred to speak even more vehemently, for the commanding words of a king must be fearful to his subjects. Yet few men can be found who know enough to despise the evil laws of kings, even though the authority of earthly monarchs does come from above

2. First of all, I grasp the teaching of the Church, through which salvation is planted in us, as both foundation and pillar. I will make the meaning of this teaching evident because it is both the starting line and the finish line for the race; it is the bridle of a tightly-reined horse. I see it to be a great calamity that the Church, progressing in dazzling superiority and adorned with the highest examples of the saints of old, should regress to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits (cf. Gal. 4: 9), and be greatly afraid when there is nothing to fear (cf. Psalm 52: 4 [LXX]). It is disastrous to suppose that the Church does not know God as He really is; that she has degenerated into idolatry, for if she declines one iota from perfection, it will be a blot on her unblemished face, destroying by its ugliness the beauty of the whole. A small thing is not small when it leads to something great; and it is no small matter to forsake the ancient tradition of the Church which was upheld by all those who were called before us, whose conduct we should observe, and whose faith we should imitate.

3. In the first place before I speak to you, I beg Almighty God before whom all things lie open to bless the words of my mouth, for He knows my humble purpose and my sincere intention. May He enable me to bridle my mouth and direct it to Him and to walk in His straight path, not turning aside to the right, however convincing it may seem, or knowing anything about the left. Secondly I ask all God's people, the holy nation, the royal priesthood, together with him who has been called to shepherd the flock of Christ's priesthood in his own person, to receive my treatise with kindness. They must not dwell on my unworthiness, or expect eloquence, for I am only too conscious of my shortcomings. Rather, they must consider the power of the thoughts themselves. The kingdom of heaven does not consist of words, but of deeds. My aim is not to conquer, but to raise a hand which fights for the truth-a hand which is helped by guidance from Him who is all-powerful. Relying on the invincible truth as my help I will begin my treatise.

4 I heed the words of Him who cannot deceive: "The Lord our God, the Lord, is one" (Deut. 6: 4), and, "You shall adore Lord your God, and worship Him alone," and, "You shall not have strange gods" (Deut. 6: 13 [paraphrase]). "You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath" (Exodus 20: 4), and, "All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make boast in worthless idols" (Psalm 97: 7). And again, "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens" (Jer. 10: 11). In this way and in a similar manner God spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, but last of all in these days He spoken to us by His only-begotten Son, by whom He made the ages (Heb. 1: 1-2[paraphrase]). He says: "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17: 3). I believe in one God, the source of all things, without beginning, uncreated, immortal and unassailable, eternal, everlasting, incomprehensible, bodiless, invisible, uncircumscribed, without form. I believe in one superessential Being, one Godhead greater than our conception of divinity, in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I adore Him alone. I worship one God, one Godhead, but I adore three persons: God the Father, God the Son made flesh, and God the Holy Spirit, one God. I do not adore the creation rather than the Creator, but I adore the one who became a creature, who was formed as I was, who clothed Himself in creation without weakening or departing from His divinity, that He might raise our nature in glory and make us partakers of His divine nature. Together with my King, my God and Father, I worship Him who clothed Himself in the royal purple of my flesh, not as a garment passes away, or as if the Lord incarnate constituted a fourth person of the Trinity--God forbid! The flesh assumed by Him is made divine and endures after its assumption. Fleshly nature was not lost when it became part of the Godhead, but just as the Word made flesh remained the Word so also flesh became the Word, yet remained flesh, being united to the person of the Word. Therefore, I boldly draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes by partaking of flesh and blood (cf. Heb. 2: 14) I do not draw an image of the immortal Godhead , but I paint the image of God who became visible in the flesh, for if it is impossible to make a representation of a spirit, how much more impossible is it to depict the God who gives life to the spirit?

5. Now Some say that God commanded Moses the lawgiver: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and adore Him alone," and "You shall not make yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath."

They truly are in error, brothers, for they do not know the Scriptures, that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (II Cor. 3: 6). They do not find in the written word its hidden, spiritual meaning. I can justly say unto those people: He who teaches you this will also teach you the following. Listen to the lawgiver's interpretation, which you read in Deuteronomy: "The Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice" (Deut. 4: 12). And shortly thereafter: "Take good heed to yourselves. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourself, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, or the likeness of any bird that flies in the air" (Deut. 4: 15-17). And again, "Beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them" (Deut. 4: 19).

