FROM THE 7TH ACTION.

From the Synodical Epistle to Irene and Constantine.

(On Image Worship.)

It is decreed by all means to receive the venerable images of our Lord Jesus Christ, inasmuch as He was a perfect man, and according to all the historical account which is described in the Gospel narration; and of our undefiled Lady, the holy Mother of God, and of the holy angels; (who) appeared as men to those who were worthy of their manifestation; and of all the saints; and (the representations of) their agonistic contests; on tablets and on walls, and on the sacred vessels and vestments, as of old time the holy Catholic Church of God has received, and as has been ordained as well by the holy chief masters of our doctrine, as also by their divine successors, our fathers; and to worship or to salute

ὥστε κατὰ πάντα ἀποδέχεσθαι τὰς σεπτὰς εἰκόνας τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καθὸ τέλειος ἄνθρωπος γέγονε, καὶ ὅσα ἱστορικῶς κατὰ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν διήγησιν διαγράφονται τῆς τε ἀχράντου δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τῆς ἁγίας θεοτόκου, ἁγίων τε αγγέλων· ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἐνεφανίσθησαν τοῖς ἀξίοις γενομένοις τῆς αὐτῶν ἐμφανείας· καὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων· καὶ τοὺς αγωνιστικοὺς αὐτῶν ἄθλους ἔν τε σανίσι καὶ ἐν τοίχοις, ἱεροῖς τε σκεύεσι καὶ ἐσθῆσι, καθὼς ἐκ τῶν ἀνέκαθεν χρόνων ἡ ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία παρέλαβε, καὶ ἐθεσμοθετήθη παρά τε τῶν ἁγίων πρωτάρχων τῆς ἡμῶν διδασ καλίας, καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν διαδόχων θεσπεσίων πατέρων ἡμῶν· καὶ

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them; for both mean the same thing. For to worship (κυνεῖν), in the ancient language of Greece, signifies to salute and to love: and the addition of προς indicates an augmentation of affection ; as φέρω and προσφέρω, κυρῶ and προσκυρῶ, κυνῶ and προσκυνῶ, which marks intensity in the salutation and affection. For what a man loves that he also worships, and what he worships that he assuredly loves; which our human carriage towards our friends testifies, and an embrace, which fulfils both. Nor do we learn this merely from ourselves, but we find it written by the ancients in the Holy Scripture. For in the History of Kings, it is written, "And David arose, and fell on his face to the ground, and worshipped Jonathan:” three times, “ and kissed him." And what again doth our Lord in the Gospel say of the Pharisees? "They love the uppermost

ταύτας προσκυνεῖν, ἤτοι ἀσπάζεσθαι ταυτὸν γὰρ ἀμφότερα κυνεῖν γὰρ τῇ ἑλλαδικῇ ἀρχαίᾳ διαλέκτῳ τὸ ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ τὸ φιλεῖν σημαίνει καὶ τὸ τῆς πρὸς προθέσεως ἐπίτασίν τινα δηλοῖ τοῦ πόθου, ὥσπερ φέρω καὶ προσφέρω, κυρῶ καὶ προσκυρῶ, κυνῶ καὶ προσκυνῶ, ὃ ἐμφαίνει τὸν ἀσπασμὸν καὶ τὴν κατ ̓ ἐπέκτασιν φιλίαν. ὃ γάρ τις φιλεῖ, καὶ προσκυνεῖ· καὶ ὃ προσκυνεῖ, πάντως καὶ φιλεῖ, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη σχέσις ἡ παρ' ἡμῶν πρὸς τοὺς φίλους γινομένη, καὶ ἔντευξις τὰ δύο ἀποτελοῦσα· οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῦτο παρ' ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἐν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ ἐγγεγραμμένον εὑρίσκομεν· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἱστορίαις τῶν βασιλειῶν γέγραπται· καὶ Δαβὶδ ἀνέστη, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσεκύνησε τρὶς τὸν Ιωνάθαν, καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν. τί δὲ πάλιν ὁ κύριος περὶ τῶν φαρισαίων εὐαγγελικῶς φησιν ; ἀγαπῶσι τὰς πρωτοκλισίας ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις, καὶ τοὺς ἀσπασ

rooms at feasts and salutations in the markets." Here it is plain that He speaks of worship as salutation And although the word προσ κύνησις be often found applied in the Holy Scripture, and by our holy and eloquent Fathers, with reference to the spiritual λarpeia it is that being a word of many meanings, it has for one of its significations the worship of λατρεία. For there is also a worship of honour, and affection, and fear as we worship your glorious and most serene empire. There is another worship of fear alone, as Jacob worshipped Esau. And there is another of thankfulness. As Abraham for the field which he bought of the sons of Heth for a burying place for Sarah his wife, worshipped them. And again they who look to receive some favour from their superiors, worship them, as Jacob worshipped Pharaoh. Hence also the Holy Scripture teaching us, "Thou shalt worship the Lord

μοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς. δῆλον ἐνταῦθα ἀσπασμὸν τὴν προσκύνησιν λέγει . . . . . . εἰ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις εὕρηται ἡ προσκύνησις ἐν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ καὶ τοῖς ἀστειολόγοις ἁγίοις πατράσιν ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐν πνέυματι λατρείας, ὡς πολύσημος οὖσα ἡ φωνὴ μίαν τῶν αὐτῆς σημαινομένων ἐμφαίνει τὴν κατὰ λατρείαν προσκύνησιν· ἔστι γὰρ προσκύνησις καὶ ἡ κατὰ τιμὴν καὶ πόθον καὶ φόβον· ὡς προσκυνοῦμεν ἡμεῖς τὴν καλλίνικον καὶ ἡμερωτάτην ὑμῶν βασιλείαν. ἔστιν ἑτέρα κατὰ φόβον μόνον· ὡς Ἰακὼβ προσεκύνησε τὸν Ἠσαῦ. ἔστι καὶ κατὰ χάριν ὡς ̓Αβραὰμ ὑπὲρ ἀγροῦ, οὗ ἔλαβεν παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν Χὲτ εἰς ταφὴν Σάῤῥας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, προσεκύνησεν αὐτούς· πάλιν δὲ προσδοκῶντές τινες ἀντιλήψεως τυχεῖν παρὰ τῶν ὑπερεχόντων, προσκυνοῦσιν αὐτοὺς, ὡς Ἰακὼβ τὸν Φαραώ· ἔνθεν καὶ ἡ θεία γραφὴ διδάσκουσα ἡμᾶς· Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις, καὶ αὐτῷ

thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve," speaks freely of worship, and not in respect to him alone, as being a word of various acceptations, and ambiguous: but it directs thou shalt serve (λατρεύ σεις) Him alone; for to God alone do we offer Latria. These things being manifest, it is agreed unanimously and without gainsaying, that it is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God to worship and salute the representative images of the dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the undefiled Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary, and of the honourable angels, and of all the saints. And if any one doth not so, but contends against, or behaves indifferently in respect to the worship of the venerable images, our holy and ecumenical synod anathematizes him.

μόνῳ λατρεύσεις· τὴν μὲν προσκύνησιν ἀπολύτως καὶ οὐ μόνῳ εἴρηκεν, ὡς διάφορα σημαινόμενα ἔχουσαν καὶ ὁμώνυμον οὖσαν τὴν φωνήν. τὸ δὲ λατρεύσεις αὐτῷ μόνῳ εἴρηκε· καὶ γὰρ μόνῳ Θεῷ τὴν λατρείαν ἡμεῖς ἀναφέρομεν τούτων οὕτως ἀποδειχθέντων, ὁμολογουμένως καὶ ἀναμφισβητήτως ἀποδεκτὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον εἶναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰκονικὰς ἀνατυπώσεις τῆς τε οἰκονομίας τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῆς ἀχράντου θεοτόκου καὶ ἀειπαρθένου Μαρίας, τῶν τε τιμίων ἀγγέλων, καὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, προσκυνεῖν καὶ ἀσπάζεσθαι. - Καὶ εἴ τις μὴ οὕτως ἔχοι, αλλ' αμφισβητοίη καὶ νοσοῖ περὶ τὴν τῶν σεπτῶν εἰκόνων προσκύνησιν, τοῦτον ἀναθεματίζει ἡ ἁγία καὶ οἰκουμενικὴ ἡμῶν σύνοδος, κ. τ. λ. Conc. vii. 582, 584.

CANON VII:-(On Relics.)

We decree that whatever venerable churches have been consecrated without holy relics of martyrs, shall have a deposit of relics made in them with the accustomed prayer. And if after the present time any Bishop shall be found consecrating a church without holy relics, let him be deposed, as one that transgresseth ecclesiastical tradition.

Κανὼν ζ'.

ὅσοι οὖν σεπτοὶ ναοὶ καθιερώσθησαν ἐκτὸς ἁγίων λειψάνων μαρτύρων, ὁρίζομεν ἐν αὐτοῖς κατάθεσιν γενέσθαι λειψάνων μετὰ καὶ τῆς συνήθους εὐχῆς. καὶ εἰ ἀπὸ τοῦ παρόντος τις εὑρεθῇ ἐπίσκοπος χωρὶς ἁγίων λειψάνων καθιερῶν ναὸν, καθαιρείσθω, ὡς παραβεβηκὼς τὰς ἐκκλησιαστικὰς παραδόσεις.—Conc. vii. 604.