DU PIN
declares that: "In the first three centuries, yes, and in the beginning of the
fourth, images were very scarce among Christians. Towards the end of the
fourth century they began, especially in the East, to make pictures and
images; and they grew very common in the fifth; they represented in them the
conflicts of martyrs and sacred histories to instruct those who could not
read. Those of the simpler sort, moved by these representations, could not
forbear expressing the esteem, respect, and veneration they had for those
represented therein. Thus was image worship established." *
"There is no doubt when paganism was the prevailing religion,
but that it would have been dangerous for Christians to have had images,
because they might have given occasion of idolatry to those just reclaimed
from it; and they might have given the pagans reason to object to Christians,
that they had, and worshipped idols as they did; therefore it was fitting that
there should be no images in those first ages, especially in churches, and
that there should be no worship paid them." *
This statement is truthful, and for a friend of image
worship, extremely candid. The practice became general over the East, but was
unknown in England, France, and Germany, though in these Western nations the
worship of relics was universal.
In A. D. 730, Leo the Isaurian issued an imperial edict
ordering images to be removed out of the churches and sacred places,
commanding them to be thrown into the fire, and inflicting penalties upon
those who ventured to disobey him. The decree was generally executed in the
East, though it excited a great amount of indignation.
* Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 42. Dublin, 1724.
[pg. 329]
Constantine Copronymus, the son and successor of Leo,
assembled a council of 338 bishops at Constantinople, A. D. 754, to complete
the work of his father.* They showed the sternest opposition to the worship of
images of Christ, and of the saints; they denounced it as a taint of
heathenism, condemned by the Scriptures, and by such fathers as Chrysostom and
Athanasius; and they forbade the use of all images in private houses or
churches. The effort of Constantine seemed to be successful, that is, it
controlled the public acts of his subjects, but evidently failed to carry
their consciences along with it.
The Empress Irene was instrumental in calling a council,
which permanently settled the controversy in favor of the worship of images;
though quietness did not immediately fall upon the excited passions of men.†
Her synod met first at Constantinople A. D. 786, but was scattered by military
violence; it assembled afterwards A. D. 787, at Nice. It numbered 350 bishops,
and passed a number of argumentative and idolatrous decrees in favor of the
worship of images. And as this synod gave shape to all subsequent views and
conflicts about images, we present a portion of one of its celebrated decrees.
"We ‡ therefore as is aforesaid, honor and salute, and
honorably worship the holy and venerable images, that is to say, the image of
the humanity of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of our immaculate
lady, and holy Mother of God, of whom he was of our immaculate lady, of whom
he was pleased to be made flesh, and to save and turn us away from impious
love of idols; and the forms and representations of the holy and incorporeal
angels, for they also appeared to the righteous as men; in like manner of the
divine apostles, worthy of all praise,
* Perceval, "On the Roman Schism," p. 77. London, 1836.
† Id., p. 79.
‡ Conc. vii. 322. Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2.
[pg. 330]
and of the inspired prophets, of the victorious martyrs, and of holy men."
. . . . .
This was the doctrine of Adrian, then pope, and the decisions
of the council were speedily received in Italy; but in France, Charlemagne
opposed them with the greatest vehemence, and had a work prepared by the
famous Aleuin, and issued in his name, denouncing the adoration of
images. He did not object to their presence in churches, but the worship
demanded for them by the second synod of Nice was an intolerable iniquity. He
sent the book to the pope by Angilbert his embassador; and His holiness
replied to the work of Aleuin.
Charlemagne against images.
Whatever ridiculous distinction Rome has
tried to recognize between the worship of images and that of God, a
distinction which first appears in the decrees of the second Council of Nice,
Charlmagne only saw in these idolatrous edicts: "adoration, worship."
His book says of the prelates of the second Council of Nice: "The bishops of
this synod order images to be adored;" "Whenever they find images spoken of
either in the Scriptures or in the writings of the fathers, they conclude from
them that they ought to be worshipped." * "Let us," adds he, "adore God
alone." He declares that "miracles performed by images are no proof that they
should be adored, for then thorn bushes should be adored, because God spake to
Moses out of a burning bush; fringes should be adored because Jesus Christ
healed the woman who touched the fringe of his garment; and shadows too,
because St. Peter's shadow wrought miracles." The whole controversy between
Charlemagne and the pope and council was based on the worship of
images. He honored them so far as to permit them to remain in the churches. He
would not worship them. The pope and second council insisted that they should
be adored, and cursed all who did not worship them. † And the empire of
Charlemagne and the Christian world, in the process of time, followed Irene,
Pope Adrian, and the second Synod of Nice.
* Du Pin, vol. ii. pp. 39, 40, 41.
† Conc. vii. 318. Labbe and Cossart. Paris 1671-2.