6. You see that the one thing aimed for is that no created thing can be adored in place of the Creator, nor can adoration be given to any save Him alone. Therefore to worship Him always means to offer Him adoration. For again He says: "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath. You shall not worship them or adore them, for I am the Lord your God" (Deut. 5: 7-9 [paraphrase]). And again, "You shall tear down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire; you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, for you shall not worship other gods" (Deut. 12: 3). And again, "You shall make for yourself no molten gods" (Exodus 34: 17).

7. You see that He forbids the making of images because of idolatry, and that it is impossible to make an image of the immeasurable, uncircumscribed, invisible God. For "You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice" (Deut. 4: 12). This was Paul's testimony as he stood in the midst of the Areopagus: "Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man" (Acts 17: 29).

8. These commandments were given to the Jews because of their proneness to idolatry. But to us it is given on the other hand, as Gregory the Theologian says (Theological Orations, 39), to avoid superstitious error and to come to God in the knowledge of the truth; to adore God alone, to enjoy the fullness of divine knowledge, to attain to mature manhood, that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4: 13-14). We are no longer under custodians (cf. Gal. 3: 25), but we have received from God the ability to discern what may be represented and what is uncircumscript. "You cannot see My form" (cf. Ex 33: 20), the Scripture says. What wisdom the Lawgiver has! How can the invisible be depicted? How does one picture the inconceivable? How can one draw what is limitless, immeasurable, infinite? How can a form be given to the formless? How does one paint the bodiless? How can you describe what is a mystery? It is obvious that when you contemplate God becoming man, then you may depict Him clothed in human form. When the invisible One becomes visible in flesh, you may then draw .His likeness. When He who is bodiless and without form, immeasurable in the boundlessness of His own nature existing in the form of God, empties Himself and takes the form of a servant (Phil. 2: 6-7) in substance and in stature and is found in a body of flesh, then you may draw His image and show it to anyone willing to gaze upon it. Depict His wonderful condescension, His birth from the Virgin, His baptism in the Jordan, His transfiguration on Tabor, His sufferings which have freed us from passion, His death, His miracles which are signs of His divine nature, since through divine power He worked them in the flesh. Show His saving cross, the tomb, the resurrection, the ascension into the heavens. Use every kind of drawing, word, or color. Fear not; have no anxiety; discern between the different kinds of worship. Abraham bowed down to the sons of Hamor, men who had neither faith nor knowledge of God, when he bought the double cave intended to become a tomb (Gen. 23: 7; Acts 7: 16). Jacob bowed to the ground before Esau, his brother, and also before the tip of his son Joseph's staff (Gen. 33: 3). He bowed down, but he did not adore. Joshua, the son of Nun, and Daniel bowed in veneration before an angel of God (Joshua 5: 14), but they did not adore him. For adoration is one thing, and that which is offered in order to honor something of great excellence is another.

9. Since we are speaking of images and worship, let us analyze the exact meaning of each. An image is of like character with its prototype, but with a certain difference. It is not like its archetype in every way. The Son is the living, essential, and precisely similar Image of the invisible God (Col. 1: 15), bearing the entire Father within Himself, equal to Him in all things, except that He is begotten by Him, the Begetter. It is the nature of the Father to cause; the Son is the effect. The Father does not proceed from the Son, but the Son from the Father. The Father who begets is what He is because of His Son, though not in a second place after Him.

10. There are also in God images and models of His Acts yet to come: those things which are His will for all eternity, which is always changeless. That which is divine is immutable; there is no variation in Him or shadow due to change (James 1: 17). Blessed Dionysius, who has great knowledge of divine things, says that these images and models were marked out before-hand, for in His will, God has prepared all things that are yet to happen, making them unalterable before they come to pass (cf. The Divine Names, Ch. 5), just as a man who wishes to build a house would first write out a plan and work according to its prescriptions.

