The iconodules pooled their resources together in an effort to preserve the naturalistic depiction of Christ and saintly figures. They fought to defend the continued existence of the depictions arguing that the depictions provided the means for believers to recall and pay tribute to spiritual icons. As written by the Seventh Ecumenical Synod the depictions may serve as an act of consecrating the spiritual icons. There are also an act of honor to the spiritual icons so whoever holds in high esteem the icon should also holds in high esteem their depictions. With regards to the icons on the Doctrine of the Incarnation, the Damascene argued that the depiction was an allegory that aimed at representing spiritual happenings. The iconnodules showed that depictions served as a way of reaffirming their beliefs in the incarnation and by condemning the depictions, it betrays the incarnation and the belief in the salvation of the human race. The Studite further supported this argument by stating that the depictions serve as necessary identity tools. The images were a way of human identifying themselves with the God.
On the other hand, the iconoclasts saw the depictions as a threat and fought for the destruction of the relics. The iconoclasts argued that the depictions lead to unorthodox opinions or doctrines such as Nestorianism, Arianism or Monophysitism because of the false impressions created by the images. Another argument stated that being spiritual requires to be free from material things so the depiction of spiritual matters was an act of defilement.
Having read the article, I believe that the power of images has been well depicted in this battle. Images are mediums used to convey a message, perception and beliefs. As a result images can provoke strong emotions or reactions from people since they are used to portray or being to life people's imaginations, perceptions and beliefs. At the same time we can not analyze the power of images without mentioning the role of beliefs or perceptions in this battle (Boguslawski).
WORK CITED
Boguslawski , Alexander. Historical Introduction. 2005. 1st March, 2011. http://tars.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/history.html
