WHY DO CATHOLICS...

Reverence images and statues in our Churches?

by Paul Stenhouse, MSC PhD

THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE AROUND who think nothing of confronting Catholics, and accusing us of idolatry because we use holy cards with images of the saints, or because there are icons, statues, crucifixes, stations' of the cross (often painted, sometimes in relief) and frescos in most of our Churches.

They love to quote Exodus 20,4: 'you shall not make a carved image for yourself nor the likeness of anything in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth,' claiming that the use of icons, images of every kind, especially statues, is forbidden by the Second Commandment. Even this terminology is confusing, for the traditional First Commandment for Catholics has, since the reformation, been divided into two by the Protestants.

Where is the proof that Catholics worship Images?

Despite the vast amount of selective quoting of history generated by this issue of 'idols' and 'images' there isn't any conclusive evidence that Catholics worshipped images and statues in their Churches and homes in the early century, as there is none that Catholics worship images today.

Assumptions abounded then; as they do now. Regrettably, then as now, the burden of proof is seldom thrown back onto the accuser. People who, in a moment of sanity might object to some-one's alleging without proof that an elderly neighbour is a witch, think nothing of accusing their Catholic neighbours of being idolaters. Not only do they have no proof, they need no proof. They assume, since the people are Catholics, they must be worshipping images.

To read the article 'images' by the Rev, William Scudmore, in the Dictionary of Christian Antiquity. 1 is to learn a lot about the Rev. Scudmore and his prejudices, and nothing substantial about the true attitude of Catholics towards images in Apostolic times. A fairer treatment may be found in the (equally non-Catholic) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church where in the article 'Images,' after noting the reluctance of Christians to use images because of the pagan connotations, the unnamed author justly notes:

It was only when the theological significance of the Incarnation came to be more fully grasped, and what was involved in the fact that God had become visible by taking human nature better understood, that, to many, there seemed to be no further obstacle to the use of images and other products of the artistic gifts of mankind in the service of the true religion. 2

My only quarrel with that generous statement is that it doesn't go far enough. From the beginning of our faith, no Christian would have been so lacking in common-sense as to be unable to differentiate between reverencing the Image of our Lord, or our Lady, or of the Cross, and offering worship to that Image as if it, the Image, were God. The absurdity of worshipping Images was abundantly clear to our ancestors.

Catholics died because they would not worship images

No one familiar with the early years of Christianity can be unaware of the loathing and disdain that our Christians forefathers had of Idolatry. Countless thousands died in excruciating ways rather than offer Incense to the Emperor as God, or worship the State deities. One would have thought that this was so obvious as to be beyond dispute.

From the second century onwards in the very cemeteries where the bones of the martyrs were laid to rest we find the earliest representations of our Lady, our Lord and the saints.

For self-styled 'Christians' to accuse the early Christians of idolatry on this account is so vicious and insensitive an assumption that it must bring a smile of contentment to the devil's face.

Because the subject is so vast, for the purposes of this little study we shall restrict ourselves mainly (though not entirely) to representations of our Lady in the Roman catacombs. Another, more personal, reason is that for five years I lived over the catacomb of St Agnes on the Via Nomentana, and a mere fifteen minutes walk away from the catacomb of Priscilla on the Via Salaria. Over that period I visited both catacombs dozens of times.

Evidence from the Catacombs of Priscilla, Peter and Marcellinus

The home of the Roman matron Priscilla was used from the early 100's as a burial place for Christians. Dating from the beginning of the second century It contains a celebrated fresco of the Virgin Mary seated, with the infant Jesus at her breast, with some personage nearby, thought to be the prophet Isaiah, pointing to a star above the mother and child. This painting is on the extreme right of a vault that covers a tomb. In its centre is a representation of the Good Shepherd, and on the left, in an attitude of prayer, a man, woman and child thought to be family whose tomb it was.

In the same catacomb there is a second century painting of the Annunciation by the angel to the Virgin Mary, and the same theme is repeated in a third century painting in the catacomb of Sts Peter and Marcellinus on the Via Casalina. In both, Mary, seated Also in the catacomb of Priscilla there is an extraordinary depiction of the veiling of a virgin. The third century painting shows the pope, seated, assisted by a deacon placing the veil on a virgin who is standing in front of him. He in his turn is pointing to a nearby painting of the Virgin Mary, also seated, holding the child Jesus in her arms. His gesture has always been interpreted as saying to the virgin, using word made famous by St Ambrose 3 who always proposed the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model for all virgin; Hanc imita, filia: 'daughter, be an imitator of her'.

Evidence from the Catacomb of Flavia Domitilla

In the first century, a catacomb was commenced on the Via Ardeantina, on part of a property that had belonged to Flavia Domitilla, grand-daughter of the emperor Vespasian and wife of the emperor Domitian's first cousin, Titus Flavius Clemens. Domitilla and her husband became Christians. Clemens was put to death, and Domitilla was banished to the island of Pandateria. In the catacomb that still bears her heroic name there is a beautiful painting of the Virgin Mary, holding the infant Jesus in her arms, welcoming the three Magi.

Evidence from the Catacomb of Pope St Callistus

Towards the end of the second century, the catacomb of Pope St Callistus on the Via Appia, which had formerly been a private Christian burial ground, began to be used by the bishops of Rome for the burial of popes and other martyrs. Sixteen martyr-popes were buried there. In that catacomb is to be found another, third century, painting of the Blessed Virgin with the child Jesus in her arms, welcoming, this time, four Magi.

