ry to preserve
them intact. Theology, therefore, now resolved itself into the
collection and reproduction of the teaching of ancient authorities. The
great dogmatist of the Eastern Church, John of Damascus (ca. 699-753),
who stood on the threshold of the middle ages, formulated clearly and
precisely his working principle: to put forward nothing of his own, but
to present the truth according to the authority of the Bible and of the
Fathers of the Church. Later teachers, Euthymius Zigadenus (d. circa
1120), Nicetas Choniates (d. circa 1200), and others, proceeded further
on the same lines; Euthymius, in particular, often uses an excerpt
instead of giving his own exposition.

This attitude towards dogma did not mean that it was less prized than
during the period of strife. On the contrary, the sacred formulae were
revered because they were believed to contain the determination of the
highest truths: the knowledge of God and of the mystery of salvation.
Yet it is intelligible that religious interest should have concerned
itself more keenly with the mystic rites of divine worship than with
dogma. Here was more than knowledge; here were representations of a
mystic sensuousness, solemn rites, which brought the faithful into
immediate contact with the Divine, and guaranteed to them the reception
of heavenly powers. What could be of more importance than to be absorbed
in this transcendental world? We may gauge the energy with which the
Greek intellect turned in this direction if we call to mind that the
controversy about dogma was replaced by the controversy about images.
This raged in the Eastern Church for more than a century (726-843), and
only sank to rest when the worship of images was unconditionally
conceded. In this connexion the image was not looked upon merely as a
symbol, but as the vehicle of the presence and power of that which it
represented: in the image the invisible becomes operative in the visible
world. Christ did not seem to be Christ unless he were visibly
represented. What an ancient teacher had said with regard to the worship
of Christ as the revelation of the Eternal Father--"Honours paid to the
earthly representative are shared by the heavenly Archetype"--was now
transferred to the painted image: it appeared as an analogy to the
Incarnation. It was for this reason that the victory of image worship
was celebrated by the introduction of the festival of the Orthodox
Faith.

It is consistent with this circ