About icon veneration

In these letters to St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov) discusses the meaning of icon veneration in Christianity. In a letter to Secundin, he emphasizes the importance of icons as a means of promoting the spiritual ascent of believers. Icons serve not as objects of worship, but as figurative reminders of God, which help strengthen love for Him through daily contemplation. Worship of icons is directed at the One whose image is depicted, and not at the icon itself. In 2 letters to Serenus, Bishop of Messalia, St. Gregory condemns the destruction of icons, undertaken out of fear that some might begin to idolize them. He praises Seren's commitment to defending the purity of the faith, but insists that icons are necessary for spiritual instruction, especially for the illiterate who cannot read sacred texts. The saint recommends that the bishop gather with the parishioners, explain to them the purpose of the icons (they are needed for edification) and guide them to a correct understanding of worship (only God should be worshiped). Contents 1. From a letter to Secundinus 2. Letter to Serenus, Bishop of Messalia 3. Letter to him I sent to you with Deacon Dulnid those icons that you asked for. I liked this request of yours, for it proves that with all your heart and with all your thoughts you strive for the One whose image you desire to have, and you want to strengthen your love for Him by daily looking at His image. Guided through the visible to the invisible, we do not deviate from the truth. I am sure that you want to have an icon of the Savior not in order to idolize it, but in order to, remembering the Son of God, be confirmed in love for Him. For when we worship an icon, we worship not it, but the One whose Nativity, or suffering, or glorification is depicted on it. Therefore, remembering His resurrection and passion, we are quickened in spirit. I sent you two decks with images of the Lord the Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos Mary, as well as the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul; and beyond this, the Cross, so that the Crucified One on it will protect you and preserve you from the wiles of the evil one, so that you may be established in virtue and preserve your love for Him to the end, since you, out of love for Him, seek solitude (Book 9. Scripture 52). 2. Letter to Serenus, Bishop of Messalia I am answering you late not because of oblivion, but because of many activities. I ask you not to detain the bearer of this letter, my beloved son Kyriak, the head of the monastery, in Messalia. Let him, with the consolation of your shrine, with God's help, go to my brother, co-bishop Syagrius. I inform you that I have known for a long time that you, dear brother, crushed and completely removed icons from churches because you saw that some idolized them. Hearing this, I praised your zeal to ensure that people do not idolize the work of their own hands. But you should not have destroyed the icons, for painting was introduced into the Churches so that, looking at wall images, they would learn what they could not read in books. Therefore, you, dear brother, were obliged to leave the icons intact, and to keep the people from idolizing them, from which the illiterate would not have remained ignorant, and the people would have avoided idolizing the images (Book 9. Scripture 105). Having read the beginning of your letter, I was glad to see in you the spirit characteristic of the High Priest, but its end is so different from the beginning that one can consider it the work of another mind. In your doubt about the letter I sent to you, one can see one imprudence. For if you had more diligently delved into my fraternal advice, you would not only not have doubted the truth of it, but you would also have learned how you should have acted in accordance with the importance of your title, for Abbot Kyriak, who delivered my letter to you, never gave any reason to suspect him of lying. And since you did not want to listen to my saving advice, then you are guilty not only for the work that you did, but also for the issue that you proposed to me. I was told that you, out of reckless jealousy, crushed the icons of the Saints, supposedly under the pretext that they would not be idolized. For the fact that you forbade idolizing them, I praise you, but for the fact that you crushed them, I do not praise you. For tell me, dear one, which High Priest acted as you did? Besides, are you holier and smarter than everyone else? It is known that unscientists acquire through painting the information that scientists glean from books, because from it [painting] the most ignorant see what they should do, even those who cannot read read in it, therefore painting for the pagans replaces books. You especially had to pay attention to this, because you live among the pagans, so that you would not tempt their coarse minds with reckless zeal. Therefore, you should not have crushed what was set up in the Church not for deification, but for teaching the ignorant. It was not without reason that our ancestors began to depict the lives of saints. And if you had tempered your zeal with reasoning, then, without a doubt, you would have fulfilled my desire, and you would not have scattered the flock, but otherwise you would have gathered it in such a way that they would speak of you as a shepherd, and not as a spendthrift. But, since you fulfilled your desire without reasoning, you led your children into such temptation without reasoning that many of them broke off communication with you. You must call together the scattered sons of the Church, from St. Scripture to prove to them that they should not adore the works of human hands, because the Scripture says: “Thou shalt worship thy Lord, and serve Him alone” (Luke 4:8). Then explain that when you saw that they began to idolize icons that were installed to teach simple, illiterate people, so that, looking at the images, they would recognize past events, you were so offended that you crushed the icons. And after this, tell them that if they want to have icons in the Churches for edification, for which they were invented in ancient times, then you allow them to have them, because you did not like the depiction of history, but the idolization of icons, which is completely unusual for them. Having pacified their spirit with such words, invite them to unite with you, and if anyone expresses a desire to have icons, then do not, do not forbid, but resist their idolization in every possible way. Most of all, dear brother, inspire that, looking at the image of past incidents, they will be touched in their souls, and with all humility they will idolize the one Almighty Trinity (Book 11. Scripture 13).