Aniconic worship and the apologetic tradition: a note on Canon 36 of the Council of Elvira
It is well known that the spokesmen for the early Christian church were hostile to religious images.1 They regarded the Old Testament prohibition against images (Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8) as binding upon Christians.2 But even though Christian apologists like Clement of Alexandria and Origen cite...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
1976
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| In: |
Church history
Year: 1976, Volume: 45, Issue: 4, Pages: 428-433 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Council (306 : Elvira)
/ Image prohibition
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | It is well known that the spokesmen for the early Christian church were hostile to religious images.1 They regarded the Old Testament prohibition against images (Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8) as binding upon Christians.2 But even though Christian apologists like Clement of Alexandria and Origen cited the authority of this prohibition,3 they defended the aniconic worship of Christians from pagan attack by borrowing heavily from pagan writers. The arguments they borrowed portrayed the cult of images as a ridiculously inappropriate form of worship, one that degraded the very gods it sought to honor by likening them to base material, shaped by mere craftsmen. |
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| ISSN: | 0009-6407 |
| Contains: | In: Church history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3164346 |