Statues and Icons

[Guest JeffCR07]

I am familiar with both the Eastern and Western theological teachings on Icons. My question is whether or not the same teachings hold for statues as well. Are statues of the Blessed Virgin, St. Francis, etc, to be reverenced in the same way as Holy Icons (are the Saints mysteriously present?). Are there "Holy Statues" just as there are "Holy Icons" ? Or [i]are[/i] statues a type of Icon?

anyways, any clarification would be stupendous!

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='JeffCR07' date='Jan 12 2005, 01:03 AM'] I am familiar with both the Eastern and Western theological teachings on Icons. My question is whether or not the same teachings hold for statues as well. Are statues  of the Blessed Virgin, St. Francis, etc, to be reverenced in the same way as Holy Icons (are the Saints mysteriously present?). Are there "Holy Statues" just as there are "Holy Icons" ? Or [i]are[/i] statues a type of Icon?

anyways, any clarification would be stupendous! [/quote]
An icon is a method of prayer, and as such it is a window into heaven, and not simply a piece of art to be gazed upon for aesthetic pleasure. In the Byzantine tradition the theology of icons has normally been applied to two dimensional painted ([i]written[/i]) icons and mosaics alone. It is true that throughout the centuries statues have been placed in Eastern Churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, but there has not been any theological reflection upon them as manifestations of the person that they depict, nor has it been asserted that they contain the uncreated divine energies in the way that written icons do. [1] In the dogmatic definition of the Second Council of Nicaea (AD 787) the Fathers of the council stated that, "We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honorable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. . . . and to these should be given due salutation and honorable reverence, not indeed that true worship of faith ([i]latria[/i]) which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered according to ancient pious custom. For the honor which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented." [2] The portion of the definition on images focuses on methods of representation that are two dimensional in nature, and so it does not appear to refer to statues; but that being said, I am not personally opposed to Westerners applying certain elements of the theology of icons to statues within their own theological tradition, as long as it is applied in a way that is consonant with their own customs. I do not know if such a thing would be acceptable within an Eastern context, and as the Vatican itself has insisted, the various rites of the Church must be true to their own theological and liturgical traditions. [3] This is important because the various ritual traditions of the Church are coherent spiritual and theological systems that taken together form the patrimony of the universal Church, and as such they must be protected from ideas and practices that are foreign to the sensibilities of each of the particular [i]sui juris[/i] Churches. Thus, the veneration of statues is acceptable within the Western tradition even if the Eastern theology of icons cannot be applied to statues, while in the East such veneration is not a part of the received tradition of the Eastern Catholic Churches and as a consequence it should not be introduced into their spiritual tradition.

God bless,
Todd


End Notes:

[1] see Fr. Casimir Kucharek, [u]The Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom[/u]. (Ontario, Canada: Alleluia Press, 1971). Page 211.
[2] Philip Schaff, ed. [u]The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: The Seven Ecumenical Councils[/u]. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994). Series 2, vol. 14, page 550.
[3] see Congregation for the Eastern Churches. [u]Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches[/u]. Issued 6 January 1996. Sections 13-21.