I do not venerate the matter, but I venerate the Creator of matter, who became matter for me, who condescended to live in matter, and who, through matter, accomplished my salvation and I do not cease to respect the matter through which my salvation is accomplished. But now, since God has appeared in flesh and lived among men, I can depict that which is visible of God. In times past, God, without body and form, could in no way be represented. Hints of this theology can be seen in the Gospels when Jesus’ clothes become light-bearing at the Transfiguration, when the woman with the issue of blood touches the fringe of his garment, etc. He saves us and bestows upon us his sanctifying grace through means of matter. In his physical body, our God lived, died, and resurrected for us. Therefore, the Orthodox have always understood iconoclasm to be a heresy that denies the Incarnation of God and thereby denies humanity its salvation in Christ. Icons are a testament of the fact that our God, who is by nature bodiless and incorporeal, took an actual human body and united it to himself, forever uniting the divine nature to human nature, to matter, sanctifying it and redeeming it in himself. According to tradition, the Apostle Luke painted the first icons. Because such technology did not exist, the ancients painted his image. If photographic technology existed at the time of Jesus, we would doubtless have thousands of photos of Jesus. The short answer to this question is because of the Incarnation. The impression it leaves on the uninitiated may be one of reverence, confusion, or even anger at the supposed idolatry of the Orthodox people.
It doesn’t take long for someone who is curious about the ancient Orthodox faith to be either surprised or scandalized by the plethora of icons covering the inside of an Orthodox church.
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