Synodicon of Orthodoxy: Part 6

But now, for a second time, after a short thirty years of harassment, He has delivered us unworthy ones from adversity, redeeming us from those who afflicted us, and establishing the free proclamation of piety, the steadfastness of the worship of icons, and this Festival which brings all of us salvation. For in the icons we see the sufferings of our Master for us - the Cross, the grave, Hades slain and pillaged-the contests of the martyrs, the crowns, that very salvation which our First Prize-giver and Contest-master and Crown-bearer wrought in the midst of the earth. This festival we celebrate today; we rejoice together and are glad with prayers and supplicatory processions, and we cry out with psalms and hymns:

(Shout it 3x)

What God is as great as our God? Thou art our God, who alone worketh wonders.

(Shout it)

For Thou didst put to scorn those who slighted Thy Glory, and didst show forth as cowards and fugitives those who were audacious and impudent against the icons.

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a second time: see part two of this series for more detail, but in short, the iconoclasts, after having been put down, had a 30 year ascendancy, during which time they persecuted and afflicted those who kept the True Faith.

redeeming us: This is interesting. It wasn't just rescuing or protecting or defending that was needed. Redemption was needed. Does this imply that the suffering of the Orthodox at the hands of the Iconoclasts was due, at least in part, to the sins of the Orthodox? Do the Orthodox share in the guilt of the Iconoclasts? How might this be so? My guess is through lax morals which weakens a testimony, and by not articulating well the right doctrine concerning Icons.

worship of icons: At first when I saw this I thought, "well that's an unfortunate translation, isn't it?" But on second thought, no it is the right translation. We should not be ashamed of the English language, full of nuance as it is. One of the most beautiful parts of the Church of England's wedding service is when the bride says "with my body I thee worship" and everyone knows that does not mean adoration due only to God. Likewise, with our bodies, in kisses and prostrations we Orthodox worship the Holy Icons, knowing full well that we do not adore paint and wood.

Festival which brings all of us salvation: How does a festival bring us salvation? Bu ensuring that at least once a year an important part of Christian dogma is loudly and unambiguously proclaimed.

For in the icons we see the sufferings of our Master for us - the Cross: Among most American Protestants there is an aversion to showing an image of Jesus on the Cross. When I was a Protestant I never understood it - the cross is historical, Jesus is historical, Jesus on the Cross is historical, but only the first two, and rarely the third is ever portrayed. When I was a boy a common criticism I heard of Roman Catholics was "they show Jesus on the Cross". I heard a variation of it just a few day ago. I tried to explain that Jesus was "slain from the foundation of the world" and that there never was a time when he wasn't on the cross, because he is eternal and unchanging. It is only because we exist in time that we direct our gaze to a place in history and say "Jesus was Crucified 2,000 years ago". But in reality, he is slain once and for all in eternity. Didn't St. John see Jesus in Heaven as as a lamb who was slain? And this explains why He is not crucified again when we celebrate the Holy Mystery every Sunday: We do not kill him again, for we are accessing his eternal Sacrifice, it is as though his blood is the current flowing through the universe and on Sundays we plug into him. The life is in the blood, as Moses wrote.

Hades slain and pillaged: Our Lord was not content to leave the dead in bondage but "pillaged" hades. He broke down the gates and took the treasure like a Norseman plundering an Irish town.

that very salvation which our First Prize-giver and Contest-master and Crown-bearer wrought in the midst of the earth. : Okay, now I'm getting excited. And so were the bishop at the council. They are just making up titles to heap on Jesus. But notice in their excitement that they stick to the dogma. They don't wallow in falsity. They don't change the teaching of the Apostles. They just find new words to express it.

This festival we celebrate today: Today. We are not in eternity yet. We live according to the Sun and the Moon and the atomic clock. But even limited as we are we still celebrate the salvation of the Lord at the appropriate time.

(Shout it 3x): Translated from Greek to Slavonic to English this was almost impossible to understand. I've retranslated into functionally equivalent English.

What God is as great as our God? Thou art our God, who alone worketh wonders.: words worth shouting three times.

For Thou didst put to scorn those who slighted Thy Glory, and didst show forth as cowards and fugitives those who were audacious and impudent against the icons. : The Iconoclasts were afraid of God's glory, the glory of the Incarnation and the Crucifixion, the Glory of the heir of all things giving up all things for the sake of love. The Iconoclasts lied, saying God was too glorious to be depicted, but it is his self-emptying and his becoming depictible that are his greatest Glory. His greatest act was loving obedience to his Father. That is what undid Satan and that is why Satan invented Iconoclasm.