John of Damascus part 23
Long afterwards the Frankish bishops in the eighth century were still unable to understand forms that in the East were natural and obvious, but...
John of Damascus part 22
Distinct from the admission of images is the question of the way they are treated. What signs of reverence, if any, did the first...
John of Damascus part 21
People prayed with extended arms to represent a cross (Origen, “Hom. in Exod.”, iii, 3, Tertullian, “de Orat.”, 14). So also to make the...
John of Damascus part 20
Although representations of the Crucifixion do not occur till later, the cross, as the symbol of Christianity, dates from the very beginning. Justin Martyr...
John of Damascus part 19
We notice, however, in the first centuries a certain reluctance to express the pain and humiliation of the Passion of Christ. Whether to spare...
John of Damascus part 18
The famous statue of the Good Shepherd in the Lateran Museum was made as early as the beginning of the third century, the statues...
John of Damascus part 17
The old pagan sarcophagi had been carved with figures of gods, garlands of flowers, and symbolic ornament; pagan cemeteries, rooms, and temples had been...
John of Damascus part 16
At Palmyra is a Jewish funeral chamber painted throughout with winged female figures holding up round portraits, above is a picture, quite in the...
John of Damascus part 15
So also in “De bello Jud.”, 1. l, c. xxxiii (xxi), 2, he says: “It is unlawful to have in thetemple images or pictures...
John of Damascus part 14
The many cases of idolatry and various deflections from the Law which the prophets denounce are not, of course, cases in point. It is...
