Visual Arts in Christian Liturgy: Icons, Catacombs, and Worship

Introduction: Art, Scripture, and the Liturgical Tradition

Christian art's rich history goes as far back as the 3rd century A.D. Ever since the first paintings were done on catacomb walls, Christians have endeavored to use visible means for expressing the invisible Almighty. Despite Christianity's origins lying in Judaism — which forbids such imagery — the concept of the Incarnation made it essential to portray God's human face in Jesus. The intent was never mere portraiture. However, an image capable of opening the soul, mind, and heart in a manner that enlivened understanding and faith was critical for several centuries. Through it, the Church successfully established itself as a major patron of the arts. Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) draws on the richness of Christian iconography, a tradition for which he holds deep appreciation, demonstrating that the Gospels are preached via both spoken words and imagery. Artists of every era have conveyed the essential facts pertaining to the mystery of salvation to believers' wonder and contemplation, representing them through the brilliance of color and the precision of beauty. Art demonstrates how, in the modern culture of imagery especially, sacred images are able to express far more than words alone, and how they serve as a highly dynamic and effective means of conveying God's message. Within Christian places of worship and the experiences of small worshipping communities, images are able to reinforce appreciation of the Gospel among followers of Christ more powerfully than ever before (McCarthy 2011; Webber n.d.; Dillenberger 1986).

To assess the significance of scriptural visual arts in liturgy and church service, it is first necessary to define liturgy and then to establish the existence of art in the Old and New Testaments, which lends it a measure of divine authority through its connection to God. The term liturgy implies the combination of rites through which individual communities express their relationship with the Lord, generating art — indeed, liturgy itself is art. In certain cultures, creativity in liturgical service was regarded as God's gift (Verdon 2007). The New Testament cites St. Paul as stating that Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), or the invisible Father's incarnate "icon," and consequently such images carry all the more significance. Imagery within the Old Testament was symbolic of the Lord's presence, while within the New Testament the concept of art declares that God's Kingdom is at hand. When employed in the liturgical context, art becomes an encounter in the same way that one encounters Jesus in the Christian sacraments, which early theologians regarded as images. This strong theological exegesis offers a solid foundation for the use of imagery by the oldest Christian churches in encouraging the development and propagation of God's message.

Now that a sound argument has been established for religious imagery's existence and continued use, this paper will address three concepts of art in Christianity together with their application in liturgical and church service. First, it will explore the oldest recorded Christian art found in catacombs — particularly in Rome — and examine how this underground art form could serve the Church in proclaiming God's message. This investigation will briefly address the issue of idolatry. Second, the paper will examine the use of visual imagery in order to assess and understand its contemporary application. Finally, it will evaluate the use of icons as prayer aids and in liturgy (Moore 2010).

Narrowly, one can observe that the Bible does not contain art per se, although its King James Version refers to "art" three times: Acts 17:29, 1 Chronicles 16:14, and Exodus 30:25. Interestingly, the latter two references relate to the apothecary's skill. It is only in Acts that visual art is directly addressed: "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device" (Acts 17:29). Yet if one expands the meaning of art, it becomes clear that Scripture is filled with colorful imagery from beginning to end — abundant in its graphic descriptions of people, events, and landscapes, composed in words that readily appeal to the reader's imagination (Moore 2010).