Early Church Fathers on Relics, Statues, and Images

The Early Church Fathers on various topics: This was a 3700 hour project which included
going through 22896 pages of the 38 volume set called Ante Nicene, Nicene, Post Nicene
Fathers. I compiled 255 pages of quotes showing that the Early Church was always and
completely Catholic. All of these quotes can be verified and found from the source which is
free online.

Marytrdom of St Ignatius of Antioch ch 6 (50-117 ad)

For only the harder portions of his holy remains were left, which were conveyed to Antioch and wrapped in linen,
as an inestimable treasure left to the holy Church by the grace which was in the martyr
Polycarp Martyrdom of Polycarp Ch 18 (69-155 ad)
Accordingly, we afterwards took up his bones, as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more
purified than gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, whither, being gathered together, as opportunity is
allowed us, with joy and rejoicing, the Lord shall grant us to celebrate the anniversary of his martyrdom, both in
memory of those who have already finished their course, and for the exercising and preparation of those yet to
walk in their steps
Tertullian Against Marcion Book 2 ch 22 (160-240 ad)
The brazen serpent and the golden cherubim were not violations of the Second Commandment. Their meaning.
[+] Likewise, when forbidding the similitude to be made of all things which are in heaven, and in earth, and in the
waters, He declared also the reasons, as being prohibitory of all material exhibition of a latent idolatry. For He
adds: "Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them." The form, however, of the brazen serpent which the
Lord afterwards commanded Moses to make, afforded no pretext for idolatry, but was meant for the cure of
those who were plagued with the fiery serpents? I say nothing of what was figured by this cure. Thus, too, the
golden Cherubim and Seraphim were purely an ornament in the figured fashion of the ark; adapted to
ornamentation for reasons totally remote from all condition of idolatry, on account of which the making a
likeness is prohibited; and they are evidently not at variance with this law of prohibition, because they are not
found in that form of similitude, in reference to which the prohibition is given.
Peter of Alexandria Genuine Acts of Peter (260-311ad)
In the meanwhile a spirited body of senators of those who are engaged in the public transport service, seeing
what had happened, for they were near the sea, prepared a boat, and suddenly seizing upon the sacred relics,
they placed them in it, and scaling the Pharos from behind, by a quarter which has the name of Leucado, they
came to the church of the most blessed mother of God, and Ever-Virgin Mary, which, as we began to say, he
had constructed in the western quarter, in a suburb, for a cemetery of the martyrs
Eusebius of Caesarea Church History book 7 (295-340ad)
They say that this statue is an image of [+] Jesus. It has remained to our day, so that we ourselves also saw it
when we were staying in the city. Nor is it strange that those of the Gentiles who, of old, were benefited by our
Saviour, should have done such things, since we have learned also that the likenesses of his apostles Paul and
Peter, and of Christ himself, are preserved in paintings, the ancients being accustomed, as it is likely, according
to a habit of the Gentiles, to pay this kind of honor indiscriminately to those regarded by them as deliverers.
Athanasius Life of St Anthony par 92 (296-373 ad)
But each of those who received the sheepskin of the blessed Anthony and the garment worn by him guards it as
a precious treasure. For even to look on them is as it were to behold Anthony; and he who is clothed in them
seems with joy to bear his admonitions.
Basil Letter 49 (329-379 ad)
If I am able to find any relics of martyrs, I pray that I may take part in your earnest endeavour.
Basil Letter 155 (329-379 ad)
If you send the relics of the martyrs home you will do well; as you write that the persecution there is, even now,
causing martyrs to the Lord.
Basil Letter 197 par 2 (329-379 ad)
he took up the relics with all becoming reverence, and has aided the brethren in their preservation. These relics
do you receive with a joy equivalent to the distress with which their custodians have parted with them and sent
them to you
Basil Letter 360 (329-379 ad)
I acknowledge also the holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs; and I invoke them to supplication to God, that
through them, that is, through their mediation, the merciful God may be propitious to me, and that a ransom may
be made and given me for my sins. Wherefore also I honour and kiss the features of their images, inasmuch as
they have been handed down from the holy apostles, and are not forbidden, but are in all our churches.
Jerome Letter 24 par 4 (347-420 ad)
She hurried to the martyrs' shrines unnoticed. Such visits gave her pleasure, and the more so because she was
never recognized.
Jerome Letter 31 par 2 (347-420 ad)
It is true that a festival such as the birthday of Saint Peter should be seasoned with more gladness than usual;
still our merriment must not forget the limit set by Scripture, and we must not stray too far from the boundary of
our wrestling-ground.
