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Veneration of icons

Devotional Practices

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Origin 600 to 787 CE

Orthodox Christians honour painted images of Christ, Mary and the saints as points of contact with the person shown rather than as religious art. An icon is kissed on entering a church, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home where the family prays. It is generally unsigned, and it is written to a received pattern rather than invented: the iconographer works within conventions of pose, colour and inscription that identify the subject and hold the image to the tradition. The theological argument is that God became visible in Christ, so images of him are permitted, and forbidding them denies the incarnation. Honour paid to the image is held to pass to the person depicted, while worship belongs to God alone.

Facts
Status
Status Within the TraditionSourced to the subject's own account
Image veneration was banned under Emperor Leo III from around 726 to 730 and again forbidden by a council at Hieria in 754; it was first reinstated at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 under Empress Regent Irene, which anathemized iconoclasm, banned again by Leo V in 815, and decisively restored at the Council of Constantinople in 843 under Empress Regent Theodora. 3
Current StatusSourced to the subject's own account
Icons remain a standard feature of Orthodox devotional life today, including the icon corner kept in private homes, typically lit with a candle or an oil lamp continuing an old form of the practice. 3
Observance
Observance NoteSourced to the subject's own account
An icon is kissed on entering a church, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home where the family prays. 3
Origins
Origin Period
600 to 787 CE 1
Place of Origin
The Byzantine Empire, centred on Constantinople 1
Practice
Category of Practice
Devotional 1
Who Performs It
All adherents of the tradition 1
Solitary or Communal
Performed alone or together 1
Liturgical and Scriptural RoleSourced to the subject's own account
Orthodox doctrine distinguishes veneration from worship on the principle, attributed to Basil of Caesarea, that the honor paid to an image passes to what it depicts; kissing an icon is understood as directed toward the person shown rather than toward the wood and paint itself. 3
Attestation
Earliest Attestation
The Eastern Orthodox veneration of icons was formally defended at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which distinguished the honour paid to the image from the worship due to God alone, following the iconoclast controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries. 2
Scholarship and Forensics
Scholarly Note
An icon is generally left unsigned and is written to a received pattern rather than invented afresh: the iconographer works within fixed conventions of pose, colour and inscription that identify the subject and hold the finished image to the tradition rather than to the individual painter's own style. 2
Learn More
Honouring the Holy Image

The veneration of icons is a central devotional practice of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and of the Eastern Catholic churches, in which sacred images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints are honoured with reverence, bowed to, kissed, censed, and set before candles and lamps. Orthodox theology draws a careful and essential distinction: the honour given to icons is veneration, a relative honour that passes to the person the image represents, and never worship, which belongs to God alone. The icon is understood as a window onto the holy, a point of contact through which the worshipper's reverence reaches the one depicted, and the tradition insists that the image itself is not adored but that the honour shown it ascends to its prototype.

The practice was forged in the fierce controversy of the Iconoclast period, when in the eighth and ninth centuries the Byzantine church was riven by those who condemned the images as idolatry and destroyed them, and those who defended them. The defenders, above all John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite, argued that because God had become visible in the incarnation of Christ, taking flesh and entering the material world, he could rightly be depicted, and that the making and honouring of icons affirmed rather than denied the reality of the incarnation. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 vindicated the icons and defined the distinction between veneration and worship, and the eventual restoration of the images is still celebrated annually in Orthodoxy as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy." Icons thus carry a weight beyond the devotional: their veneration is bound up with the Orthodox understanding of matter, the incarnation, and the sanctification of the created world.

The Iconoclast Controversy

The theological argument for icons was forced into its sharpest form by a state campaign to destroy them. Beginning around 726, Byzantine emperor Leo III moved against the veneration of images, and his son Constantine V convened a council in 754 that condemned icons outright, on the grounds that any image of Christ either falsely confined his divine nature to paint or falsely divided his two natures by depicting only the human one. Soldiers whitewashed church walls, burned panel icons and in some accounts destroyed relics along with them, and monks, who were prominent icon defenders, were harassed and in places killed.

John of Damascus, writing from safety outside imperial territory, supplied the counterargument that later prevailed: since God took a visible, circumscribable human body in the incarnation, refusing to depict Christ denied that the incarnation had truly happened, and honour shown to an image passes to its prototype rather than terminating in wood and paint. The Second Council of Nicaea restored icons in 787, a second wave of destruction followed under later emperors, and the controversy was finally settled in 843, an event still kept in the Orthodox calendar as the Feast of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Great Lent, celebrated precisely as the restoration of the icons. The episode left a permanent mark on Orthodox self-understanding: icon veneration is remembered not as an inherited custom that went unquestioned but as a position fought for and defined against an explicit doctrinal rival, which is why Orthodox writers describe the practice in credal terms rather than merely devotional ones.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Armenian Apostolic Church, Denominations

Kept in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian churches keep their own iconographic styles and honour images in worship, though they were not party to the seventh council at which the East settled the question, having separated in the fifth century.

