About holy icons

Contents Chapter 1. About holy icons, it is proper to worship them. Chapter 2. The legend of icon painters, as they should be. Chapter 3. About that, except for holy icons, there is nothing for a true believer to write about. Chapter 4. About the icons that we place above the gates. Packs about icon painters Chapter 5. About icons painted by the hands of infidels, do not accept them, and do not deliver holy icons into the hands of infidels. Chapter 6. About what things to write on and imagine holy icons on, and what not to write on. About the fact that you can’t deplete the count Chapter 1. About holy icons, it is proper to worship them. Some people are trying to ask me from whom the veneration of icons began, but we answer to them, as from the beginning and from time immemorial. Just like Paul, the divine apostle and chosen vessel, to the Jews, denouncing them, he says, “The hedgehog in the tabernacle, who spoke in the holy places, above the ark of the Holy One says with the cherubs of glory, who overshadow the altar.” Even if the holy ark appears overshadowing the cherubim, surely it is for the praise and worship of the heavenly God. We are talking about other things as well. When God appeared in the flesh, then he himself spoke to the Jews, asking them, whose image and writing is on the date? Deciding to him: Caesar. He said to them: Render therefore the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, and the things that are God's to God. What about Caesarean? Just tribute and fear. What about God? Also honor and worship. And do not say: do not see the image, but render like to like. Even then there were images, but not all were equal and unified. Ovii for the testimony of the century of memory for the sake of, like Menander 3 and others. Oviya, for the sake of the shrine, just as here he speaks of glory with the cherubim. For this reason, he does not speak about their teaching; he proclaims them below the gospel. It is necessary for a primitive human being to eat and eat everything in every way, and whoever is not born on earth cannot be without an image. Look dangerously and pay attention to this wisely. If, according to the evangelical saying, images of the Roman Caesars are written on dates and on gold plates and decals, then I don’t hate other kings and strong and glorious men to be written in their image, just as the story 4 will tell about the sacrum and the pillar. But the Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, after His incarnation, how can anyone decide whether to leave and not write the most pure and divine flesh of his imagination? If it is already fitting for His most pure image to be painted of the Savior Christ, then does it deserve to be disgraced and mixed with simple images? As he says: what union is there between light and darkness, and between Christ and Veliyar? It is also appropriate to pay attention to the image of his most pure Mother of God and all his saints. For the Lord himself said: Wherever I am, there will my servant also be 5. The rest should also be spoken about the icon image of God; everyone always worships it, compelled by nature, and not legally for the sake of tradition. From the very beginning God created man in his own image and likeness. What does this reveal, in the words “in its own image and likeness”? Indeed, the likeness is called, as it says: Be generous, as your heavenly Father is generous. And again Paul cries: Be ye therefore like unto me, even as unto Christ 6 . The image is the Life-Giving and Holy Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - mind, word and spirit. Man cannot be apart from mind, word and spirit, even if he is faithful or unfaithful. For this reason all men worship among themselves; I do not worship the flesh, but the image of God. If we worshiped flesh, then we would worship every beast, that is, the horse, the ox, and other dumb natures, but for this reason we are different from these, superior and more honest than these, because we carry the image of God within ourselves and worship it. For there is a mind, a word and a spirit, the invisible image of the invisible God, who receives glory, honor, and worship in our visible flesh. When, through the incarnation of the Word, human flesh was deified according to what was said, and the Word became flesh, 7 and then we write a visible image to the flesh of the visible God, we worship him, and thus we bring honor to the original being. And those who do not worship the image of God who appeared in the flesh do not believe that God the Word of the Most Pure and Ever-Virgin Mary took flesh, and God was perfect and man was perfect. Chapter 2. The legend of icon painters, as they should be. It is fitting for an icon painter to be a purist, to live a spiritual life and have good morals, to adorn himself with humility and meekness and to persecute everything that is good, and not to be a foul speaker, nor a blasphemer, nor a fornicator, nor a drunkard, nor a slanderer, nor any other of those who follow bad practices. For such a holy cause, such people are not forgiven to eat. Just as the Lord spoke of old to Moses, he filled them with joy with the spirit of God 8 . This same one made glad the worker of the tabernacle of the testimony of the Old Law. It is even more appropriate for the present grace to those who painted the image of the Savior Christ our God, and His Most Pure Mother of God, and His saints, to strive to perceive the spirit of God. And the icon painter would