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Orthodox churches around the world
feature beautiful architecture and
artwork Chief among them are the
Magnificent icons of Christ and his
Saints these icons declared the seventh
ecumenical council should be exhibited
on the walls of churches in the homes
and in all conspicuous places by the
roadside and everywhere to be revered by
all who might see them this clear and
universally accepted directive put an
end to the iconoclasm
controversy which had lasted many years
and caused Great division in the
church though he died before the council
St John of Damascus had argued as the
fathers of the seventh Council
eventually
recognized that Christ can be depicted
simply because he became human and took
flesh of him who took a material body
material images can be
made in so taking a material body God
proved that matter can be
redeemed he deified matter making its
Spirit
bearing and so if flesh can be a medium
for the spirit so can wood or paint
although in a different
fashion I do not worship matter but the
creator of matter who for my sake became
material and dained to dwell in matter
who through matter affected my
salvation unfortunately along with the
icons of Christ Saints and angels we
sometimes see images of God the
father while these icons have fallen out
of fashion today they were once
prevalent in Orthodox
iconography a Moscow Synod in
1667 canonically forbade the depiction
of God the father in
icons but this canonical decision has
not always been
obeyed why would a council forbid
iconography of the father to understand
we must look to Holy Scripture and to
the doctrine of the
Incarnation scripture teaches early on
that God cannot be
seen recall God speaking to Moses you
cannot see my face for no one may see me
and live then the Lord said there is a
place near me where you may stand on a
rock when my glory passes by I will put
you in a cliff in the Rock and cover you
with my hand until I have passed then I
will remove my hand and you will see my
back but my face must not be seen the
Jewish people did not understand God in
Trinity at the time but they had a full
understanding that no human could fully
experience the father in all his glory
they knew the father to be immaterial
and
incorporeal once Christ had come taking
on flesh and given the full revelation
of God to the world St John explains in
his gospel about Christ's relationship
to the father no man hath seen God at
any time the only begotten son which is
in the bosom of the father he hath
declared
him the gospel is teaching that the son
who is the word of God became incarnate
so that the people would have a physical
representation of God the father in all
his glory cannot be beheld so the father
sent his word and son to put on human
flesh that the glory of the father could
be seen through his word and Son the
second person of the trinity
through these scriptures the church
developed a full understanding that God
the Father cannot be seen by his
creation his glory is too great and
unimaginable to behold therefore the
church teaches it is improper to depict
the father in
iconography it is improper because
scriptures tell us that no one has seen
the father so iconographers cannot know
what to paint and because because there
is no way to capture the glory of the
father in material images since the
immaterial God cannot be fully
experienced by his
creation the other reason the father
should not be depicted in icons is to
protect the doctrine of the
Incarnation St John of damasus taught
that icons are necessary and essential
because they protect the full and proper
ER doctrine of the
Incarnation by this he meant that by
depicting Christ in icons the church
teaches that Christ took on flesh and
lived on
earth Christ can be depicted because he
was seen and experienced during his
Earthly
Ministry and the church uses icons to
teach about his divinity and his
works the father did not become
incarnate he sent his son
the word to become like
man depicting the father in icons
confuses the doctrine of the
Incarnation leading the faithful to
misunderstand the nature of the father
and his unknowability and
immateriality St John of Damascus
summarizes this well in his Treatise on
the Divine Images 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 I make an image of the god whom
I
see the implication here is that in so
far as God the father or the spirit did
not become man visible and
tangible images and portrait icons
cannot be
depicted so what was true for the whole
Trinity before Christ remains true for
the father and the spirit but not for
the
word if we attempt to make an image of
the invisible God this would be sinful
indeed it is impossible to portray one
who is without body invisible
uncircumscribed and without form
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