Arta icoanei în epoca constantiniană – fundamentarea patristică a icoanei

Abstract

The freedom of expression of the Christian faith, acquired by the Church
following the edict of Mediolanum, from the year 313, favored the flourishing of church life
in all its aspects, including that of sacred art, therefore also of iconography. The one who
gave the impetus to this process was, without a doubt, the Holy Emperor Constantine the
Great himself. For their part, the Holy Fathers of the Church encouraged the representation
in icons of the martyrdom of the holy martyrs and provided, at the same time, the
arguments that contributed to the foundation of the presence and role of the icon in the
life of Christians and in that of the Church. Therefore, it is not surprising that, starting from
this period, a constant development of Christian sacred art followed in all the provinces
of the empire, both through the multiplication of iconographic themes, inspired either by
the universe of the imperial court, or by the martyrdom of the holy martyrs, or even by the
tradition pagan, as well as by using increasingly elaborate techniques. The present study
aims to follow the evolution of the older iconographic themes, to identify and shed light on
the new iconographic themes, their sources and also their concordance with the teaching
of faith synthesized and systematized by the Church during the ecumenical councils from
Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451), whose teaching
is transmitted through these iconographic themes.