[67]
This verse of the psalmist
reflects the error that has taken root in the hearts of some, so much so that
they establish synods and attempt to use testimonies from the Holy Scriptures
to support the worship of images, believing they can defend themselves when
they hear that the footstool of the Lord is to be worshipped. They think they
possess a helmet to protect the head of the body, lest the flashing sword
inflict wounds; they believe they have a breastplate to guard their bodies
against the blows of the arrows of their stability; they think they have gained
protection through a shield, by which they do not fear the flight of wounding
missiles. But in doing so, they either succumb to the truth or flee, stripped
of these defenses, as they have misused them in vain and useless ways, and they
will feel the sharpness of the spiritual sword wielded by holy men, so much so
that they will not even believe they possess any strength. Is it because the
footstool of the Lord is commanded to be worshipped by the prophet that the
worship of images should be established? What, then, is the similarity between
the footstool of the Lord and material images? Or what communion is there
between the ineffable works of God and images made by any craftsman? Or what
association exists between such an excellent and glorious mystery and the
figures crafted by human ingenuity? Or where is it instituted that images
should be worshipped, just as it is instituted that the footstool of the Lord
should be worshipped? For David does not say: "Worship the images of
certain saints," as he says: "Worship the footstool of the
Lord"; nor does the Lord say: "The works of human hands are my
throne, but images are the footstool of my feet"; rather, He says:
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66:1).
Therefore, listen, most foolish error, or rather, insane delusion; listen,
incomparable madness; listen, ridiculous sloth; listen to blessed Ambrose
teaching what the footstool of the Lord is and how it is to be worshipped:
"The apostles worshipped the Lord, because they bore witness to the faith
and received the teaching of faith. The angels worship Him, of whom it is
written: 'And let all His angels worship Him.'" They worship not only His
divinity but also His footstool, for it is holy. And shortly afterward:
"But lest anyone think that the example seems to pertain to the mystery of
the Lord's incarnation, let us consider what the prophet says: 'And worship the
footstool of His feet.' For we should not assess the footstool according to
human usage. For God is neither corporeal nor limited, so that we should think
of the footstool as a support for His feet; nor do we read that anything other
than God is to be worshipped, for it is written: 'You shall worship the Lord
your God, and Him only shall you serve' (Matthew 4:10). How, then, could the
prophet command worship under the law, being nourished and educated in the law?
It is therefore not a trivial question, and we should therefore consider more
carefully what the footstool is. For we read elsewhere: 'Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.' But the earth is not to be worshipped by us,
for it is a creation of God. Let us see, however, whether the prophet says that
the earth is to be worshipped, which the Lord Jesus took upon Himself in the
assumption of flesh. Thus, the footstool is understood as the earth, and
through the earth, the flesh of Christ, which we today worship in the
mysteries and which the apostles worshipped in the Lord Jesus, as we have said
above. For Christ is not divided, but is one; nor was He denied as the Son
of God, born of the Virgin, when He was worshipped. Therefore, since the
sacrament of the incarnation is to be worshipped, and the incarnation is
the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is written: 'The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child
to be born will be called holy, the Son of God' (Luke 1:35). This footstool of
the Lord is also referred to by the most diligent seeker, Saint Augustine, as
the body of the Lord. (source;
number in square brackets refers to the page number of the original
language source)
[87]
XXVII. That it is a great
temerity and an immense absurdity to equate the aforementioned images with the
body and blood of the Lord, as is written in the same vanity that was composed
for their adoration.
When the Lord says in the Gospel:
"True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," we
marvel at the madness of those who have become so negligent in the adoration of
images that, although it is clear that they possess neither spirit nor truth,
they presume not only to worship them but also to equate them with the body and
blood of the Lord, saying: "Just as the body and blood of the Lord pass
from the fruits of the earth to the significant mystery, so too may the images
crafted by the art of artisans pass into the veneration of those whose
likenesses they are made." This is because the sacrament of the body and
blood of the Lord is granted to us by the same Mediator of God and men through
the hand of the priest and the invocation of the divine name, while the images,
needing no imposition of hands or mystery of consecration, are formed and
assembled only by those who are experienced in the art of painting and skilled
in the crafting of colors, or by those who, through the knowledge of the
material's properties, can compose faces through some craft or skill.
