Bearing The Image

Igitur sicut portavimus imaginem illius terreni, portemus et imaginem hujus coelestis. Hoc est, sicut formam habuimus mortalitatis per peccatum Adae, servi peccati facti: ita et formam habeamus vitae per justitiam salvatoris, facti servi justitiae, non mundi, sed Dei; dum ea agimus, quae immortalitate digna sunt. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.270a-b

Therefore as we have borne the image of the earthly man, let us bear the image of the heavenly man...1 That is, as we had the form of death through the sin of Adam, made servants of sin, thus we should have the form of life through the righteousness of the Saviour, being made servants of righteousness, not of the world, but of God, while we do those things which are worthy of immortality. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 15 1 1 Cor 15.49

The Child And The Image

Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos, ubi requiescant, nam Filius hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet. Non videtur convenire ratione, ut simplicem fidelemque istum arbitremur, qui Domini dignatione respuitur; cum indefessi famulatus obsequium spondisset: sed Dominus non obsequiorum speciem, sed puritatem quaerit affectus. Denqiue supra ait: Quicumque receperit puerem istum in nomine meo. Quo loco Dominus simplicitatem sine arrogantia docet, charitatem sine invidia, devotionem sine iracundia esse debere: nam et pueri mens provectionis affectu recipienda suadetur, quia dum puer nihil sibi vindicat, formam virtutis exsequitur: et si rationem nescit, culpam ignorat. Tamen quia plerisque non virtus, sed infirmitas videtur sine ratione simplicitas; ut tu veram recipias admoneris, id est, ut exsequaris industria munus naturae. Et ideo ait: Quicumque receperit pueram istum in nomine meo, me recepit. Et qui me recipit, recipit eum qui me misit. Qui enim imitatorem Christi recipit, Christum recipit: et qui imaginem Dei receperit, recipit Deum. Sed quia imaginem Dei non poteramus videre, facta est ad nos per incarnationem Verbi praesentia ut reconciliaretur nobis quae supra nos est divinitas. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber VII

'Foxes have their holes, and the birds of heaven their nests, where they may rest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.' 1 And it does not seem in harmony with reason that we judge this is a simple and faithful fellow, who is rejected from the esteem of the Lord, when He has approved the service of the tireless serving boy, but the Lord does not care for the splendour of one's service but He seeks the purity of one's affection. Whence he said above, 'Whoever receives this child in my name.' 2 In which place the Lord teaches simplicity should be without arrogance, charity without envy, devotion without anger, for the mind of the boy He would persuade be taken up than the state of the elder, because while the boy vaunts himself in nothing, the way of virtue he follows, and if he does not know reason he is free from blame. However because virtue is not of many it seems that weakness without reason is simplicity, whence you are admonished to receive the truth, that is, that you seek with diligence the gift of nature. And therefore he says, 'Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and he who receives me, receives the one who sent me.' 2 For he who receives an imitator of Christ, receives Christ, and he who receives an image of God, receives God. For because we were not able to see the image of God, by the incarnation was made for us the presence of the Word that the Divinity beyond us might be reconciled with us. Saint Ambrose, On The Gospel of Luke, from Book 7 1 Lk 9. 58 2 Lk 9. 48

An Image of Michael

Ἄσκοπον ἀγγελίαρχον, ἀσώματον εἴδεϊ μορφῆς, ἆ μέγα τολμήεις κηρὸς ἀπεπλάσατο:ἔμπης οὐκ ἀχάριστον, ἐπεὶ βροτὸς εἰκόνα λεύσσων θυμὸν ἀπιθύνει κρέσσονι φαντασίῃ: οὐκέτι δ᾽ ἀλλοπρόσαλλον ἔχει σέβας, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν τύπον ἐγγράψας ὡς παρεόντα τρέμει: ὄμματα δ᾽ ὀτρύνουσι βαθὺν νόον οἶδε δὲ τέχνη χρώμασι πορθμεῦσαι τὴν φρενὸς ἱκεσίην. Αγαθίας Σχολαστικός,εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐν Πλάτῃ

The invisible Archangel, incorporeal in form With great daring wax formed, and not without grace; For a man beholding this image directs his mind to higher vision. No longer a confused veneration but in himself The image imprinting, he is in awe as if he were present. The eyes stir up the depths of the spirit, and art By colours conveys the prayers of the soul. Agathias Scholasticus, On An Image of the Archangel Michael

