Understanding Holy Icons (ቅዱሳት ሥዕላት): A Perspective from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church – Part I

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, holy icons (ቅዱሳት ሥዕላት) transcend mere artistry; they are vital expressions of faith that unite the earthly and the divine. These sacred images, rich in tradition, invite the faithful into a deeper communion with God and the saints, serving as visual testimonies of their lives and virtues. Rooted in the rich history of Christianity, icons express theological truths and foster a sense of continuity with the apostolic Church.

This essay will examine the significance of holy icons within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, focusing on their theological foundations, liturgical uses, and the impact they have on the spiritual lives of the faithful.

Holy icons are called "holy" because they are sacred temple items—clean, pure, unique, and revered before God.

Similarly, holy icons are titled 'holy' because they reveal the saints' history and identity to us through the eyes of the spirit, bridging the gap for those who were not present in their time. Unlike worldly icons that reflect the physical, these icons are sanctified by the holiness of the saints and the miracles God performs through them.

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, holy icons are painted according to apostolic tradition and canon, portraying the identity, life, and history of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, holy angels, prophets, apostles, and other saints and martyrs. These icons do not aim for exact likeness but serve as sacred representations.

St. John of Damascus described icons as "symbols" or "types" that represent Christ and the saints, helping worshipers "see" with the eyes of faith rather than as exact likenesses. This distinction highlights that icons serve as representations rather than exact images (On the Divine Images, Book I, trans. David Anderson, 1997).

The Bible frequently affirms the role of holy icons in Church services, including prayer. However, some argue that sacred images are unnecessary or even label them as idols, citing Biblical verses written for idolatry. Supported by Scripture, this article examines the accuracy of such claims.

To begin with, God Himself commanded the creation of holy icons during the time of the Torah (ኦሪት) for the temple used in Moses’ time, with Moses as the appointed artist. “መጋረጃውንም ከሰማያዊ ከሐምራዊም ከቀይም ግምጃ ከተፈተለ ከጥሩ በፍታም አድርግ፤ ብልህ ሠራተኛ እንደሚሠራ ኪሩቤል በእርሱ ላይ ይሁኑ።” (Exodus 26:31). ኪሩቤል (Cherubim) are angels who bear God’s throne (ዙፋን/መንበር) (Ezekiel 10:18-21).

Similarly, in Exodus 25:19-20, it is written: “ከስርየት መክደኛውም ጋር አንዱን ኪሩብ በአንድ ወገን፥ ሁለተኛውንም ኪሩብ በሌላው ወገን አድርገህ በአንድ ላይ ትሠራዋለህ። ኪሩቤልም ክንፎቻቸውን ወደ ላይ ይዘረጋሉ፥ የስርየት መክደኛውንም በክንፎቻቸው ይሸፍናሉ፥ ፊታቸውም እርስ በርሱ ይተያያል፤ የኪሩቤልም ፊቶቻቸው ወደ ስርየት መክደኛው ይመለከታሉ።”

Moses obeyed God’s command, depicting the Cherubim on the Ark: “ሁለት ኪሩቤልንም ከተቀጠቀጠ ወርቅ ሠራ፤ በስርየት መክደኛውም ላይ በሁለት ወገን አደረጋቸው። ከስርየት መክደኛውም ጋር አንዱን ኪሩብ በአንድ ወገን፥ ሁለተኛውንም ኪሩብ በሌላው ወገን አድርጎ በአንድ ላይ ሠራቸው። ኪሩቤልም ክንፎቻቸውን ወደ ላይ የዘረጉ ሆኑ፥ የስርየት መክደኛውንም በክንፎቻቸው ሸፈኑ፥ እርስ በርሳቸውም ተያዩ፤ የኪሩቤልም ፊቶቻቸው ወደ መክደኛው ተመለከቱ።” (Exodus 37:7-10).