11. Again, visible things are corporeal models which provide a vague understanding of intangible things. Holy Scripture describes God and the angels as having descriptive form, and the same blessed Dionysius teaches us why (cf. On the Celestial Hierarchies, Ch. 1). Anyone would say that our inability immediately to direct our thoughts to contemplation of higher things makes it necessary that familiar media be utilized to give suitable form to what is formless, and make visible what cannot be depicted, so that we are able to construct understandable analogies. If, therefore, the Word of God, in providing for our every need, always presents to us what is intangible by clothing it with form, does it not accomplish this by making an image using what is common to nature and so brings within our reach that for which we long but are unable to see? A certain perception takes place in the brain, prompted by the bodily senses, which is then transmitted to the faculties of discernment, and adds to the treasury of knowledge something that was not there before. The eloquent Gregory says that the mind which is determined to ignore corporeal things will find itself weakened and frustrated (Theological Orations, 2). Since the creation of the world the invisible things of God are clearly seen (Rom. 1: 20) by means of images. We see images in the creation which, although they are only dim lights, still remind us of God. For instance, when we speak of the holy and eternal Trinity, we use the images of the sun, light, and burning rays; or a running fountain; or an overflowing river; or the mind, speech, and spirit within us; or a rose tree, a flower, and a sweet fragrance.

12. Again, an image foreshadows something that is yet to happen, something hidden in riddles and shadows. For instance, the ark of the covenant is an image of the Holy Virgin and Theotokos, as are the rod of Aaron and the jar of manna. The brazen serpent typifies the cross and Him who healed the evil bite of the serpent by hanging on it. Baptismal grace is signified by the cloud and the waters of the sea (I Cor. 10: 1).

13. Again, things which have already taken place are remembered by means of images, whether for the purpose of inspiring wonder, or honor, or shame, or to encourage those who look upon them to practice good and avoid evil. These images are of two kinds: either they are words written in books, as when God had the law engraved on tablets and desired the lives of holy men to be recorded, or else they are material images, such as the jar of manna, or Aaron's staff (Exodus 34: 28; Heb. 9: 4), which were to be kept in the ark as a memorial. So when we record events and good deeds of the past, we use images. Either remove these images altogether and reject the authority of Him who commanded them to be made, or else accept them in the manner and with the esteem which they deserve. In speaking of the proper manner, let us consider the question of worship.

l4. Worship is the means by which we show reverence and honor. Let us understand that there are different degrees of worship. First of all there is adoration, which we offer to God, who alone by nature is worthy to be worshipped. Then, for the sake of Him who is by nature to be worshipped, we honor His friends and companions, as Joshua, the son of Nun, and Daniel bowed in worship before an angel, or as David venerated God's holy places, when he says, "Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool" (Psalm 132: 7), or as when the people of Israel once offered sacrifices and worshipped in His tent, or encircled the temple in Jerusalem, fixing their gaze upon it from all sides and worshipping as their kings commanded, or as Jacob bowed to the ground before Esau, his elder brother (Gen. 33: 3), and before Pharaoh, the ruler whose authority was established by God (Gen. 47: 7). Joseph's brothers prostrated themselves in homage on the ground before him (Gen. 50: 18). Other worship is given to show respect, as was the case with Abraham and the sons of Nahor (Gen. 23: 7). Either do away with worship completely, or else accept it in the manner and with the esteem it deserves.

15. Answer me this question: "Is there one God?" You will answer, Yes, I assume there is only one Lawgiver. What? Does He then command contrary things? The cherubim are not outside creation. How can He allow cherubim, carved by the hands of me, to overshadow the mercy-seat? Is it not obvious that since it is impossible to make an image of god, who is uncircumscribed and unable to be represented, or of anything like God, creation is not to be worshipped and adored as God? But He allows the image of cherubim who are circumscribed, to be made and shown as prostrate in adoration before the divine throne, overshadowing the mercy-seat, for it was fitting that the image of the heavenly servants should overshadow the image of the diving mysteries. Would you say that the ark, or the staff, or the mercy-seat, were not made by hands? Are they not the handiwork of men? Do they not owe their existence to what you call contemptible matter? What is the meeting-tent itself, if not an image? Was it not a type, a figure? Well then, listen to the holy apostle's words concerning those things that are of the law! "they serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, for when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain'" (Heb. 8: 5; Exodus 25: 40). But the law, was not an image, but the shadow of an image, for as the same apostle says: "For since the law was but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of the realities . . ."(Heb. 10: 1). If the law forbids images, and yet is itself the forerunner of images, what shall we say? If the meeting tent was a shadow and the image of an image, how can it be true that the law does not forbid the making of images? But this is not at all the case, for there is a season for everything; a time for every matter under heaven (Eccl. 3: 1).

