Pre-Nicene Image Veneration (4): Saint Methodius of Olympus

Veneration of Images of Angels

The “Second Discourse on the Resurrection” by Saint Methodius the bishop of Olympos (c. 260-311) is quoted by Saint John of Damascus in his defense of holy icons. In what follows I will argue that this text is indeed an early witness to image-veneration practices, and shows that much content of later iconodule theology was present in the pre-Nicene era. After analyzing the type-prototype principle that the Saint mentions, I will consider the meaning of angel images in Christianity, showing that the Saint is teaching the veneration of these images. After dealing with the objection that Saint Methodius is only talking about venerating imperial images, I will conclude with an interpretation of the passage as a whole which attempts to capture its overall flow.

Methodius’ Statement Of The Type-Prototype Principle

The quote preserved in Saint John of Damascus’ writings reads as follows:

“For instance, then, the images of our kings here, even though they be not formed of the more precious materials — gold or silver — are honoured by all. For men do not, while they treat with respect those of the far more precious material, slight those of a less valuable, but honour every image in the world, even though it be of chalk or bronze. And one who speaks against either of them, is not acquitted as if he had only spoken against clay, nor condemned for having despised gold, but for having been disrespectful towards the king and lord himself. The images of God’s angels, which are fashioned of gold, the principalities and powers, we make to His honour and glory.” (Second Discourse on the Resurrection)

In his statements, Saint Methodios references a common Hellenistic practice of making images of philosophers, statesmen, emperors, and other figures regarded as “saviors”.[1] He considers several materials which can be used to make images to honor a king. The most precious material (gold) appears to be something that incites further expressions of honor to a higher degree, while the images made of less-precious material receive some honor of a lower degree and are not “spoken against”. Methodius speaks of how images of kings “are honored by all” but appears to extend this practice beyond images of kings: “men… honor every image in the world” regardless of the material it is composed of.

This practice carries with it a danger, for dishonoring an image of clay is a sign of disrespect “towards the king and lord himself.” In these remarks by the Saint, we have a primitive version of the principle “the honor given to the image passes to the prototype” but expressed in a negative form: the dishonor given to the image passes to the prototype.

Methodius’ Testimony About Images of Angels In Its Early Christian Context

Turning to the phrase “the images of God’s angels, which are fashioned of gold, the principalities and powers, we make to His honor and glory,” we can note that it connects several distinct ideas.

First, there is the idea that God is honored by image-making; this can be taken to reference back to the cherubim fashioned in the Old Testament. The commandment given to make images of the cherubim on the ark out of gold and woven into the temple veil sets a precedent, showing that image-making of the right kind is intrinsically honorable. The glorification of God in his tabernacle or temple presupposed that the people formed the tabernacle “according to the pattern that was shown [to Moses] on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5, ESV) This meant that having images of the correct, divinely-ordained kind was part of how the honoring of God was facilitated.

A second point can be developed about the tabernacle and temple images of angels. The cherubim show a directionality: the images of the angels mystically lead the mind away from a purely material orientation, and back towards God as their origin and Creator. The locations of the angel (cherubim) images are significant, since they are positioned as guardians of holy space, the veil being holy and the mercy seat of the ark being most holy. As images of God’s throne-guardians, they can serve a gate-keeping function, preventing one’s spiritual perception from ascending towards God with illegitimate ideas about the spiritual realm, such as a belief that God resembles in any way animals under the earth, on the earth, or in the sky. If one is ready to look towards God, it is by means of looking towards holy space—a space which is established by the ordering and guardianship of the cherubim. This understanding of the function of images of angels was present in the early Church. Commenting on Clement of Alexandria’s interpretation of the cherubim images on curtains, Eunice Maguire notes the following:

“In a telling early metaphor, Clement of Alexandria (150–215) pictures the curtained entrance of five columns in front of the Tabernacle as a representation of the five senses, beyond which ordinary persons cannot perceive. Exodus, in describing two sets of five joined curtains for the Tabernacle, emphasizes doubling by pairing; in referring to this passage, it is as if Clement had been thinking of how our eyes, ears, nostrils, and hands, if not our taste buds, come in pairs. To extend the metaphor, we might say that while readers closer to our own time may understand sensory acuity as opening the pathways of perception to the physical world, present and past, Clement suggests that the senses, like stretched curtains, close off or veil the perception of spiritual and eternal things. The biblical text, in calling for these curtains outside the Holy of Holies to carry images of ‘cherubim, the work of a skillful workman’ (Exod. 26:1), justifies Clement’s reading of the curtains as an imposing barrier, divinely secured.”[2]

The understanding of the early Church is that these images of cherubim were not mere decorations, but ways of establishing holy space. The angel images were for directing spiritual perception towards God in the most holy space, thereby keeping the worship of God pure from an excessively matter-oriented mindset. They thus were seen as serving a cultic function, and their acknowledgement (a form of honor) was part of the path to worship of God.