Abstract
This paper investigates an association between the iconography used in artistic works and theological positions in the great debates over the nature of Christ and the Trinity. It looks at how the iconography evolved up to the medieval period with the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches and beyond. It is proposed that there was dogmatic intent which related to the ongoing theological debate. This is demonstrated by the chronological correlation between specific markers in the debate and changes in the way the Trinity was depicted. Acknowledged authority Andre Grabar considered that changes were due to the essential inadequacy of pictorial means to depict abstract ideas, and a striving by artists and image makers to capture them in different ways. He did not relate dated images to events in theological history, but referred to a "general confusion" of ideas in the early period due to the theological debates. However, it can be seen that there was a correlation between the chronology of the debate and iconographic development of all four main 'types' of the Trinity.
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