16. In former times God, who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men (Baruch 3: 38), I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake, who willed to take his abode in matter; who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it, but not as God. How could God be born out of things which have no existence in themselves? God's body is God because it is joined to his person by a union which shall never pass away. The divine nature remains the same; the flesh created in time is quickened by a reason-endowed soul. Because of this I salute all remaining matter with reverence, because God has filled it with His grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me. Was not the thrice-happy and thrice-blessed wood of the cross matter? Was not the holy and exalted mountain of Calvary matter? What of the life-bearing rock, the holy and life-giving tomb, the fountain of our resurrection, was it not matter? Is not the ink in the most holy Gospel-book matter? Is not the life-giving altar made of matter? From it we receive the bread of life! Are not gold and silver matter? From them we make crosses, patens, chalices! And over and above all these things, is not the Body and Blood of our Lord matter? Either do away with the honor and veneration these things deserve, or accept the tradition of the Church and the veneration of images. Reverence God and His friends; follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Do not despise matter, for it is not despicable. God has made nothing despicable. To think such things is Manichaeism. Only that which does not have its source in God is despicable-that which is our own invention our willful choice to disregard the law of God-namely, sin. If you despise and abhor the command to make images because they are material things, consider the words of Scripture: "And the Lord said to Moses: See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Aur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the spirit of God with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting and in carving wood or work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all able men, that they may make all that I have commanded you" (Exodus 31: 1-6). And again, "Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel: This is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Take from among you an offering to the Lord; whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's offering: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastplate. And let every able man among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded, the tabernacle, etc." (Exodus 35: 4-10). Behold the glorification of matter, which you despise! What is more insignificant than colored goatskins? Are not blue and purple and scarlet merely colors? Behold the handiwork of men becoming they likeness of the cherubim! How can you make the law a reason for refusing to do what the law itself commands? If you invoke the law in your despising of images, you might just as well insist on keeping the sabbath and practicing circumcision. But it is certain that "if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man that if he receive circumcision, he is bound to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5: 2-4). Israel of old did not see God, but "we all, with unveiled face, behold the glory of the Lord" (II Cor. 3: 18).

17. We use all our senses to produce worthy images of Him, and we sanctify the noblest of the senses, which is that of sight. For just as words edify the ears so also the image stimulates the eye. What the book is to the literate, the image is to the illiterate. Just as words speak to ear, so the image speaks to the sight; it brings us understanding. For this reason God ordered the ark to be constructed of wood which would not decay, and to be gilded outside and in, and for the tablets to be placed inside, with Aaron's staff and the golden urn containing the manna, in order to provide an image of the future. Who can say that these were not images, heralds sounding from far off? They were not placed aside in the meeting-tent, but were brought forth in the sight of all the people, who gazed upon them and used them to offer praise and worship to God. Obviously they were not adored for their own sake, but through them the people were led to remember the wonders of old and to worship God, the worker of wonders. They were images serving as memorials; they were not divine, but led to the remembrance of divine power.

18. God ordered twelve stones to be taken from the Jordan, and specified why, for He says: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, what do these stones mean? Then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan for you until you passed over" (Joshua 4: 21-22), and thus the ark was saved and all the people. Shall we not then record with images the saving passion and miracles of Christ our God, so that when my son asks me "What is this?" I may say that God the Word became man and that through him not only Israel passed through the Jordan, but the whole human race regained its original happiness? Through Him, human nature rose from the lowest depths to the most exalted heights, and in Him sat on the Father's throne.

l9. Some would say: Make an image of Christ and of His Mother, the Theotokos, and let that be enough. What foolishness! Your own impious words prove that you utterly despise the saints. If you make an image of Christ, and not of the saints, it is evident that you do not forbid images, but refuse to honor the saints. You make images of Christ as one who is glorified, yet you deprive the saints of their rightful glory, and call truth falsehood. The Lord says, "I will glorify those who glorify me" (I Sam. 2: 30). The divinely-inspired apostle writes, "So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir" (Gal. 4: 7). And "if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him" (Rom. 8: 17). You are not waging war against images, but against the saints themselves. St. John the Theologian, who leaned on the breast of Christ, says "We shall become like Him" (I John 3: 2). Just as something in contact with fire becomes fire not by its own nature, but by being united, burned, and mingled with fire, so it is also, I say, with the assumed flesh of the son of God. By union with His person, that flesh participates in the divine nature and by this communion becomes unchangeably God: not only by the operation of divine grace, as was the case with the prophets, but by the coming of grace Himself. The Scripture calls the saints gods, when it says, "God has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods He holds judgment" (Psalm 82: 1). St. Gregory interprets these words to mean that God takes His place in the assembly of the saints, determining the glory due each (Theological Orations, 40). The saints during their earthly lives were filled with the Holy Spirit, and when they fulfill their course, the grace of the Holy Spirit does not depart from their souls or their bodies in the tombs, or from their likenesses and holy images, not by the nature of these things, but by grace and power.

