Obrona kultu obrazów w Trzech mowach apologetycznych przeciwko tym, którzy odrzucają święte obrazy św. Jana Damasceńskiego

Abstract

St John of Damascus was one of the first theologians who shaped thetheology of images. His theology was born in the difficult historical circumstancesof the first iconoclasm. This is why it was not always up to thetask. But it was John who first defined the image as the object of worshipand gave a number of convincing arguments for worshiping them. The basicsource of knowledge about the theology of the icon of John of Damascus ishis Three Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images. Onthis basis, I presented the definitions of the cult of images and the varioustypes of worship, then the arguments used by St. John of Damascus inorder to validate the worship of images in the context of the Old Testamentprohibition on the creation of images and the Christian worship of thesaints. Finally, I presented John’s theology as an expression of the Church’sindependence from the emperor’s power and his attitude to ecclesiasticaltradition, especially to the opinions of the Fathers of the Church.