[pg. 331]
Nothing could be more untruthful or
pernicious than the principle upon which the bishops of the Deutero-Nicene
Council justified their idolatry. "He, who worships the figure," said the
council, "worships the substance of that which is represented by it." *
According to this theory every heathen in the world could plead exemption from
the charge of idol-worship under the pretence that he adored the great God
represented by a statue of Jupiter, or by the shining sun. Myriads have
worshipped images in Christian churches without exercising a thought beyond
the figure itself. And they have reverenced one image, rather than another
representing the same adored one, because of some special virtue supposed to
dwell in that particular image.
Other Catholic Authorities copy the exact Spirit, if not
the Letter,
of the Deutero-Nicene Synod.
The Council of Trent says: † "Moreover the images of
Christ, of the Virgin mother of God, and of the other saints are to be had and
retained particularly in temples, and that due honor and veneration are to be
awarded them; not that any divinity or virtue is in them on account of which
they are to be worshipped; or that anything is to be asked of them, or that
confidence is to be reposed in images as was of old done by the Gentiles, who
place their hope in idols; but because the honor which is shown unto them is
referred to the prototype which they represent."
Creed of Pope Pius IV.
"I most firmly assert, that the images of
Christ, of the Mother of God, ever virgin, and also of the other saints, ought
to be
* Conc. vii. 556. Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2.
† Canones et Decreta Conc. Trid., sess. XXV. p. 174. Lipsiae 1863.
[pg. 332]
had and retained, and that due honor and veneration are to be
given them." *
Catechism of the Council of Trent.
"Moreover it is not only lawful to have
images in the Church and to pay them honor and worship." † . . . . . .
Such, then, are the fundamental laws for the government of
the Papal Church about the worship of images. From the very start, it was not
mere honor to the pictures or statues of saints; Charlemagne was willing to
render that; it was the veneration, adoration, the burning of incense,
worship.
To promote the worship of images, wonderful prodigies were
narrated about them.
A Statue of Jesus bleeds.
In A. D. 561, a Jew, ‡ by stealth, carried
off a statue of Christ, out of a church, and having brought it unobserved to
his house, he pierced it with a dart; and, as he was going to burn it in the
fire, he found himself bathed in blood which flowed from the wounded image.
Greatly terrified, he changed his mind, and concealed the wonderful wood. The
Christians sought for it, and found it by means of the traces of blood, and
recovered it, stained with gore. They subsequently stoned the Jew for his
impiety.
An Image of Jesus speaks.
At a celebrated synod § convened by St.
Dunstan, at Winchester, in the heat of a violent discussion, the image of the
Lord, in the church, close to the disputants, spoke distinctly: "Expressing
such opinions as rendered the secular clergy dumb."
* Canones et Decreta Conc. Trid., sess. XXV. p. 228.
Lipsiae, 1863.
† Catechismus Conc. Trid., quest. 24, p. 307. Lipsia 1865.
‡ Matt. of Westminster, at A. D. 561.
§ Id. at A. D. 975.
[pg. 333]
An image of the Virgin works Prodigies.
At Sardenai, * six miles from Damascus, A. D.
1204, there lived a venerable nun, who sadly lamented the fact that she had no
image of the Virgin to show her features when she offered up her prayers. A
certain monk promised to bring her an image or picture of Mary from Jerusalem.
He forgot his promise; and, as he started out of Jerusalem, a voice from
heaven said to him: "Where is the image thou didst promise to take to the
nun?" He felt rebuked, and immediately returned and procured the image. As he
left the holy city again and came to Gith, a fierce lion, accustomed to eat
men, came to meet him and licked his feet. Afterwards, robbers came forth to
assail him, but the voice of an angel rebuked them, and frightened them away.
Seeing the power of the image, he concluded he would keep it; and he went to
sea to reach his home, but a violent storm compelled all on board to cast
their goods into the sea; and as he was about to throw his baggage into the
ocean, an angel forbade him, and said: "Lift the image up towards the Lord;"
he obeyed, and immediately there was a calm. He took it quickly as possible to
the nun, who erected a suitable house for such a wonderful figure, and
forthwith it began to drip oil, and it never ceased sending it forth from that
time. Then the image formed breasts of flesh, and below them it was
covered with flesh. This image performed great numbers of miracles; and, among
other marvels, it gave sight to the blind Sultan of Damascus, who prostrated
himself in prayer before it. "The image then began to be greatly revered by
all, and every one admired the great and wonderful works of God in it."
The Bambino.
The Bambino is an image of the child Jesus carved
out of a tree that grew on Mount Olivet, and painted by St. Luke while the
artist was asleep; it is an ugly-looking babe. † The Church
Ara Coeli
contains this celebrated image. Its miracles are famous all over Rome, and
especially at the birth of children. On these
* Matt. Paris, at A. D. 1204.
† "Echoes of Europe," pp. 407, 430. Philada., 1860.
[pg. 334]
This is one of the most extraordinary steps
ever taken by any Christian community, one of the most audacious usurpations
ever attempted. The Second commandment is: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God."
* Gavin's "Master Key to Popery," p. 208. Cincinnati, 1833.
† "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 38. N. Y., 1849.
