Ask the Texts: What did early Christians think of the use of icons and images?
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What did early Christians think of the use of icons and images?
Early Christian writers, as represented in these excerpts, generally held a strong negative view regarding the making and worship of images, particularly in the context of pagan practices. They condemned the creation of idols and likenesses, viewing it as a corruption of true worship and a descent into irrationality.
Athanasius, in AGAINST THE HEATHEN, criticizes those who "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things," stating that they "wallow in these images and portray God, the Father of the Word, in irrational shapes." He notes that some philosophers defended such images by claiming they help the deity "answer them and be revealed" or "for invoking and manifesting divine angels and powers," but Athanasius presents these as inconsistent and foolish justifications.
Lactantius, in THE DIVINE INSTITUTES, similarly condemns the practice, calling it "madness" to "create objects that you might later fear, or to fear the things you have made." He refutes the argument that people fear the beings represented rather than the images themselves, questioning why they would focus on "walls, wood, and stone instead of the place where you believe they dwell." Lactantius asserts that "The practice of making likenesses was invented by humans to keep the memory of those who have died or are absent."
Clement of Alexandria, in Exhortation to the Greeks, contrasts the divine creation of humanity as "a living image" with pagan idols, which he calls "a mere image of an image, greatly lacking in truth," and "the silent work of Attic hands." He emphasizes that "the Word is the image of God; and the divine Word is the true Son of the Mind," and that "man is the image of the Word." He dismisses "the lifeless statues that look like men" as "far from the truth, clearly appear as a mere copy," concluding that "life was nothing but full of madness, given the great eagerness spent on matter."
Tertullian, in ON IDOLATRY, explicitly states that "idolatry means 'all attention and service given to any idol'" and that "every maker of an idol is guilty of the same crime." He asserts that "God forbids making an idol just as much as worshipping one," citing the divine law: "You shall not make an idol," and adding, "Nor a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth," which he interprets as "forbidding God’s servants everywhere from such acts." He concludes that "Whatever guilt idolatry brings, it must be charged equally to every maker of every idol."
However, Tertullian, in THE FIVE BOOKS AGAINST MARCION, offers a specific distinction for images commanded by God in the Old Testament. He explains that the brazen serpent, which the Lord commanded Moses to make, "was no excuse for idolatry; it was meant to heal those bitten by fiery serpents." Likewise, the golden Cherubim and Seraphim were "simply decorations on the ark, designed purely for ornamentation and completely unrelated to any form of idolatry." He argues that these divinely commanded likenesses "clearly do not violate this prohibition because they are not the kind of likenesses the law forbids." This indicates that while man-made images for worship were strictly forbidden, images commanded by God for specific, non-idolatrous purposes were not seen as violations.
Theological discussions of "image" further clarify this perspective:
- Saint John Chrysostom, in Second Timothy, notes that the word "image" can mean "a likeness" or "something lifeless and worthless," citing scriptural examples like "A man ought not to cover his head, for he is the image and glory of God" (1 Cor. 11:7) versus "Man walks in an image" (Ps. 39:9, Gr.).
- Saint Basil, in THE HEXAEMERON, discussing the creation of man "in our image," states that the divine "form is understood as it suits the divine—not in bodily shape, but in the true qualities of Godhead," referring to Christ as "the image of the invisible God."
- Gregory of Nyssa, in On the Making of Man, also uses the singular "image" in the Genesis account to argue for the unity of the Holy Trinity, stating it would be "impossible for one likeness to represent things that do not agree" if the divine originals were unlike each other.
These theological understandings emphasize that the true divine "image" is spiritual and inherent, not a material or bodily representation. The excerpts primarily focus on condemning pagan idol worship and defining the theological concept of "image," rather than discussing the use of images within Christian worship or teaching.
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Athanasius, Select Works of Athanasius, Volume One: Early Works and the Formation of Nicene Theology
This volume presents the foundational theological writings of Athanasius of Alexandria, a pivotal figure in defending the Nicene faith against Arianism.
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Lactantius, The Writings of Lactantius: The Divine Institutes and Other Treatises
Written at the crossroads of Roman rhetoric and Christian theology, Lactantius’s works present one of the earliest sustained efforts to explain and defend Christianity to the educated world of the Roman Empire.
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Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks: ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΡΟΤΡΕΠΤΙΚΟΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΑΣ
Clement of Alexandria’s Exhortation to the Greeks (Protrepticus) is a sharp-edged call to conversion.
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Tertullian, Writings of Tertullian, Volume Two: Anti-Heretical Writings
This volume gathers Tertullian’s major anti-heretical works from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, presented in clear, contemporary English for today’s reader.
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Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies of Saint John Chrysostom: Pastoral Epistles and Philemon
Preached to congregations familiar with the demands and challenges of ministry, these homilies bring Paul’s practical wisdom into sharp focus.
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Tertullian, Writings of Tertullian, Volume One: Apologetic Writings
This volume gathers the principal apologetic writings of Tertullian as preserved in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, presented in clear, contemporary English.
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This answer was generated on October 3, 2026 using a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system built on Appian Way Press's own translations and revisions of early Christian writings, with the gemini-2.5-flash language model producing the final answer text from the retrieved passages.
Copyright © 2026 Rick Brannan
