Letter 551: Theodore Studite, Letter 551; Greek heading: Θωμαΐδι παρθενευούσῃ.

With great joy I received the proposal of your honored self, conveyed by the living voice of the most honorable lord chief physician, since it was addressed to me by one who is a kinsman and a lover of God. And I do not refuse to learn even from a woman whatever may have escaped my notice; yet I do not think I have been ignorant concerning the veneration [proskynesis: the reverence offered to holy images, distinct from the worship due to God alone] of the sacred icons, how it ought to be. We, therefore, most honored lady, that I may leave aside speaking at present of the other matters, venerate the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ in such a way as we venerate our Lord Jesus Christ himself. But this word "as" is a matter of likeness, not of identity; for otherwise it would not be the icon of Christ, but Christ himself. Yet it is indeed the icon of Christ, and in his icon he is venerated, and he is shown forth as one thing in another; for Chrysostom [John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, d. 407] says, "I beheld an angel in an icon," and again Gregory the Theologian [Gregory of Nazianzus, d. c. 390], "And over it Polemon was bending in an icon." Therefore Christ also, in his own icon, is both seen and venerated; but even if this is by way of likeness, nevertheless, because it is he himself who is venerated and he himself who is worshipped, his icon is not therefore an object of worship [latreia: the adoration due to God alone], since there is no difference between the icon and the prototype, although these two differ in the difference of essence, not in the likeness of the hypostasis [the concrete person or subsistent reality]. Then again, if the Trinity alone is worshipped, how could the icon also be worshipped? For the Trinity would be found to be a Tetrad, having received an addition, which is impious. And if the icon of Christ possessed the quality of being worshipped in its own right, then in this way two acts of worship would be found, which would lead us into the worship of a created thing, on a level with the heresy [hairesis: false teaching] of the Arians [followers of Arius, who denied the full divinity of the Son]. But away with such an impious notion! May our good God preserve you unharmed and without stumbling, both in the orthodox faith and in the venerable manner of life which through virginity you have chosen for the good pleasure of the Lord.

Περιχαρῶς ἐδεξάμην τὴν πρότασιν τῆς τιμιότητός σου διὰ φωνῆς ζώσης τοῦ ὑπερτίμου κυρίου ἀρχιητροῦ, ἅτε παρὰ συγγενοῦς καὶ θεοφιλοῦς προσφωνηθείσης. καὶ οὐκ ἀπαναίνομαι καὶ παρὰ γυναικὸς μανθάνειν ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸ λανθάνον, οὐ μὴν δοκῶ ἠγνοηκέναι τὴν περὶ τῶν σεπτῶν εἰκόνων προσκύνησιν, ὅπως ὀφείλει εἶναι. ἡμεῖς τοιγαροῦν, ὦ τιμιωτάτη, ἵνα περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐάσω τὸ παρὸν λέγειν, τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ οὕτως προσκυνοῦμεν, ὡς αὐτὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. τὸ δὲ "4ὡς"5 τοῦτο ὁμοιώσεώς ἐστιν, ἀλλ' οὐ βεβαιώσεως· ἦ γὰρ ἂν οὐκ εἰκὼν Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς Χριστός ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰκὼν Χριστοῦ ἐστι καὶ ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ εἰκόνι προσκεκύνηται καὶ ὡς ἕτερον ἐν ἑτέρῳ δέδεικται· φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Χρυ σόστομος, εἶδον ἄγγελον ἐν εἰκόνι, καὶ ὁ Θεολόγος Γρηγόριος πάλιν, τῆς δ' ἦν ὑπερκύπτων Πολέμων ἐν εἰκόνι. οὐκοῦν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ εἰκόνι καὶ ὁρώμενός ἐστι καὶ προσκυνούμενος· ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ ὁμοιωματικῶς, ὅμως, ὅτι αὐτὸς προσκυνεῖται καὶ αὐτὸς λατρεύεται, οὐ μὴν ἡ εἰκὼν αὐτοῦ λατρευτή, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν διάφορον εἰκόνος καὶ πρωτοτύπου· καίτοι γε ταῦτα δύο τῇ διαφορότητι τῆς οὐσίας, οὐ τῇ ὁμοιότητι τῆς ὑποστάσεως. ἔπειτα καί, εἰ ἡ Τριὰς μόνη ἐστὶ λατρευομένη, πῶς δύναιτ' ἂν καὶ ἡ εἰκὼν λατρεύεσθαι; εὑρεθήσεται γὰρ τετρὰς ἡ Τριάς, προσθήκην δεξαμένη, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀσεβές. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἰδιαζόντως ἔχει τὸ λατρευτὸν ἡ εἰκὼν Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὕτω δύο λατρεῖαι εὑρισκόμεναι εἰς κτισματολατρείαν ἡμᾶς ἀγάγοιεν ἐπ' ἴσης τῆς τῶν Ἀρειανῶν αἱρέσεως. Ἀλλ' ἄπαγε τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς φρονήματος. σὲ δὲ ὁ ἀγαθὸς θεὸς ἡμῶν περιφυλάξειεν ἀσινῆ καὶ ἀπρόσκοπον τῇ τε ὀρθοδόξῳ πίστει καὶ τῇ σεμνοπρεπεῖ πολιτείᾳ, ἣν διὰ παρθενίας προείλου πρὸς εὐαρέστησιν Κυρίου.