Commemoration of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Octoechos Tone 1; The Holy Martyrs Carpus, Papylas and Agathonicus (249-51)
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Hebrews 13:7-16; John 17:1-13
Every year, on the Sunday near October 11, we commemorate the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. This Council took place in 787 in Nicaea and was attended by about 350 bishops. While their are many decrees from the various Ecumenical Councils, the main decree of this Council was the refutation of the iconoclast heresy. The iconoclasts were those who believed that images ought not be used at all because it simply led to idolatry. If you recall, when the Lord gave the Decalogue (what we commonly refer to as the Ten Commandments), His second word/commandment was:
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me” (Exodus 20:4-5).
The Council decreed that the use and veneration of icons was, in fact, not idolatry. Based on the writing of St. John of Damascus, On the Holy Images, the Council stated that honour shown to an icon passes by the wood and paint and is directed to the person depicted (prototype). Since our Lord, the Word of God, became incarnate, that is, taking on everything of what is to be a human being (except sin, of course), we can make representations of Him (Jesus) and His Saints. Interestingly, legend has it that St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist, whose feast day is October 18, was the first to depict the Mother of God with our Lord.
Fr. Michael Bombak (Eparchy of Edmonton), wrote a good article for this commemoration and practical responses. See here.