Description
Icon veneration sets Orthodox Christianity apart from other religions and Christian groups. In recent years this practice has been the subject of several critiques which raise important questions from Scripture and history. Does the Bible condemn or confirm image veneration? Was the early Church aniconic, or did it have holy images and venerate them?
This course is designed to equip Orthodox Christians to respond to these questions. It explores and expands on the content of the author’s book, Early Icons: Christian Image Veneration Before 325 AD. The class articulates the distinctions between veneration and worship, and idols versus holy images in Scripture. Students will explore the problems with the claim that the early church was aniconic, and discover surprising early written evidences for image veneration. The course will also look at surviving Christian art from the first 3 centuries and how it points to a devotional use of images by the early Church. This includes a preview of new research and unpublished evidence that further corroborates the ancient origins of this Orthodox practice.
Instructor
Michael Garten is an Orthodox educator, husband, and father. He graduated from Biola University’s Torrey Honors Institute (2009, B.A. Philosophy) and did a year of graduate studies at Northern Illinois University. He has taught and designed curriculum for high school Sunday School and helped found and run several Orthodox schools. Michael is the author of Early Icons: Christian Image Veneration Before 325 AD, the first of a multi-part series of books vindicating the very early origin of this Orthodox practice.
Course Details
Dates/Times: Sundays at 4:00 PM PST, beginning July 20. Recordings will be provided to all students.
Length of Course: 5 weeks
Class Format: 60 minutes of lecture, followed by 60 minutes of discussion
Prerequisite: Open to all; no prerequisites required