The Image of God

Τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα μὴ έν σώματι εἶναι, ἐν δὲ τῇ λογικῇ ψυχῇ, παραστήσει οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητον δόγμα, καταλαβὼν τίνες δυνάμεις εἰσὶν αὐτῆς. Ἡ γὰρ γνωστικὴ δύναμις ἡ ἐν τῳ ἀνθρώπῳ, κριτική τε καὶ εὐποιητικὴ, δικαιοπρακτική τε καὶ ἐῥῥωμένη, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς παντὸς καλοῦ ἐπιτελεστικὴ, κατ' εἰκόνα ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγόνασιν αὐτῷ. Ὅτι δὲ τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα αἱ πράξεις χαρακτηρίζουσι, καὶ οὐχὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος μορφὴ, σαφῶς ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Κορινθίνος φησί· Καθὼς ἐφορέσαμεν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοίνοῦ, οὕτως φορέσωμεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Εἰκόνα μὲν γὰρ φορεὶ χοίκὴν ὁ κατὰ σάρκα ζῶν, καὶ ποιῶν τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός· εἰκόνα δὲ τοῦ ἐπουρανίου ὁ τῷ πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τῆς σαρκὸς θανατῶν. Καὶ ἐν ἑτέρᾳ δὲ ἐπιστολῇ διδάσκων ὡς δεῖ βιοῦν, ἐπιφέρει ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τὸ, ' Ἵνα γένησθε κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος. Κύριος μακρόθυμος, καὶ ὁ μακρόθυμος ἄνθρωπος ἔχει τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ. Δίκαιος καὶ ὅσιος ὁ Κύριος, καὶ οἰκτίρμων καὶ ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος. Οὐκοῦν ὁ αγαπῶν δικαιοσύνην καὶ ὁσιότητα, καὶ πράττων καὶ τηρῶν τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὴν. Γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες ὡς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστιν. εἰκὼν γίνεται κατὰ πάντα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν

'According to the image' 1 concerns not  the body but the rational soul, a teaching not to be condemned if one grasps the faculties that are in it. For in man are the faculties of knowing and judging and doing good and performing what is just and fortitude and, as once said, it is a doer of every good, and this is being according to the image of God. For it is the actions, not the form of the body, that represent to us the image of God, as the Apostle reveals in the Letter to the Corinthians when he says 'In that way we have carried an earthly image, so let us carry a heavenly image.' And he carries the earthly image who lives according to the flesh and performs works of the flesh, and the heavenly image is of the one who with the spirit mortifies carnal acts. And in another letter he teaches the precepts of life, among other things saying, 'That you might be an image of Him who created you. The Lord is long suffering, therefore let a man be long suffering that he be an image of God. And the Lord is just and holy, merciful and compassionate. Therefore he who loves righteousness and sanctity, acting so as to observe the commandments of the Saviour: 'Be merciful just as your Father is merciful,' and 'Be perfect, like your Father in heaven is perfect.', becomes an image of God in all things. Origen, On Genesis 1 Gen 1.26

Understanding Suffering

Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰσίδωρος εἶπεν· Ἡ σύνεσις τῶν ἅγίων ἅυτη ἐστὶ, τὸ ἐπιγνῶναι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πάντων γὰρ περιγίνεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν τῇ ὑπακυῇ τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅτι εἰκὼν καὶ ὁμοίωμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι. Πάντων δὲ πνεύματων δεινόν ἐστι τὸ ἀκολουθεῖν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ καρδίᾳ, τουέστι τῷ ἰδίῳ λογισμῷ, καὶ μὴ τῷ νομῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ὕστερον γίνεται αὐτῷ εἰς πένθος, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω τὸ μυστήριον, οὐδὲ εὖρε τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν ἁγίων ἐργάζεσθαι ἐν αὐτῇ. Νῦν οὖν καιρὸς τοῦ ποιῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ, ὅτι σωτηρία ἐν καιρῳ θλιψεως· οτι γέγραπται· Ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσασθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Isidore said, 'This is the understanding of the saints: to know the will of God. A man may prevail over everything in obedience to truth, for then he is like an image and likeness of God. But it is of every wretched spirit to follow his own heart, that is, his own thought and not the law of God, and afterward he comes to grief, for he did not know the mystery nor was the way of the saints found to be fashioned in him. Now is the time to work for the Lord, for salvation is in the time of suffering. Thus it is written: ' In your suffering you will find your souls.' 1 Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia  1 Lk 21.19