Church of Cyprus, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Cyprus, autocephalous since the Council of Ephesus in 431. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Church of Greece, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Greece. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Coptic Orthodoxy, Denominations

Kept in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian churches keep their own iconographic styles and honour images in worship, though they were not party to the seventh council at which the East settled the question, having separated in the fifth century.

Eastern Orthodoxy, Denominations
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Denominations

Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Denominations

Kept in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian churches keep their own iconographic styles and honour images in worship, though they were not party to the seventh council at which the East settled the question, having separated in the fifth century.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Denominations

Kept in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian churches keep their own iconographic styles and honour images in worship, though they were not party to the seventh council at which the East settled the question, having separated in the fifth century.

Georgian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Georgian Orthodox Church, which has used its own language and script in worship since the fifth century. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally

Greek Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Greek Orthodox churches. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Old Believers, Denominations

Only icons painted in the older manner are venerated, and the newer Westernised style is refused.

Oriental Orthodoxy, Denominations
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Roman Catholicism, Denominations
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Romanian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Romanian Orthodox Church, the one Orthodox church of the Byzantine tradition whose language is Romance. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally u

Russian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Slavonic recension of the Byzantine books. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Serbian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Denominations

Icons are venerated as in the Orthodox churches, and the iconostasis stands in these churches as it does in theirs.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.

Critiqued By

African Methodist Episcopal Church, Denominations

Kept in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first denomination in the United States founded by Black people. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Denominations

Kept in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Anglican Communion, Denominations

Kept across the provinces of the Anglican Communion. Article XXII names the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics among the things it calls a fond thing vainly invented and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.

Anglicanism, Denominations

Article XXII names the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics among the things it calls a fond thing vainly invented and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.

Source The Thirty-Nine Articles of ReligionChurch of Englandthe holders' own account
Baptist, Denominations

The veneration of images is rejected outright.

Calvinism (Reformed), Denominations

The Heidelberg Catechism forbids the making of any image of God and refuses to allow images in churches as books for the unlearned, on the ground that God would have his people taught by the preaching of his word.

Source The Heidelberg CatechismZacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus (traditional attribution)
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Denominations

Kept in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Church of England, Denominations

Kept in the Church of England, the province from which the Prayer Book tradition comes. Article XXII names the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics among the things it calls a fond thing vainly invented and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.

Church of Ireland, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Ireland. Article XXII names the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics among the things it calls a fond thing vainly invented and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.

Church of Scotland, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Scotland, the established Presbyterian church of that country. The Heidelberg Catechism forbids the making of any image of God and refuses to allow images in churches as books for the unlearned, on the ground that God would have his people taught by the preaching of his word.

Church of the Nazarene, Denominations

Kept in the Church of the Nazarene, which stands in the Wesleyan holiness line. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Dutch Reformed Church, Denominations

Kept in the Dutch Reformed tradition, which holds the Heidelberg Catechism among its confessional standards. The Heidelberg Catechism forbids the making of any image of God and refuses to allow images in churches as books for the unlearned, on the ground that God would have his people taught by the preaching of his word.

Free Methodist Church, Denominations

Kept in the Free Methodist Church. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Global Methodist Church, Denominations

Kept in the Global Methodist Church, formed in 2022. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Methodism, Denominations

The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Source The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Churchthe holders' own account
National Baptist Convention of America, Denominations

Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. The veneration of images is rejected outright.

Presbyterianism, Denominations

Images in worship are refused, and the Scottish churches were built without them.

Source The Westminster Confession of FaithWestminster Assemblythe holders' own account
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Denominations

Kept in the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The veneration of images is rejected outright.

The Episcopal Church, Denominations

Kept in the Episcopal Church, whose own Prayer Book descends from the Scottish rather than the English line. Article XXII names the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics among the things it calls a fond thing vainly invented and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.

The United Methodist Church, Denominations

Kept in the United Methodist Church. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Wesleyan Church, Denominations

Kept in the Wesleyan Church. The Articles name the worshipping and adoration of images and of relics as a fond thing vainly invented.

Related To

Icon Painting, Practices

The veneration the finished icon receives

Sources
1. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised edition
F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005View the Source
2. Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes
John Meyendorff, Fordham University Press, 1979View the Source
3. Icon (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, 2026on the iconoclasm controversy and its 787 and 843 resolutions, the veneration-passes-to-the-prototype principle, and the icon corner in contemporary Orthodox homesView the Source
Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View the Source
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Westminster Assembly, 1646the holders' own accountView the Source
The Heidelberg Catechism
Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus (traditional attribution), Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate, Heidelberg, 1563View the Source
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
Church of England, 1571the holders' own accountView the Source
The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church, The United Methodist Publishing Housethe holders' own accountView the Source
Decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea, 787The decrees of 787
Quote, The decrees of 787
The council settled the veneration, as distinct from the worship, of images.
the holders' own accountView the Source
Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent
Council of Trent, 1563The 1563 session
Quote, The 1563 session
Trent restated the veneration of saints and images in 1563; the 1547 session dealt with the sacraments.
the holders' own accountView the Source
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