[pg. 336]
This commandment prohibits the manufacture of idols, kneeling
to them, and all religious service to them. While the other commandments are
received, this one is expunged from the decalogue, and to possess ten
commandments, the last one is divided; and its parts form the ninth and tenth,
while the third commandment becomes the second. This act is almost incredible;
and yet it is sustained by the unbending logic of facts.
The "Mission Book" is a prayer-book of great popularity in
the Catholic Church. "It is drawn chiefly from the works of St. Alphonsus
Liguori." * It bears the following testimonial and approval from the late
Archbishop Hughes: "The Mission Book has received the commendation of many
distinguished prelates in Europe, as a work eminently fitted for the
instruction of the faithful, and the promotion of solid piety.— + John,
Archbishop of New York, September 8th, 1853" [that should be1858].
"It has had a wide circulation . . . . particularly in
Austria, Bohemia, Belgium, Holland, and France. Thousands of Catholics in this
country within a few years past, have found this little book next to the
Mission itself a most precious and efficacious means of grace." * With a view
to preparation for confession the Mission Book recommends an examination on
the ten commandments, and gives questions under each for the penitent. Here
are its ten commandments: †
First.
"I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods
before me," etc.
The Second Commandment.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
The Third Commandment.
"Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day."
The Fourth Commandment.
"Honour thy father and thy mother."
* Preface to Mission Book. N.Y., 1866.
† Mission Book, pp. 304-14. N.Y., 1866.
[pg. 337]
The Fifth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not kill."
The Sixth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
The Seventh Commandment.
"Thou shalt not steal."
The Eighth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
The Ninth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
The Tenth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."
After the first commandment is given by the
authors of the work, they place "etc." outside the quotation marks, showing
that etc. is no part of the first commandment. What it is intended to
represent we cannot tell. But no portion of the second commandment in any form
is in the Mission Book of St. Alphonsus Liguori. The same prayer-book contains
"The little Catechism;" * and it presents another version of the ten
commandments;
"1. One God alone, for evermore
By faith, and hope, and love adore.
2. Thou shalt not take his name in vain.
3. The Lord's day thou shalt not profane.
4. Honor thy father, and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt not hurt, nor hate thy brother.
6. Thou shalt do no adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not lie.
* Mission Book, p. 260. N. Y., 1866.
[pg. 338]
9. Thou shalt have no impure desire.
10. Nor to thy neighbor's goods aspire."
In no way does this prayer-book, "so widely
circulated," recognize the second commandment; while it mutilates and divides
the tenth to obtain a substitute for the expunged second.
The "Key of Heaven," * another well-known Catholic
prayer-book, recommended by Archbishop Hughes, makes precisely the same
changes in the decalogue, and utterly ignores the commandment forbidding the
manufacture and worship of graven images.
One distinguished writer on the papal controversy says: "In
the ordinary catechisms used in Great Britain by Roman Catholics the second
commandment is expunged from the decalogue, and the tenth is split into two to
preserve the number of ten." † Another author, who had made a very extensive
examination of catechisms, says: "Here there are twenty-nine catechisms in use
in Rome and in Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Bavaria, Silesia, Poland,
Ireland, England, Spain, and Portugal, and in twenty-seven of them the second
commandment is totally omitted; in two it is mutilated, and only a portion
expressed." ‡
Nor is there any difference between the Vulgate version of
this commandment and our own to justify this extraordinary procedure. The
Catholic translation into English faithfully renders it: "Thou shalt not make
to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters
under the earth; thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them." §
But where Roman Catholics have no Bible they are ignorant of
any such divine prohibition of image worship. Belcher quotes a missionary of
Malta whose teacher, an Italian, observed the ten commandments in a tract on
his table one morning, and imme-
* "Key of Heaven," p. 182. N. Y., 1851.
† "The Papacy," by J. A. Wylie, p. 360. Edinburgh, 1852.
‡ "Novelties of Romanism," by Charles H. Collet, p. 96. London: Religious
Tract Society.
§ Exodus XX. 4, 5, Vulg., edita et recognita iussu Sixt. V. et Clem.
VIII. London, 1846.
[pg. 339]
diately expressed great surprise at the second, and asked if
it was a part of the decalogue. Mr. Temple, the missionary, showed him this
commandment in Martini's translation of the Vulgate. As he read it in a work
authorized by the pope, he exclaimed: "I have lived fifty years; I have been
publicly educated in Italy, but till this hour I never knew that such a
commandment was written in the pages of the Bible." *
It is in the solemn prohibitions of Sinai, and no earthly
authority can remove it from the place assigned it by the Almighty Jehovah.
And while it is unrepealed, the worship of any image is an act of forbidden
idolatry; more detestable in one claiming to be a Christian than in any
devotee of heathenism.
And of its hatefulness to the God of the Bible, the compilers
of the "Mission Book" and other "Manuals of Worship," and of various
catechisms, are fully aware; and for this reason alone they blot it out of the
ten commandments, that it may not condemn the degraded adoration rendered to
images, which their worship so constantly exhibits.
* "Facts on Popery," [Joseph] Belcher [D.D.], Philadelphia
[American Baptist Publication Society], 1845 [pg. 43].
