From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

November 4th - St. Joannicius
(Died 846)

Every now and again critics have accused Christians of =E2=80=9Cidol-worshi= p=E2=80=9D
because they venerate sacred statues and pictures. At first glance,
those who criticize seem to have a point. Does not the First
Commandment say, =E2=80=9CYou shall not carve idols for yourself. You shall
not bow down before them or worship them.=E2=80=9D (Exodus, 20:4,5)? Yet yo=
u
and I hold images of Jesus, the saints, the cross, etc. in traditional reverence.

There will always be a possibility that some Christians, in using
sacred images, will fall into idolatrous notions, or at least
superstitious ones. In the earliest centuries of Christianity, Church
leaders were careful not to emphasize image use for this reason. But
as the ancient world became more Christian, the danger lessened. Even
the Old Testament did not totally forbid images, nor did Jesus renew,
in the New Testament, the strict condemnations of the Old Law. By the
4th and 5th centuries, Christians were already accustomed to using
images for illustrative purposes (the cross, Scripture scenes, for
instance, in the wall decorations of churches and the catacombs). They
were also beginning to use images for veneration (praying before them, surrounding them with lights, etc.). It was the eighth-century heresy
called iconoclasm (=E2=80=9Cdestruction of ikons=E2=80=9D) that brought for=
th a
defense of Christian image use. St. Joannicius, as we shall see, was a
symbolic figure in this strange controversy.

By the eighth century, especially in Asia Minor, there were people,
especially in the Mideast, who still criticized this image devotion.
Jews, Muslims, and some Christian heretics were among them. Emperor
Leo the Isaurian, though a Christian, took a strong dislike to images,
for puzzling reasons; and in 726 issued an edict forbidding their use.
Because of the decree, there was an international reaction against
him, but he stuck by his meddlesome decision even though it produced
armed revolts.

Meanwhile, the monk St. John of Damascus replied with three treatises explaining why it is permissible to venerate images. Praising them as
tools for instruction, as reminders of holy things, and as incentives
to holy deeds, he pointed out that in venerating an image, we do not
adore it; in its presence we simply address the person it represents.

Emperor Leo died in 740. His son Constantine V wickedly picked up the
tyrannous battle for iconoclasm, and convoked a phony church council
at Hieria in 753, which completely outlawed the use of images. He was
even bent on abolishing the veneration of relics and the invocation of
Our Lady and the saints.

The job of enforcing his decrees was put into the harsh hands of his
soldiers. Thus, several Christians who upheld the true doctrine were
martyred. The ikon war lasted until 842. But the official answer of
the church came under Empress Irene. In 787 she summoned the 2nd
Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Representing the pope and all the
bishops East and West, this council defended the use of images, and
said that the honor we pay to them and relics is not idolatrous, but
passes over to the holy person whom they represent or symbolize. These
decrees became the Magna Carta of Christian art.

Now for St. Joannicius: an iconoclast and sinner who turned saint. A
native of Asia Minor, he joined the army of Emperor Constantine V,
became a rowdy, and played his part as a soldier in violently imposing iconoclasm. But finally he met a holy monk who instructed him in
correct Catholic belief and won him back to decent behavior. When this
soldier left the army at 40, he became a hermit noted for strict life,
wise counsel, miracles and prophecies. Joannicius eventually joined a
monastery at Eraste. Eastern monks were in the vanguard of those who
fought iconoclasm; and our saint, who had once upheld it, defended
orthodoxy staunchly against the iconoclastic Emperor Leo V. He
likewise strongly rebuked Emperor Theophilus, who had ordered that the
word =E2=80=9Choly=E2=80=9D no longer be used of saints. Eventually, as Joa= nnicius had
foretold, the widow of Theophilus, Empress Theodora, restored images
to the Church. Sacred images thus retain to this day their just
position in both Eastern and Western orthodox Christianity.

St. Joannicius died at 92. In later years he had more than made up for
his false doctrines and evil ways. Let us thank him for helping us to
retain those holy images that lift up our hearts to holy things.

=E2=80=93Father Bob


Saint Quote:
Examine from time to time what are the dominant passions of your soul,
and having ascertained this, mold your life, so that in thought, word
and deed you may as far as possible counteract them.
--St. Francis de Sales

Bible Quote:
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.=C2 (John 15:10)

<><><><>
THE HAND IN THE HARVEST
What measure of love is the greatest
To separate wheat from the chaff?
The hand of God in the harvest
Made known by the power of His staff

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