be cunning about the similarity of the ancient translations and the first masters, God-wise men, from the beginning they were committed to the announcement of every event that happened, a miracle or a phenomenon, and he would not add a single new thing 9, if anyone even thinks of understanding, and besides the saints, the father of tradition should not dare. If someone really wants to be cunning of holy icons in the imagination, but the living one is not more graceful, do not command such to write. And again, even if someone has a spiritual life, but cannot beautifully imagine holy icons, such people should not be commanded to paint holy icons. But let him feed on other handicrafts, whatever he wants. Chapter 3. About that, except for holy icons, there is nothing for a true believer to write about. If someone is worthy of being skilled in every way for such a holy work, which is the icon imagination, then it is not appropriate for him to draw anything other than the saints in his imagination, he would like to imagine what there is to mock man: neither a brutal image, nor a serpent, nor anything else from those who spit, or a kind of gmyzhevesk 10, except where any in the happened deeds, as it is convenient and similar. Chapter 4. About the icons that we place above the gates. It is not appropriate for Orthodox Christians to place imaginary beasts and serpents and any unfaithful brave men over the gates of their houses. Orthodox Christians would place holy icons or honorable crosses over the gates of their houses, and we worship them when entering the house or leaving the house, and we venerate the primitive being, just as our fathers did. This is a sign for the faithful. All this should be edified and taught by a saint and priest, a spiritual superior, as the apostle said: repent of your teacher 11. And on those who disobey and disobey with penances, a prohibition is imposed, just as the divine rules command. Worthy icon painters and those who have been worthy of such holy work, zealous imagination and considerable life, should be honored honestly, and should be seated at the seats and at suppers near the saints with honest people, just like other clerics. Chapter 5. Concerning icons written by the hands of infidels, do not accept them, and do not deliver holy icons into the hands of infidels. It is not appropriate for Orthodox Christians to receive icons of the imagination from infidels and foreign Romans and Germans. What if, by some chance from ancient times, it will be found in our faithful countries, preferably in Greek or Russian, but it will be imaginable after the schism of the church, as with the Romans 12, and then, even if there is a great icon imagination in the likeness, and cunningly, do not worship them, since they are imaginary at the hands of infidels. Even if they are in likeness, their conscience is subject to uncleanness. About such Paul, the divine apostle, sending to Titus, writes with this verb: everything is pure to the pure, but to the defiled and unfaithful nothing is pure, until the mind and conscience are defiled by them. The vedati will confess God, and his deeds will be abolished. They are vile, and unruly, and unskillful in every good work 13. And to the infidels and foreigners, especially tell the wicked and filthy Armenians not to paint 14 holy icons, and not to exchange them for silver and gold. It is written: You will not give the holy dog ​​15. Chapter 6. About what things to write on and imagine holy icons on, and what not to write on. Paint holy icons and imagine, as the Fathers commanded at the Seventh Council of the Holy and God-bearing, on every tree, and stone, and on pillars, and on walls, and on church vessels, which are strong in substance, that is, in things. And do not write or imagine holy icons on glass, because this is a crushing thing. It also befits you to be an honest graphic artist or an icon painter. Even if one has a reverent life, one has also been honored to imitate the zealous and fair likeness of the ancient godly graphs, and, moreover, may not burden the holy icons with the price of silver, but will be pleased to receive from the one who has money for food, and clothing, and for handicrafts, a stockpile 16 . About the fact that you can’t deplete the count In the same way, every devout Christian who has faith, having painted any holy image, should not waste it, satisfy the honest artist, as it should and conveniently, and not worry about certain necessary needs. Published for the first time based on a semi-statutory Old Believer manuscript of the 19th century. GIM Khlud. 75, l. 772–774 vol. Two other lists known to us are GBL f. 37, No. 437 (former code: f. 178, Museum. 3840, part II), and GBL f. 199 Nikif. 557, l. 1–5 – do not give any significant discrepancies. The latter goes back to the 123rd chapter of the “Ancient Written Helmsman” and is not inscribed with the name of Maxim. Maximus the Greek owns “The Tale of Menander the Philosopher,” and, presumably, he knew some image of the Greek writer of the 4th century. BC, whose sayings were valued by Christian thinkers. This is true for all lists. According to the meaning here, one would expect “The Tale of Serukha” (from the Lexicon of Svida) about the beginning of the veneration of the bravest men. It is also possible to read “The Pillar of Irakli”, or “The Tale of Khozrov” (see: Tvorogov O.V. Old Russian chronographs. M., “Nauka”, 1975, p. 95). Attitude of Rev. The maxim for “Armenom” is mainly due to political motives.