Jerome Letter 46 par 8 (347-420 ad)
Everywhere we venerate the tombs of the martyrs; we apply their holy ashes to our eyes; we even touch them,
if we may, with our lips.
Jerome Letter 46 par 13 (347-420 ad)
We shall see the fountain in which the eunuch was immersed by Philip. We shall make a pilgrimage to Samaria,
and side by side venerate the ashes of John the Baptist, of Elisha, and of Obadiah.
Jerome against the Vigilantius par 5 (347-420 ad)
Are we, therefore guilty of sacrilege when we enter the basilicas of the Apostles? Was the Emperor Constantius
I. guilty of sacrilege when he transferred the sacred relics of Andrew, Luke, and Timothy to Constantinople?
Jerome Letter 109 par 1 (347-420 ad)
You tell me that Vigilantius (whose very name Wakeful is a contradiction: he ought rather to be described as
Sleepy) has again opened his fetid lips and is pouring forth a torrent of filthy venom upon the relics of the holy
martyrs; and that he calls us who cherish them ashmongers and idolaters who pay homage to dead men's
bones. Unhappy wretch! to be wept over by all Christian men,… We, it is true, refuse to worship or adore, I say
not the relics of the martyrs, but even the sun and moon, the angels and archangels, the Cherubim and
Seraphim and "every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come." For we may
not "serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Still we honour the relics of the martyrs,
that we may adore Him whose martyrs they are. We honour the servants that their honour may be reflected
upon their Lord
John Chrysostom Homily 10 on Ephesians ch 4:5 (347-407 ad)
And yet who is there whom this fire does not touch? Which of the statues that stand in the Church?
John Chrysostom Homily 55 on Acts ch 28:17-20 (347-407 ad)
As I keep hearing the Epistles of the blessed Paul read, and that twice every week, and often three or four
times, whenever we are celebrating the memorials of the holy martyrs,
John Chrysostom Homilies 10 Ephesians [347-407 AD]
For like a conflagration indeed, or like a thunderbolt hurled from on high, have they lighted upon the roof of the
Church, and yet they rouse up no one; but whilst our Father's house is burning, we are sleeping, as it were, a
deep and stupid sleep. And yet who is there whom this fire does not touch? Which of the statues that stand in
the Church? for the Church is nothing else than a house built of the souls of us men. Now this house is not of
equal honor throughout, but of the stones which contribute to it, some are bright and shining, whilst others are
smaller and more dull than they, and yet superior again to others. There we may see many who are in the place
of gold also, the gold which adorns the ceiling. Others again we may see, who give the beauty and gracefulness
produced by statues. Many we may see, standing like pillars. For he is accustomed to call men also also on
account of their beauty, adding as they do, much grace, and having their heads overlaid with gold.
John Chrysostom Homilies 21 on the Statues par 10 [347-407 AD]
Were your Statues thrown down? You have it in your power again to set up others yet more splendid.
John Chrysostom Homily on St Ignatius par 5 (347-407 ad)
For not the bodies only, but the very sepulchres of the saints have been filled with spiritual grace. For if in the
case of Elisha this happened, and a corpse when it touched the sepulchre, burst the bands of death and
returned to life again, much rather now, when grace is more abundant, when the energy of the spirit is greater,
is it possible that one touching a sepulchre, with faith, should win great power; thence on this account God
allowed us the remains of the saints, wishing to lead by them us to the same emulation, and to afford us a kind
of haven, and a secure consolation for the evils which are ever overtaking us.
Egeria Discription of the Liturgical Year in Jerusalem XXXVII (348-418 ad)
Veneration of the Cross. [+] Then a chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha [+] behind the Cross, which is now
standing; the bishop [+] duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table covered [+] with a linen cloth is placed
before him; the deacons [+] stand round the table, and a silver-gilt casket is [+] brought in which is the holy
wood of the Cross. The [+] casket is opened and (the wood) is taken out, and [+] both the wood of the Cross
and the title are placed [+] upon the table.
John Cassian Conference 6 ch 1 (360-435 ad)
In this district there lived for a long while monks of the most perfect life and holiness, who were suddenly
destroyed by an incursion of Saracen robbers: (3) whose bodies we knew were seized upon with the greatest
veneration (4) both by the Bishops of the neighbourhood and by the whole populace of Arabia, and deposited
among the relics of the martyrs, so that swarms of people from two towns met, and made terrible war upon each
other, and in their struggle actually came to blows for the possession of the holy spoil, while they strove among
themselves with pious zeal as to which of them had the better claim to bury them and keep their relics
Augustine Letter 212 (354-430 ad)
how much stronger is their claim on you, who reside in the same country in this earth in which these ladies, for
the love of Christ, renounced the distinctions of this world I also ask you to condescend to receive with the same
love with which I have offered it my official salutation, and to remember me in your prayers. These ladies carry
with them relics of the most blessed and glorious martyr Stephen: your Holiness knows how to give due honour
to these, as we have done.
