The connection of the Byzantine iconoclasm of the VIII - IX centuries with "Origenism": to the statement of the problem
Abstrakt
This work offers a consistent analysis of number of major theses. First of all, it argues that the iconoclasm was primarily a dogmatic controversy, while the external effects (ranging from the geographical factors to the linguistic ones) played a secondary role.
Furthermore, this work establishes new evidence for the Origenistic roots of the iconoclastic controversy and demonstrates the fact, that the iconoclasts resisted to acknowledge the "mystery of matter", or corporeity, as well as rejected the sense perception (especially the visual one) as incapable of penetrating into the spiritual realm. Against this approach, the iconophiles put forth a nuanced teaching about the "intelligent perception" that embraced the use of senses and thus creates a new epistemology (John of Damascus) in which the sense perception was considered to be a symbol of the intelligent perception.