It is not contrary to the first commandment.” (CCC 2141) Venerable Brothers, Greetings and the Apostolic Blessing! A feeling of profound respect or reverence: an object held in veneration. Veneration of sacred images The Catholic Church has always used sacred images and statues for the practice of worship. There were several outbreaks of this rebellion against the Church’s discipline, and bitter persecutions were waged against those who continued to venerate images. Nov 21, 2020; 4 min read n. 1. See Synonyms at honor. Why daily by Benedictine priests from Wisconsin. IMAGES, VENERATION OF The phrase refers to those exterior acts of honor or reverence directed to God, the angels, or the saints through some artifact of the representative or symbolic arts. To proceed: Neither the veneration, nor so much as the use of images, was in the very early Christian Church. The Holy Father explained that in these three works, the “first attempts to legitimize the veneration of sacred images” can be found. Veneration of Images, Definite Decision for Worship or Empress Theodora, the Iconodule Empress Theodora, the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilos, secretly venerated icons even when she was married to a resolute iconoclast. “The veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. Veneration of Images synonyms, Veneration of Images pronunciation, Veneration of Images translation, English dictionary definition of Veneration of Images. DUODECIMUM SAECULUM (Veneration Of Holy Images) Pope John Paul II. 2. THE VENERATION OF IMAGES. For the first period we have no information. Naturally it doesn’t come to mind that the first Christians were forced to hide their faith and to lead their worshipping in secret places, where, at most, they could use secret symbols incomprehensible to their enemies. What signs of reverence, if any, did the first Christians give to the images in their catacombs and churches? It resulted in the heresy of the Iconoclasts, or image-breakers, who sought to root out all use and veneration of images in Christian churches. In my mind as soon as you make the official position of the church that icons and images are a go for veneration equal to the word, then you will become increasingly blind to truth as icons and images do not contain the words of God which bring light, life, and are able to reform us from within. Images were used from the beginning, in the catacombs, in places of worship, in private homes. These are the natural foundations of veneration of images. Apostolic Letter of the Supreme Pontiff to the Episcopate of the Catholic Church on the occasion of the 1200th Anniversary of the Second Council of Nicaea. This process can be followed in the practise of the Christian conscience from the earliest times. Distinct from the admission of images is the question of the way they are treated.