Augustine on the Holy Trinity Book 1 ch 6.13 (354-430 ad)
But that the Holy Spirit is not a creature is made quite plain by that passage above all others, where we are
commanded not to serve the creature, but the Creator; not in the sense in which we are commanded to "serve"
one another by love, which is in Greek douleuein, but in that in which God alone is served, which is in Greek
latreuein. From whence they are called idolaters who tender that service to images which is due to God. For it is
this service concerning which it is said, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."
For this is found also more distinctly in the Greek Scriptures, which have latreuseis. Now if we are forbidden to
serve the creature with such a service, seeing that it is written, the creature more than the Creator), then
assuredly the Holy Spirit is not a creature, to whom such a service is paid by all the saints; as says the apostle,
"For we are the circumcision, which serve the Spirit of God," which is in the Greek latreuontes. For even most
Latin copies also have it thus,
Augustine Reply to Faustus the Manichean Book 20 par 21 (354-430 ad)
What is properly divine worship, which the Greeks call latria, and for which there is no word in Latin, both in
doctrine and in practice, we give only to God. To this worship belongs the offering of sacrifices; as we see in the
word idolatry, which means the giving of this worship to idols. Accordingly we never offer, or require any one to
offer, sacrifice to a martyr, or to a holy soul, or to any angel. Any one falling into this error is instructed by
doctrine, either in the way of correction or of caution.
Augustine of Hippo City of God Book 22 ch 8 (354-430 ad)
For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ, whether by His sacraments or by the prayers or relics
of His saints; but they are not so brilliant and conspicuous as to cause them to be published with such glory as
accompanied the former miracles.
Sozomen Ecclesial History Book 3 Ch 14 (375-477 ad)
He (the monk Antony the great) was earnest in conduct, grave in discourse, and with a good memory and
accurate attainment in Sacred Writ. He was so beloved by God, that even now many afflicted and possessed
people are healed at his tomb.
Council of Ephesus Extracts from session 1 (431 ad)
Theodosius, the humble Christian, to the holy and Ecumenical Synod: I confess and I agree to (suntiqemai) and
I receive and I salute and I venerate in the first place the spotless image of our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God,
and the holy image of her who bore him without seed, the holy Mother of God, and her help and protection and
intercessions each day and night as a sinner to my aid I call for, since she has confidence with Christ our God,
as he was born of her. Likewise also I receive and venerate the images of the holy and most laudable Apostles,
prophets, and martyrs and the fathers and cultivators of the desert. Not indeed as gods (God forbid!) do I ask all
these with my whole heart to pray for me to God, that he may grant me through their intercessions to find mercy
at his hands at the day of judgment, for in this I am but showing forth more clearly the affection and love of my
soul which I have borne them from the first. Likewise also I venerate and honour and salute the reliques of the
Saints as of those who fought for Christ and who have received grace from him for the healing of diseases and
the curing of sicknesses and the casting out of devils, as the Christian Church has received from the holy
Apostles and Fathers even down to us to-day.
Gregory the Great Letters Book 11 letter 13 (540-604 ad)
If for this instruction for which images were anciently made you wish to have them in the church, I permit them
by all means both to be made and to be had. And explain to them that it was not the sight itself of the story
which the picture was hanging to attest that displeased thee, but the adoration which had been improperly paid
to the pictures.
Gregory the Great Letters Book 9 letter 105 (540-604 ad)
Furthermore we notify to you that it has come to our ears that your Fraternity, seeing certain adorers of images,
broke and threw down these same images in Churches. And we commend you indeed for your zeal against
anything made with hands being an object of adoration; but we signify to you that you ought not to have broken
these images. For pictorial representation is made use of in Churches for this reason; that such as are ignorant
of letters may at least read by looking at the walls what they cannot read in books. Your Fraternity therefore
should have both preserved the images and prohibited the people from adoration of them, to the end that both
those who are ignorant of letters might have wherewith to gather a knowledge of the history, and that the people
might by no means sin by adoration of a pictorial representation
Gregory the Great Letters Book 3 letter 33 (540-604 ad)
We now send you as the benediction of the blessed apostle Peter a small cross, wherein are inserted benefits
from his chains, which for a time bound his neck: but may they loose yours from sins for ever.