20. God told David that through his son a temple would be built, and that His resting-place would be prepared. As the Books of Kings tell us, Solomon, while he was building the temple, also made the cherubim. "And he overlaid the cherubim with gold and carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms" (I Kings 6: 28-29). Is it not even better to adorn the Lord's house with holy forms and images, instead of beasts and plants. What has become of this law which declares "You shall make for yourself no graven image"? Solomon was given the gift of wisdom, and built the temple, the image of heaven. He made the likenesses of bulls and lions, which the law forbade. Now if we make images of Christ, and images of the saints, which are filled with the Holy Spirit, will they not increase our reverence? Just as the people and the temple were once purified by the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes (Heb. 9: 13), so we are cleansed by Christ, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession (I Tim. 6: 13), and who is Himself the example of martyrs. He builds His Church on the foundation of the blood of the saints. There the forms of lifeless beasts adorned the temple; here we use living and reasonable images.

21. We depict Christ as our King and Lord, then, and do not strip Him of His army. For the saints are the Lord's army. If the earthly emperor wishes to deprive the Lord of His army, let him also dismiss his own troops. If he wishes in his tyranny to refuse due honor to these valiant conquerors of evil, let him also cast aside his own purple. For if the saints are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8: 17), they will also share in the divine glory and dominion. If they have partaken of Christ's sufferings, and are His friends, shall they not receive a share of glory from the Church on earth? "No longer do I call you servants," God says, "but I have called you friends" (John 15: 15). Shall we strip them of the glory given them by the Church? What audacity! What effrontery of mind, to fight with God, refusing to follow His commands! You who refuse to bow before images also refuse to bow before the Son of God who is the living image of the invisible God (Col. 1: 15), and His unchanging likeness. I bow before the images of Christ, the incarnate God; of our Lady, the Theotokos and Mother of the Son of God; and of the saints, who are God's friends. In struggling against evil they have shed their blood; they have imitated Christ who shed His Blood for them by shedding their blood for Him. I make a written record of the prowess and sufferings of those who have walked in His footsteps, that I may be sanctified, and be set on fire to imitate them zealously. St. Basil says, "the honor given to the image is transferred to its prototype" (Letters on the Holy Spirit, 18) If you build churches to honor the saints of God, then make images of them as well. The temple of old was not built in the name of any man, nor was the death of the righteous an occasion for feasting, but rather for tears. He who touched a corpse was considered unclean (Num. 19: 11), even if the corpse was Moses himself.

But now the memory of the saints is kept with rejoicing. There was weeping at the death of Jacob, but there was joy at the death of Stephen. Therefore either give up the joyful feasts of the saints, since they are not part of the old law, or accept the images which you say are contrary to the law. But it is impossible not to keep the memory of the saints with rejoicing, for the choir of holy apostles and God-bearing fathers insist that we do so. From the time that God the Word became flesh, He is like us in everything except sin, and partakes of our nature without mingling or confusion. He has deified our flesh forever, and has sanctified us by surrendering His Godhead to our flesh without confusion. And from the time that God, the Son of God, who is unchangeable by reason of His Godhead, chose to suffer voluntarily, He wiped out our debt, by paying for us a most admirable and precious ransom. We are all made free through the blood of the Son, which pleads for us to the Father, and by His descent into the grave, when He went and preached to the souls imprisoned there for many ages (I Peter 3: 19), and gave freedom to the captives, sight to the blind (Isaiah 61: 2), and bound the strong one (Matt. 12: 29). He rose by the excellence of His power, keeping the immortal flesh by which He had saved us from corruption. And from the time when we were born again of water and the Spirit, we have become sons of God and members of His household. For this reason St. Paul calls the faithful saints (I Cor. 1: 2ff.).

Therefore we do not grieve but rejoice over the death of the saints. We are not under the law but under grace (Rom. 6: 14), having been justified by faith (Rom. 5: 1), and having seen the one true God. For the law is not laid down for the just (I Tim. 1: 9), nor do we serve as children, held under the law (Gal. 4: 1ff.), but we have reached the estate of mature adulthood, and are fed on solid food, not on that which leads to idolatry. The law was good, as a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star rose in our hearts (cf. II Peter 1: 19). The living water of divine knowledge has driven away pagan seas, and now all may know God. The old creation has passed away and all things are made new (II Cor. 5: 17). The holy apostle Paul said to Peter the prince of the apostles: "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (Gal. 2: 14). And he writes to the Galatians: "I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law" (Gal. 5: 3).

