Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Francis A. Sullivan: Second Nicea Affirmed the Veneration of the Image, not the Prototype in Heaven Merely

Commenting on the Second Council of Nicea, Catholic theologian Francis A. Sullivan affirmed that this council allowed for, not the veneration of the “prototype” in heaven an image represents, but the image itself:

 

With the approval of Pope Adrian I, the council took place in 787 and issued a solemn decree approving the veneration of images and distinguishing such veneration from the worship that is due to God alone. It further explained that one who venerates an image venerates the person represented by it. (Francis A. Sullivan, Creative Fidelity: Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the Magisterium [New York: Paulist Press, 1996], 65)