Letter to Emperor Theodosius

The Deception of Idolatry and the Integrity of Faith§1

1Through his own wicked artifice, the devil contrived idolatry in the world, sowing it and establishing it, thereby turning men away from God. Now, following the heresies and the idols, he has once again brought down and deceived the faithful into an ancient form of idolatry.

In this letter, he presents himself as one who has followed the faith of the fathers at Nicaea from his youth, claiming that his parents were born into this same confession and held the same belief. For his own piety will be judged by whether it is proper for us to possess a God depicted through colors.

I have heard that some claim to depict even the incomprehensible Son of God, yet I have no memory of seeing anything of the kind. Which of the ancient fathers of Christ, having painted an icon, ever placed it in a church or in a private house, or upon the lintels of doors? Which of the ancient bishops painted Christ?

False depictions of the saints§2

2Have they dishonored Him by painting Him? Who has thus modeled and triumphed over Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and Moses and the prophets, or Peter or Andrew or James or John or the rest of the apostles?

At the same time they lie, sketching the forms of the saints differently and differently according to their own private notions, sometimes depicting the same ones as old men and sometimes as younger, probing into things they have not seen. For they write of the Savior as having hair by implication, because He is called the Nazarene, since the Nazarenes have hair.attempting to connect these types to Him stumble; for the Savior drank wine, which the Nazarenes did not drink.

It is not fitting to have God being painted for us in colors and cares. For that which they mold from their own...

The Deception of False Descriptions§3

3They lie by thinking through false concepts. For the deceivers write that Peter the holy apostle was an old man, with a bald head and a beard; and others write that the holy Paul was either hairless or a bald-headed man, and that the other disciples were simply bald.

If, therefore, the Savior had hair, while the other disciples were bald and he himself was not bald and appeared equal to them, by what reason were the Pharisees and the scribes giving thirty pieces of silver to Judas for a wage, so that, having loved him, he might show them, 'this is the one you seek,' when they were able to know both through themselves and through others by the sign of the hair they were seeking to find, and not to give a wage?

The refusal to remove images§4

4Much had previously been provided against him regarding the accusations made, and later, even after he had advised the co-bishops and fellow-ministers that these things should be removed, he would not listen. We find in the end of the letter a declaration containing this: that, having spoken many times to my fellow ministers that the images should be removed, he did not accept the counsel from them, nor could they endure hearing my voice even for a short time.

He suggested that the altars having such writing, once collected, might be used for the burial of the poor, and that the things on the walls might be whitened with colors. Regarding the things written in the small niche, since such a reconstruction is difficult, if it is possible to be reconstructed, it is good; but if it is impossible, let them be satisfied with what has already occurred and no longer paint anything in such a manner.