22. Of old, those who did not know God were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods (Gal. 4: 8). But now that we have come to know God, or rather to be known by Him, how can anyone turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits, and be their slaves once more (Gal. 4: 9)? For I have seen God in human form, and my soul has been saved. I gaze upon the image of God, as Jacob did (Gen. 32: 30), but in a different way. For he only saw with spiritual sight what was promised to come in the future, while the memory of Him who became visible in the flesh is burned into my soul. Peter's shadow, or handkerchiefs and aprons carried from Paul's body, healed the sick and put demons to flight (Acts 5: 15). Shall the paintings and images of the saints not be glorified? Either refuse to worship any matter, or stop your innovations. Do not remove age-old boundaries, erected by your fathers (Prov. 22: 28).

23. The tradition of the Church is not only passed on in written documents, but has also been given in unwritten form. In chapter twenty-seven of St. Basil's book of thirty chapters written to Amphilochius concerning the Holy Spirit, he says "Among the carefully guarded teachings and doctrines of the Church, there are some teachings we received from written documents, while others we receive secretly, for they have been handed on to us from the apostolic tradition. Both sources have equal power to lead us to righteousness. No one who values the seasoned discipline of the Church will dispute with this, for if we neglect unwritten customs as not having much force, we then bury much of the Gospel which is vitally important." Those are the words of Basil the Great. How then can we know anything about the holy place of Calvary or the life-giving tomb? Is not such unwritten information handed down from father to sons? For it is written that the Lord was crucified at the place of the skull, and buried in a tomb which was hewn out of a rock by Joseph (Matt. 27: 60); but it is from unwritten tradition that we know the locations of these places, and worship there now. There are other examples. What is the origin of the three immersions at baptism, or praying toward the east, or the manner in which we celebrate the eucharist? Therefore the holy apostle Paul says: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (II Thess. 2: 15). Therefore, since so much that is unwritten has been handed down in the Church and is still observed now, why do you despise images?

24. If you speak of pagan abuses, these abuses do not make our veneration of images loathsome. Blame the pagans, who made images into gods! Just because the pagans used them in a foul way, that is no reason to object to our pious practice. Sorcerers and magicians use incantations and the Church prays over catechumens; the former conjure up demons while the Church calls upon God to exorcise the demons. Pagans make images of demons which they address as gods, but we make images of God incarnate, and of his servants and friends, and with them we drive away the demonic hosts.

25. If you object that the great St. Epiphanius utterly forbade images, in the first place the writing in question is fictitious and inauthentic. It is the work of someone who used Epiphanius's name, which is a common enough practice. Secondly, we know that the blessed Athanasius objected to the relics of the saints being put into chests, and that he preferred them to be buried in the earth, wishing to abolish the disgusting custom of the Egyptians, who did not bury their dead under the earth, but displayed them on beds and couches. Let us suppose that the great Epiphanius really wrote this work, wishing to correct a similar abuse by forbidding the making of images. Even so, the proof that he did not object to them is found in his own church which we see adorned with images to this very day. Thirdly, one exception cannot be a law for the Church, nor does a single swallow's song mean that spring has come to stay, as Gregory, the theologian and teacher of truth, says (Theological Orations, 38). Nor can a single opinion overturn the unanimous tradition of the whole Church, which has spread to the ends of the earth.

26. Accept, therefore, the teaching of the Scriptures and the fathers. If the Scripture says, "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands" (Psalm 135: 15), it is not forbidden to bow before inanimate things, or the handiwork of men, but only before those images which are the devil's work.

27. We have seen that prophets bowed before angels, and men, and kings, and those who knew not God--and even before a staff. David says, ". . . and worship at His footstool" (Psalm 99: 5). Isaiah, speaking in God's name, says, "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66: 1). It is obvious to all that the heavens and the earth are created things. Moses, Aaron, and all the people worshipped before things made with hands. Paul, the golden voice of the Church, says, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, then He entered once for all through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, a type of the true one, but into heaven itself" (Heb. 9: 11, 24). Thus the former holy things, the tent, and everything therein were made by hands, and no one can deny that they were venerated.