King Solomon, the king of the Israelites was a King who depicted icons in the Holy of Holies: “በቅድስተ ቅዱሳኑም ውስጥ ቁመታቸው አሥር ክንድ የሆነ ከወይራ እንጨት ሁለት ኪሩቤል ሠራ።” (1 Kings 6:23). He also engraved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on all the walls of the temple, both inside and out: “በቤቱም ግንብ ሁሉ ዙሪያ በውስጥና በውጭ የኪሩቤልና የዘንባባ ዛፍ የፈነዳም አበባ ምስል ቀረጸ።” (1 Kings 6:29). Another verse affirming that King Solomon drew holy icons in the temple states: “ታላቁንም ቤት በጥድ እንጨት ከደነው፥ በጥሩም ወርቅ ለበጠው፤ የዘንባባና የሰንሰለት አምሳል ቀረጸበት።” (2 Kings 3:5). Additionally, the Bible mentions: “አንተም፥ የሰው ልጅ ሆይ፥ ጡብን ወስደህ በፊትህ አኑራት የኢየሩሳሌምንም ከተማ ስዕል ሳልባት ክበባት፥” (Ezekiel 4:1). The Bible also states that icons can be consecrated for God: “አንዱን ሺህ አንዱን መቶ ብርም መለሰላት፤ እናቱም፦ ይህን ብር የተቀረጸ ምስልና ቀልጦ የተሠራ ምስል አድርጌ ከእጄ ስለ ልጄ ለእግዚአብሔር እቀድሰዋለሁ፤ አሁንም ለአንተ እመልሰዋለሁ አለች።” (መሳፍንት 17:3). The key question to consider is: if holy icons are idols, as some claim, why did God instruct the Israelites to create them? Many misinterpret Scripture by citing verses meant for idols and applying them to holy icons. Holy icons are sacred, while idols are unclean. St. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 6:16, “ለእግዚአብሔር ቤተ መቅደስም ከጣዖት ጋር ምን መጋጠም አለው?” Unlike idols, holy icons are dedicated to Church services and prayer. Verses like “…የማናቸውንም ምሳሌ፥ የተቀረጸውንም ምስል ለአንተ አታድርግ።” (Exodus 20:4) refer specifically to idols, not holy icons. If these verses applied to all icons, including the holy icons, would God have instructed their depiction? Icons created for Church services and prayers are holy once blessed by priests, while unholy icons are classified as idols. Part II of this essay will explore the criteria that define unholy icons. Some believe that the icons mentioned in the Old Testament are relevant only to that covenant and have no place in the New Testament. However, the Bible counters this notion as stated in Matthew 5:17-19: “እኔ ሕግንና ነቢያትን ለመሻር የመጣሁ አይምሰላችሁ፤ ልፈጽም እንጂ ለመሻር አልመጣሁም:: እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ ሰማይና ምድር እስኪያልፍ ድረስ፥ ከሕግ አንዲት የውጣ ወይም አንዲት ነጥብ ከቶ አታልፍም፥ ሁሉ እስኪፈጸም ድረስ።እንግዲህ ከነዚህ ከሁሉ ካነሱት ትእዛዛት አንዲቱን የሚሽር ለሰውም እንዲሁ የሚያስተምር ማንም ሰው በመንግሥተ ሰማያት ከሁሉ ታናሽ ይባላል፤ የሚያደርግ ግን የሚያስተምርም ማንም ቢሆን እርሱ በመንግሥተ ሰማያት ታላቅ ይባላል።” This indicates that the laws and orders from the Old Testament given to Moses and the prophets are not entirely outdated; rather, some, like the sacrificial laws, have been fulfilled and transformed. Romans 3:31 further affirms, “እንግዲህ ሕግን በእምነት እንሽራለንን? አይደለም፤ ሕግን እናጸናለን እንጂ.” Thus, while certain practices may have changed, the essence of the divine instructions remains significant. In the New Testament, St. Paul addresses the Galatians, reminding them of their faith: “የማታስተውሉ የገላትያ ሰዎች ሆይ፥ በዓይናችሁ ፊት ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ እንደ ተሰቀለ ሆኖ ተሥሎ ነበር፤ ለእውነት እንዳትታዘዙ አዚም ያደረገባችሁ ማን ነው?” (Galatian 3፥1). This verse emphasizes the significance of holy icons, as St. Paul highlights that the crucifixion of Christ was visually portrayed among the Galatian Christians. He questions their doubtful faith, emphasizing their failure to believe in Christ despite visually witnessing His sacred image. Likewise, when our Lord entered the temple and drove out the merchants and their animals, He did not remove the holy icons present in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13). This serves as further evidence that the veneration of holy icons continues in the New Testament. In addition to facilitating worship and prayer to God, holy icons serve to honor saints and educate us about their life. Recognizing the significance of honoring the saints is vital, as St. Paul reminds us: "ክብር ለሚገባው ክብርን ስጡ" (Romans 13:7). In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), holy icons are venerated, not worshipped, as they serve as windows to the divine, helping believers connect with the spiritual realities they represent. This distinction is crucial because worship is reserved for God alone (Exodus 20:3-5). Veneration is an act of honor towards the saints and sacred icons, reflecting the EOTC teaching that it honors the saints or righteous figures depicted, without equating them with God. Some people confuse respect with worship, mistakenly believing that the prostrations of grace or honor (የጸጋ / የአክብሮት ስግደት) given to saints represented in icons constitute worship. However, the Bible offers numerous examples showing that prostration does not necessarily imply worship, as seen in verses like 1 Samuel 28:14, 2 Kings 2:15, 1 Chronicles 21:21, Genesis 33:1-8, Acts 10:25, and Revelation 3:9. While we already covered the topic of prostration for saints in another essay, it is crucial to note that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) does not worship saints or icons, a principle shared by all Orthodox churches, both Eastern and Oriental. Those who claim that Orthodox churches worship icons or saints must provide evidence from Orthodox sources. This distinction can be illustrated with a simple analogy: when we say "thank you" to people and "thank you" to God, does expressing gratitude to people mean we are worshiping them? Similarly, when we bow to people to show respect and bow to God, does bowing to people imply worship? Although the actions may appear similar, the intention behind them is what truly matters. When our intention is directed toward God, it constitutes worship; when it is directed toward others, it signifies respect.

In conclusion, holy icons are not mere decorations but vital instruments of faith that enrich the spiritual life of believers in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They bridge the past and present, enabling worshipers to encounter the divine through the sanctified lives of the saints. By understanding their rightful place in the liturgy (ቅዳሴ) and the scriptural basis for their veneration, we affirm the profound connection between the earthly and the heavenly sphere, enhancing our journey toward holiness and communion with God.