The Ways of Heretics

Τοιαύτης δὲ τῆς ὑποθέσεως αὐτῶν οὔσης, ἣν οὔτε προφῆται ἐχήρυξαν, οὔτε ὁ Κύριος ἐδίδαξεν, οὔτε ἀπόστολοι παρέδωχαν, ἦν περὶ τῶν ὅλων αὖχοῦσι πλεῖον τῶν ἄλλων ἐγνωκέναι, ἐξ ἀγράφων ἀναγινώσκοντες, καὶ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, ἐξ ἅμμου σχοινία πλέκειν ἐπιτηδεύοντες, ἀξιοπίστως προσαρμόζειν πειρῶνται τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ἧτοι παραδολὰς κυριακὰς, ἣ ῥήσεις προφητικὰς, ἣ λόγους ἀποστολιχοὺς, ἵνα τὸ πλάσμα αὐτῶν μὴ ἀμάρτυρον εἶναι δοχῇ" τὴν μὲν τάξιν καὶ τὸν εἱρμὸν τῶν Γραφῶν ὑπερδαίνοντες, καὶ, ὅσον ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς, λύοντες τὰ μέλη τῆς ἀληθείας, μεταφέρουσι δὲ καὶ μετακλάξτουσι, καὶ ἄλλο ἐξ ἄλλου ποίοῦντες ἑξαπατῶσι πολλοὺς, τῇ τῶν ἐφαρμοζομένων κοριακῶν λογίων κάκοσυνθέτῳ σοφίᾳ. Ὅνπεῤ τρόπον᾽ εἴ τις βασιλέως εἰκόνος καλῆς, κατεσκευαόμένης ἐκ ψηφίδων ἐπισήμων ὑπὸ σοφοῦ τεχνίτου, λύσας τὴν ὑποκειμένην τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἰδέαν, μετενέγκῃ τὰς ψηφῖδας ἐκείνας, καὶ μεθαρμόσοι, καὶ ποιήσει μορφὴν κυνὸς, ἢ ἁλώπεκος, καὶ ταύτην φαύλως κατεσχευασμένην, ἔπειτα διορίζοιτο, καὶ λέγοι ταύτην εἶναι τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐχείνην εἰκόνα τὴν καλὴν, ἣν ὁ σοφὸς τεχνίτης κατεσκεύασε, δεικνὺς τὰς ψηφῖδας τὰς καλῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ τεκνίτου τοῦ πρώτου εἰς τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως εἰχόνα συντεθείσας, κακῶς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑστέρου εἰς χυνὸς μορφὴν μετενεχθείσας, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν ψηρφίδὼων φαντασίας μεθοδεύοι τοὺς ἀπειροτέρους, τοὺς κατάληψιν βασιλιχῆς μορφῆς οὐχ ἔχοντας, χαὶ πείθοι, ὅτι αὕτη ἡ σακρὰ τῆς ἀλώπεχος ἰδέα ἐχείνη ἐστὶν ἡ καλὴ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰχών" τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον χαὶ εὖτοι γραῶν μύθους συγχαττύσαντες, ἔπειτα ῥήματα καὶ λέξεις, καὶ παραδολὰς ὅθεν καὶ πόθεν ἀποσπῶντες, ἐφαρμόζειν βούλονται τοῖς μύθοις αὖτῶν τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber I, Caput VIII Source: Migne PG 7.519b-523a

As it is, then, such is their system, which neither Prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the Apostles handed on, but by which they boast abundantly that they have more knowledge than everyone else, gathering from that which is not Scripture, and, as it is said, striving to weave ropes from sand, while they try to adapt, with an appearance of noble honesty, to their own pronouncements, either the parables of the Lord, or the sayings of the Prophets, or the words of the Apostles, in order that their fantasies may not seem to be lacking witness, and so they pass over the order and the connection of the Scriptures, and so far as it in them lies, twist the limbs of truth, throwing them around, thrusting them here and there, making one thing out of another, and seducing by the adaptation the words of the Lord to their own poor fantastic arrangement. It is just as if the fine image of a king fashioned by the skill of a diligent artist out of precious jewels should be taken apart by someone, and then that he should rearrange the gems to fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or a small fox, and that poorly executed, and he should then stand there boldly and declare that this was truly the fine image of the king a wise artist constructed, pointing to the jewels which had been admirably fitted together by the first artist to form the image of the king, but which have now been clumsily transferred by the latter to the shape of a dog, and by the mere appearance of the jewels, he should deceive the ignorant who had no conception what the king's form was like, persuading them that an inferior likeness of a small fox was, in fact, the fair image of the king. In such a way do these persons patch together old women's chatter, and then endeavour, by taking away from their proper connection, words, expressions, and parables, to adapt the words of God to their fictions. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 8