Eastern Rite - Feasts of 6 March AM 7530

Today is the Sunday of Orthodoxy (the Catholic Faith) commemorating the defeat of the Iconoclastic heresy and the Feast of the 42 Martyrs of Ammoria in Phrygia.

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The first Sunday of Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It is the day we celebrate the return of icons to the churches. Icons were venerated in the Eastern Church until the reign of Leo III (717-741 A.D.) when under the influence of two bishops from Asia Minor; he decreed that the veneration of icons was idol worship. This decree marked the beginning of a long bloody battle against sacred images in the Eastern Church. Icons were destroyed or burned and their defenders cast into prison, exiled and even tortured. This battle lasted, with short intervals of peace, until 842 A.D. when Empress Theodora restored the use and veneration of icons. A synod at Constantinople was convoked which restored the veneration of holy images. The right way to use icons was defined, saying that the icon should be honoured or venerated, but not worshipped as an idol in itself.

“We define that the holy icons, whether in colour, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, that of our Lady, the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype. We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honour, but not of real worship, which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature.”

On the first Sunday of the Great Lent, the icons were brought back to the churches in solemn procession. That day is remembered as the triumph of Orthodoxy (Tradition) over the iconoclasts (those who opposed the use of sacred images). Icons are important in that they affirm the dogma of the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—the Word of God made flesh. As this dogma is central to Christianity, the victory over the Iconoclasts came to broadly represent the victory of the true faith over all errors.

The name of this Sunday reflects the great significance that icons possess for the Church. They are not optional devotional extras, but an integral part of our faith and devotion. They are held to be a necessary consequence of Christian faith in the incarnation of the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, in Jesus Christ. They have a sacramental character, making present to the believer the person or event depicted on them. So the interior of our churches is often covered with icons painted on walls and domed roofs, and there is usually an icon screen, or iconostasis, separating the sanctuary from the nave, often with several rows of icons. Many of our homes have an icon corner where the family prays.

Icons are venerated by burning lamps and candles in front of them, by the use of incense and by kissing. But there is a clear doctrinal distinction between the veneration paid to icons and the worship due to God. The former is not only relative; it is in fact paid to the person represented by the icon. This distinction safeguards the veneration of icons from any charge of idolatry.

The theme of the victory of the icons, by its emphasis on the incarnation, points us to the basic Christian truth that the one whose death and resurrection we celebrate at Easter was none other than the Word of God who became human in Jesus Christ.

The heart of Eastern Christianity, the inner mystery of its radiant beauty, the source of its worship and teaching is the glorification of Christ, the living God, through whom we know the Father and from whom we receive the Holy Spirit.

The veneration and the honour that is shown to an icon, an image, goes to its archetype, goes to its prototype. So if the Christian would venerate an icon of Jesus or of some saint or some martyr, the veneration and the honour that would be shown to that person that was depicted would be, obviously—or at least it should be obvious—transferred to the person himself, and in the case of Jesus, this would be to the Lord himself.

We Christians believe that he who sees Jesus sees the Father in him. The Father’s invisible, but he becomes visible in his Son, who is his word, who is his image, who is his wisdom, who is his truth, who is his peace, who is his light, who is his life. He actually becomes flesh and becomes visible. Therefore, when you have an image of Jesus, you have an image of God becoming visible; that in the humanity of Jesus, you are given insight into the invisible character of God. The icon testifies to the incarnation of the Son of God, the real incarnation of the Son of God; that God really became a human being whose image can be depicted.

We really believe in the Incarnation, that the Son of God, who is divine with the same divinity as God the Father, really became a human being, a man just like us, without ceasing to be God. We really believe that Jesus is fully divine and fully human in one Person. And therefore, we believe that his image can be painted, and not only painted but venerated and honoured. And as true Christians, we believe that by doing that we are confessing the faith and proclaiming the Gospel of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Icons, hymns, prayers, worship and liturgy of the Eastern Church unceasingly focus our attention, our hearts, minds, and spirits on Jesus Christ: His person, redeeming message, and divinity. Icons are windows into that holy realm where God and the saints now dwell. By beholding of the sacred icons, each liturgical year as events are celebrated, we see the unfolding of Our Salvation.

“As the prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught,… as the Church has received… as the teachers have dogmatized,… as the Universe has agreed,… as Grace has shown forth,… as Truth has revealed,… as falsehood has been dissolved,… as Wisdom has presented,… as Christ Awarded,… thus we declare,… thus we assert,… thus we preach Christ our true God, and honor as Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in churches, in Holy Icons; on the one hand worshiping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord; and on the other hand honoring as true servants of the same Lord of all and accordingly offering them veneration. This is the Faith of the Apostles, —this is the Faith of the Fathers, —this is the Faith of the Orthodox…”
Affirmation of Orthodox Faith
Synod of Constantinople
March 11, 843

Troparion — Tone 2

We venerate Your most pure image, O Good One, / and ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ God. / Of Your own will You were pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh / to deliver Your creatures from bondage to the enemy. / Therefore with thanksgiving we cry aloud to You: / You have filled all with joy, O our Savior, / by coming to save the world.

Kontakion — Tone 8

No one could describe the Word of the Father; / but when He took flesh from you, O Theotokos, He accepted to be described, / and restored the fallen image to its former state by uniting it to divine beauty. / We confess and proclaim our salvation in word and images.

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During a war between the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842) and the Saracens, the Saracens managed to besiege the city of Ammoria (in Galicia in Asia Minor). As a result of treason on the part of the military commander Baditses, Ammoria fell, and forty-two of its generals were taken captive and sent off to Syria.

During the seven years of their imprisonment, their captors tried in vain to persuade them to renounce Christianity and accept Islam. The captives stubbornly resisted all their seductive offers and bravely held out against terrible threats. After many torments that failed to break the spirit of the Christian soldiers, they condemned them to death, hoping to shake the determination of the saints before executing them. The martyrs remained steadfast, saying that the Old Testament Prophets bore witness to Christ, while Mohammed called himself a prophet without any other witnesses to support his claim.

One of the captives, Theodore, had renounced the priestly office to become a general. His captors taunted him, “We know that you forsook the priestly office, became a soldier and shed blood in battle. You can have no hope in Christ, Whom you abandoned voluntarily, so accept Mohammed.” But the martyr replied, “You do not speak truthfully when you say that I abandoned Christ. Moreover, I left the priesthood because of my own unworthiness. Therefore, I must shed my blood for the sake of Christ, so that He might forgive the sins that I have committed against Him.”

The executioners took each one separately and led him off to be beheaded, then threw the bodies into the River Euphrates. In the service to them, these holy passion-bearers are glorified as: the “All-Blessed” Theodore, the “Unconquered” Callistus, the “Valiant” Constantine, the “Wondrous” Theophilus and “the Most Strong” Basoes. Saints Aetius (Aetitus) and Melissenus were also among the martyrs.

The betrayer Baditses did not escape his shameful fate. The enemy knew that it is impossible to trust a traitor, and so they killed him.

Troparion — Tone 4

Your forty-two holy martyrs, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 4

Forty-two holy martyrs of Ammoria, / you contended for the sake of Christ on earth; / you were revealed as crown-bearing martyrs, / and have been received into the life of the joy of heaven. / Since you overthrew all the wiles of the enemy / by your sufferings and the blood of your wounds, / you continually send down from on high remission of sins to those who praise you.