Scriptorium Press

Highly recommend this upcoming catechism series touching on the theology of the Church expressed through the mosaics of Ravenna. Synchronous and pre-recorded options available. There is also a course on the theology of St. Athanasius: orthodoxlearninggoc.com/cour… 100% of the proceeds go towards the student scholarship fund of the Saint John of Damascus Orthodox Initiative.

The oldest churches all had curtains (see the Rotunda of Galerius below). Synesius of Cyrene mentions the "mystic veil" of the altar in his 67th Epistle. The idea that the laity is entitled to see the holy of holies is antithetical to the spirit of ancient Christianity.

This is seventh-century vernacular Greek. Basically no different than a formal register of Modern Greek you'd find in an old newspaper:

Pseudo-Dionysius theories be like

Thanks to @Alex_Ortodoxie for the plug! youtu.be/6E5fD-sL3Ls?si=AA3t…

Augustine also recognized the positive use of icons. In a sermon given before the martyrium of Saint Stephen, he exclaims: "Such a lovely picture this is, where you can see Saint Stephen being stoned, can see Saul keeping the coats of those doing the stoning!" (Sermon 316.5)

Saint Augustine himself, though opposed to the abuses of the refrigerium, clearly believed in the veneration of the martyrs: "We regard the martyrs with the same affectionate intimacy that we feel towards holy men of God in this life, when we know that their hearts are prepared to endure the same suffering for the truth of the gospel. There is more devotion in our feeling towards the martyrs, because we know that their conflict is over; and we can speak with greater confidence in praise of those already victors in heaven, than of those still combating here. What is properly divine worship, which the Greeks call latria, and for which there is no word in Latin, both in doctrine and in practice, we give only to God. To this worship belongs the offering of sacrifices; as we see in the word idolatry, which means the giving of this worship to idols. Accordingly we never offer, or require any one to offer, sacrifice to a martyr, or to a holy soul, or to any angel. Any one falling into this error is instructed by doctrine, either in the way of correction or of caution." (Contra Faustum 20.21) This distinction between veneration and latria is exactly what was defended three centuries later by the Second Council of Nicaea.

It looks like Christian bishops in Spain wished to put an end to this idolatrous practice once and for all, and so, as a safeguard, banned all images from being painted in the martyria. This strictness is in line with the general spirit of the rest of the canons, which do not hesitate from excommunicating people for life or even imposing the death penalty depending on the offence. This extreme measure notwithstanding, a close reading of canon 36 shows that the concern was above all with an abuse of the veneration of the martyrs, not the use of pictures per se. Additionally, when read in context, canon 36 does not provide a blanket ban on all images, but only on those painted in the martyria, where the refrigerium took place.

So putting all the puzzle pieces together, the following image emerges: in the late 4th century, Christians who had recently converted from paganism continued eating commemorative meals at the tombs of the dead. Given that many of the funerary steles above the tombs were painted, as indicated by the archaeological record and suggested by Augustine’s language, it appears that some of these unlearned converts actually offered the food to the pictures of the saints, as to idols. We don't need to go far to see examples of what Saint Augustine was complaining about. In Eastern Asian cultures, people will routinely offer food at the graves of their ancestors, some of which include pictures of the deceased.