Certainly, for the consecration of these images, the priest, adorned with the
sacred vestments, mixing the prayers of the surrounding people with his own,
makes remembrance of the Lord's passion and resurrection from the dead, as well
as of His glorious ascension into heaven, and these are presented by the hands
of angels at the sublime altar of God and in the sight of His majesty. The
painter, seeking suitable places for his work, should only pursue the beauty of
colors and the enhancement of his craft. Therefore, it is exceedingly distant
from the path of truth, reason, and discretion for anyone to attempt to equate
images with the body and blood of the Lord. For Melchizedek, king of Salem,
priest of the Most High God, is said to have offered not an image but bread and
wine as a type of the body and blood of the Lord. In the Mosaic account, in the
prefiguration of our Redeemer, whose flesh we take for the remission of sins,
and by the blood of the striking angel we escape the onslaught, the lamb is commanded to be eaten by families, and the use
of images to be venerated or adored is entirely repudiated. The psalmist
also sang of the bread of angels, namely Christ, to be eaten by men, and he
likened the creators of images to those that are created, saying with sweet
melody. For the Author of the human race, who did not disdain to take on flesh
for our salvation, established the saving beginning on the day of His most
sacred passion, connecting the two opposing walls in Himself as the
cornerstone, thus making the two one. Taking the bread, blessing it, and
breaking it, He gave this command to His disciples: "Take," He said,
"and eat: This is my body." Similarly, after supper, He took the cup
and gave it to His disciples, saying: "Take and drink. For this is the cup
of my blood, of the new and eternal testament, which will be poured out for you
and for many for the remission of sins. Whenever you do this, do it in
remembrance of me." (source;
number in square brackets refers to the page number of the original
language source)
[88]
Since, therefore, the Church
holds clearly and more brightly the document of this most evident and most
sacred mystery through the mystical figures of the Old Testament and through
the institution of the New Testament, there is no longer any excuse for this
most insolent use of the adoration of images, which is not only not commanded
but is also prohibited by the page of the Old Testament and is not only not
permitted in the series of the New Testament but is also condemned. For He who
said: "My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink," and
"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in
him," did not say: "My image is truly life, and the picture inscribed
with my name is truly salvation," nor did He say: "Whoever paints my
likeness and worships my manufactured image abides in me, and I in him."
And He who said: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, you have no life in you," did not say: "Unless you paint my
image and worship my likeness constructed by art, you will not have life in
you." He who said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I will
give for the life of the world is my flesh," and "Whoever believes in
me will never hunger or thirst," has said nothing similar about an image,
since, as we have previously mentioned, He established the commemoration of His
most sacred passion not in the works of artisans or worldly arts, but in the
consecration of His body and blood, nor did He decree that His faith and
confession should be made in pictures, but in the mouth and heart, as Scripture
says: "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation." For when He says: "If you
abide in me, and my words abide in you," He clearly shows that we should
not remain in images and images in us, but that we should remain in Him through
faith and His words in us through the study of reading and the fulfillment of
works. The Apostle Paul, indeed, a chosen vessel, sees that the sacrament of
the body and blood of the Lord should not be equated with every sacrament but
should be preferred above nearly all, saying: "Let a man examine himself,
and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and
drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself." Since
he shows such diligence in examining those who approach to partake of these,
and he strikes with such severity those who come to receive them carelessly and
unworthily, nothing similar is mentioned about those who flee the adoration of
images, but on the contrary, he speaks of those who misuse images, saying:
"And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made
like corruptible man." Thus, there is a great distance, beyond what the
eye of the mind can grasp, between the sacrament of the body and blood of the
Lord and the images depicted by the art of painters, since the former is made
by the invisible operation of the Spirit of God, while the latter is visibly
made by the hand of an artist. The former is consecrated by a priest through
the invocation of the divine name, while the latter is painted by a painter
through the knowledge of human art. The former is carried to the sublime altar
of God by angelic hands, while the latter is placed by human hands, constructed
for the gaze of the onlookers. Through the former, sins are forgiven; through
the latter, if misused, they are added to. The former has no need of growth,
nor is it diminished in any way; the latter grows according to the artist's
skill in beauty and is, in a way, diminished; the former confirms the newness
of antiquity and the antiquity of newness. (source;
number in square brackets refers to the page number of the original
language source)
