From the Holy Scriptures to Holy Images

Since the beginning of Christianity, Christians have been faced with the ambiguous nature of "image" and the risk of idolatry. The iconoclasts (those who fought against the icons) stated that every image must be identical with its prototype; therefore, an icon is an idol since it pretends to be God. For the iconodules (those who venerate the icons) the icons are not idols because they are not consubstantial with or identical to their prototypes. The first part, of my book Short history of icon offers a brief overview of the history of the icons in the first seven centuries of Christianity, and presents the dispute between iconoclasts and iconodules. The second part, The Gospels in Icons according to the Eastern Orthodox Tradition describes eight icons from historical, aesthetical and liturgical points of view. In the Conclusion I stress the connection between icon and Incarnation in the context of today s Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church endeavored to direct the human senses, including sight in its use of icons, to the greater knowledge and glorification of God.