And if the prophets gathered in jubilation to worship the Ark (aedificaverat
adorabant), which Moses built at the Lord’s command, what ought we to do
with respect to the cross of our redeemer, whom the Ark, the Tabernacle, and
all of the commandments nd sacrifices prescribed by his law serve and
prefigure? Moses himself demonstrated sufficiently that the mystery of the
cross lay hidden in the Ark, when, in leading it ahead and raising it aloft
from the camp, he said: “Rise, the Lord and may our enemies be confounded!” And
when it was brought into camp and set in its place, he said: “Return, Lord, to
the thousand and ten thousand sons of Israel.” (“Apology of al-Kindī,” in Medieval
Latin Lives of Muhammad [trans. Julian Yolles and Jessica Weiss; Dumbarton
Oaks Medieval Library 51; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2018],
439)
Elsewhere, we
read the following qualification:
You know that all of us Christians do not worship the cross, but God’s
glory and virtue that are in the cross, for we believe that it is the cause of
our salvation (Tu enim scis quoniam nos omnes Christiani non colimus crucem,
sed quae in cruce est Dei gloriam et virtutem). Have we not debated about
this often, and are you still shut off from the truth? Why then did you turn
away from what was probable and certain within you? But I am patient, since
with God’s aid you will one day amend your reviews, and, without doubt, will be
saved. (Ibid., 441)
Further
Reading:
Answering
Fundamentalist Protestants and Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox on Images/Icons