For the sake of completeness I can't resist mentioning yet another representation of our Lady with the child Jesus, in the company, this time, of two Magi, In the catacomb of Sts Peter and Marcellinus, on the Via Casalina. This painting is dated from the fourth century

In addition to paintings, numerous fragments of third and fourth century glass drinking vessels have been found in the catacombs almost certainly used in agape meals after Mass had been offered for the deceased person buried there. They all have the figure of the Blessed Virgin, represented as praying with arms outstretched etched in gold.. The name Maria, and sometimes Mara is often found etched in the glass and resolves any possible doubt as to the identity of the praying woman represented. One of these glass vessels has a similar representation of the Blessed Virgin with arms outstretched, but this time standing flanked by the two founders of the Church of Rome, Sts Peter and St Paul.

Begging the Mother of God to intercede for the Dead

From what we know of the early Christian custom of placing a representation of a martyr near their graves to assure the dead person the heavenly intercession of the holy martyrs it seems clear that the representations of the B1essed Virgin fulfilled the same purpose. Either they recommended the deceased to the protection of the Heavenly Mother, or they were a reminder to the living, to recommend their deceased relatives and friends to the protection of the mother of Jesus. The beautiful prayer of the catacombs, Refrigeret tibi Domna Maria <'May the Lady Mary come to your assistance'> even if it is not always expressed, is certainly the inspiration behind the paintings.

That these images were not restricted to the catacombs is clear from a comment by St Augustine, around 400 AD criticizing some misguided people who had forged epistles from our Lord to Sts Peter and Paul. St Augustine said that he thought they decided to make the two Apostles of Rome the recipients of the spurious letters 'because they saw them painted with Him in many places'. 4

The Sign of the Cross

To those who object to the use of images, even to making the sign of the cross, or the use of crucifixes in Churches, to say nothing of images of our Lord and our Lady, and paintings and statues of holy men and women, I recommend the declaration by Tertullian (160-220) a rather grumpy kill-joy who thought painting to be a sin, at least in the, case of Hermogenes, 5

Everytime we come in and go out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, go to the baths, at meals, when lighting candles, when going to bed, when sitting down, no matter what we are doing, we make the sign of the cross on our forehead'.

The same Tertullian refers to pictures of the Good Shepherd 'whom you paint on the chalice'. Chalice here may mean the chalice used at Mass or it may simply mean a drinking vessel used by Christians in everyday life. 6 Whichever be the case, the image of Christ the Good Shepherd was there for all to see.

Importance of Images in Life and Worship

Describing a painting of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his only son Isaac, St Gregory of Nysa (330-39S) writes, 'I have often seen the image of his suffering in a painting and passed the night not without tears, so vividly did the art of the painter bring the story before the eyes'. 7

Prudentius, in 405 saw in the forum Cornelianum in Rome a picture of the martyrdom of St Cornelius, a schoolmaster whom the pagan magistrate had ordered his pupils to stab to death with the styluses they used for writing on their wax tablets, at school. 8

St Nilus, also known as the ascetic (died 430) advised Olympiodorus, from Thebes in Egypt,

'to fill the holy Church on all sides with stories from the Old and New Testament by the hand of the finest painter, that those who cannot read or write and are unable to read the Holy Scriptures might, by contemplating the picture be reminded of the virtue of those who served God truly'. 9

You should, not have destroyed the Images

The advice given by Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) to bishop Serenus of Marseilles, a contemporary of St Gregory of Tours (540-594) who was destroying images in the churches in the south of France, should be made obligatory reading by all haters of images:

'We heard some time ago that your Fraternity, seeing certain people worshipping images, broke and threw out of the Church the above-mentioned images. Indeed we praise you for being zealous lest anything made by human hands should be worshipped; but we think that you should not have destroyed the images. For painting is used in Churches so that those who cannot read or write may at least read on the walls by seeing there what they cannot read in books ... it is one thing to adore a painting; quite another thing to learn from the story of the painting, what ought to be adored. If anyone wishes to make images, by no means forbid him, but by all means, stop the worship of images'. 10

In the light of the above, one could, without distorting his meaning, slightly turn the well-phrased comment we quoted at the beginning of this essay from The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (no Catholic bias there), and say to the vocal yet ignorant critics of the use of images in Catholic worship:

'When the theological significance of the Incarnation has been more fully grasped, and what was involved in the fact that God had become visible by taking human nature has been better understood, there will seem to be no further obstacle to the use of images and other products of the artistic gifts of mankind in the service of the true religion." 11



  1. Hartford 1880 ed.pp.813ff.
  2. London, 1958 ed.p.679.
  3. De Institutione Virginum lxxxvii PL xvi 326.
  4. De Cconsensu Evangelistarum. I,x,l6.
  5. Adversus Hermogenes, i.
  6. De Pudicitia, vii.lO.
  7. De Deit. Fil. Et Sp. Orat.
  8. De Coronis, Hymn. ix, 9.
  9. Epistle iv.61
  10. Epistle vii. III; also Epistle ix (ad eundem) 9.
  11. London, 1958 ed. p.679.

Annals Australia March l999

Subscription Rates to "Annals Australasia" and "Catholic Answers to Bible Christians"


See "Annals Australasia's Un-official Home Page
What's New? at Sean Ó Lachtnáin's Home Page
Sean Ó Lachtnáin's Home Page