Gregory the Great Letters Book 4 letter 30 (540-604 ad)
The Serenity of your Piety, conspicuous for religious zeal and love of holiness, has charged me with your
commands to send to you the head of Saint Paul, or some other part of his body, for the church which is being
built in honour of the same Saint Paul in the palace. And, being desirous of receiving commands from you, by
exhibiting the most ready obedience to which I might the more provoke your favour towards me, I am all the
more distressed that I neither can nor dare do what you enjoin. For the bodies of the apostles Saint Peter and
Saint Paul glitter with so great miracles and terrors in their churches that one cannot even go to pray there
without great fear. In short, when my predecessor, of blessed memory, was desirous of changing the silver
which was over the most sacred body of the blessed apostle Peter, though at a distance of almost fifteen feet
from the same body, a sign of no small dreadfulness appeared to him.
John of Damascus Apologia Against those who Decry Holy Images (676-749 ad)
From the Life of the Abbot Daniel, on Eulogius the Quarryman. [+] Then he went away dejected, and threw
himself before an image of Our Lady, and crying out, he said: "Lord, enable me to pay what I promised this
man."
John of Damascus Apologia Against those who Decry Holy Images (676-749 ad)
St Basil says, "Honouring the image leads to the prototype." If you raise churches to the saints of God, raise
also their trophies.
John of Damascus Apologia Against those who Decry Holy Images (676-749 ad)
A tradition has come down to us that Angaros, King of Edessa, was drawn vehemently to divine love by hearing
of our Lord,* and that he sent envoys to ask for His likeness. If this were refused, they were ordered to have a
likeness painted. Then He, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, is said to have taken a strip of cloth, and
pressing it to His face, to have left His likeness upon the cloth, which it retains to this day. (shroud of turin?)
John of Damascus Apologia Against those who Decry Holy Images (676-749 ad)
If you say to this that blessed Epiphanius clearly rejected our use of images, you must know that the work in
question is spurious and written by some one else in the name of Epiphanius, as often happens. A father does
not fight his own children. All have become participators in the one Spirit. [78] The Church is a witness of this in
adorning images, until some men rose up against her and disturbed the peace of Christ's fold, putting poisoned
food before the people of God.
John of Damascus Apologia Against those who Decry Holy Images (676-749 ad)
Listen to what I am going to say as a proof that images are no new invention. It is an ancient practice well
known to the best and foremost of the fathers. Elladios, the disciple of blessed Basil and his successor, says in
his Life of Basil that the holy man was standing by the image of Our Lady, on which was painted also the
likeness of Mercurius, the renowned martyr. He was standing by it asking for the removal of the impious
apostate Julian, and he received this revelation from the statue. He saw the martyr vanish for a time, and then
reappear, holding a bloody spear.
Venerable Bede Ecclesiastical History of England Book 4 ch 32 (672-735 ad)
The brother having long laboured under this malady, when no human means availed to save his eye, but rather,
it grew daily worse, on a sudden, through the grace of the mercy of God, it came to pass that he was cured by
the relics of the holy father, Cuthbert. For when the brethren found his body uncorrupted, after having been
many years buried, they took some part of the hair, to give, as relics, to friends who asked for them, or to show,
in testimony of the miracle.
Constantinople/Trullo/Quinisext canon 82 (692 ad)
In some pictures of the venerable icons, a lamb is painted to which the Precursor points his finger, which is
received as a type of grace, indicating beforehand through the Law, our true Lamb, Christ our God.
Avenging of the Saviour (700 ad)
It is the woman called Veronica who has the portrait of the Lord in her house. And immediately he ordered her
to be brought before his power. And he said to her: Hast thou the portrait of the Lord in thy house? But she said,
No. Then Velosianus ordered her to be put to the torture, until she should give up the portrait of the Lord. And
she was forced to say: I have it in clean linen, my lord, and I daily adore it. Velosianus said: Show it to me. Then
she showed the portrait of the Lord. (Veronica was the woman who suffered for 12 years with the issue of
blood)
2nd Council of Nicaea During the time of Stephen II [787-788 AD]
We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the
traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all knoweth Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and
accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as
well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the
sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to
wit, the figure of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the
honourable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For by so much more frequently as they are seen in
artistic representation, by so much more readily are men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a
longing after them; and to these should be given due salutation and honorable reverence not indeed that true
worship of faith which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-
giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered
according to ancient pious custom. For the honor which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image
represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented . . .
4th Lateran Council (Ecumenical Council #12) ch 62 [1215-1216 AD]
The Christian religion is frequently disparaged because certain people put saints' relics up for sale and display
them indiscriminately. In order that it may not be disparaged in the future, we ordain by this present decree that
henceforth ancient relics shall not be displayed outside a reliquary or be put up for sale. As for newly discovered
relics, let no one presume to venerate them publicly unless they have previously been approved by the authority
of the Roman pontiff.