{"slug":"khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","title":"Tractatus contra eos qui imagines faciunt","title_source":"Tractatus contra eos qui imagines faciunt","author":"Epiphanius","genre":"history/hagiography","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:28:37Z","cost_usd":0.00174},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","work_id":"khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Epiphanius_PG%2041-43/Tractatus%20contra%20eos%20qui%20imagines%20faciunt.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":514,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":2097,"commentary_units":12,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":4,"work_notes":6,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","abstract":"The Tractatus contra eos qui imagines faciunt is a polemical treatise attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315–403) that argues against the creation and veneration of images, grounding its argument in scriptural prohibitions and patristic authority. The work survives in a single Greek manuscript, likely copied in the Byzantine period, and shows signs of interpolation, including references to later conciliar decrees. Its authenticity is disputed, with some scholars assigning it to the eighth-century Iconoclastic Controversy. Cited by iconoclasts at the Second Council of Nicaea (787), the treatise was ultimately rejected by the council but later used in Protestant anti-image polemics. The source edition lacks a critical apparatus, limiting text-critical analysis.","historical_context":"The treatise is traditionally dated to the late fourth century, when Epiphanius of Salamis was active, but its authenticity is contested. Some scholars argue it is a later composition, possibly from the eighth century, during the Iconoclastic Controversy, when debates over religious images intensified. The work survives in a single Greek manuscript, likely copied in the Byzantine period, and shows signs of interpolation, including references to later conciliar decrees. It was cited by iconoclasts at the Second Council of Nicaea (787) as patristic support, though the council rejected its authority. The text's forensic and homiletic register is typical of late-fourth-century anti-iconic literature, but its transmission history suggests it may have been reworked to serve later polemical needs. The source edition (khazarzar) does not provide a critical apparatus or manuscript stemma, limiting text-critical analysis.","significance":"The treatise is significant as a key text in the history of Christian iconoclasm, cited by both Byzantine iconoclasts and later Protestant reformers. Its disputed authorship highlights the challenges of attributing early Christian works and the ways later controversies shaped textual transmission. The work also illustrates the use of scriptural and patristic arguments in the debate over religious images, a central issue in early and medieval Christianity.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 315–403","event":"Life of Epiphanius of Salamis, to whom the treatise is attributed."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Probable original composition if authentic; period of early anti-iconic literature."},{"date":"8th c.","event":"Possible composition or interpolation during the Iconoclastic Controversy."},{"date":"787","event":"Cited by iconoclasts at the Second Council of Nicaea; rejected by the council."},{"date":"Byzantine period","event":"Single Greek manuscript copied; transmission uncertain."},{"date":"16th c.","event":"Used in Protestant anti-image polemics."}],"relations":[{"work":"Epiphanius of Salamis","relation":"Attributed author; authenticity disputed.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Second Council of Nicaea (787)","relation":"Cited by iconoclasts; authority rejected.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Iconoclastic Controversy","relation":"Possible context for later composition or interpolation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Protestant Reformation","relation":"Used in anti-image polemics.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patrology by J. Quasten","relation":"Modern critical study of Epiphanius's works.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The attribution to Epiphanius of Salamis is disputed; some scholars assign the work to the eighth century.","The text survives in a single Greek manuscript with signs of interpolation, including references to later conciliar decrees.","The source edition (khazarzar) lacks a critical apparatus and manuscript stemma, limiting text-critical analysis.","The exact date and place of composition are unknown; the work may have been reworked during the Iconoclastic Controversy."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000473,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:28:36Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Epiphanius_PG%2041-43/Tractatus%20contra%20eos%20qui%20imagines%20faciunt.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-epiphanius-tractatus-contra-eos-qui-imagines-faciunt","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":12,"english_words":514,"source_letters":2097,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The treatise argues against the creation and veneration of images, grounding its polemic in scriptural prohibitions and patristic authority. The register is forensic and homiletic, typical of late-fourth-century anti-iconic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"Attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315–403), but the work's authenticity is disputed. Some scholars assign it to a later compiler, possibly as late as the eighth century, during the Iconoclastic Controversy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Survives only in a single Greek manuscript, likely copied in the Byzantine period. The text shows signs of interpolation, especially in passages citing later conciliar decrees.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Cited by iconoclasts at the Second Council of Nicaea (787) as patristic support, though the council ultimately rejected its authority. The work was later used in Protestant anti-image polemics.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The source edition (khazarzar) does not provide a critical apparatus or manuscript stemma. Variant readings and scribal emendations are not recorded, limiting text-critical analysis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The treatise's attribution to Epiphanius is contested; readers should not assume it reflects his authentic views without consulting modern critical studies (e.g., J. Quasten, Patrology).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: history/hagiography in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Λόγος τοῦ ἁγίου ̓Επιφανίου κατὰ τῶν ἐπιτηδευόντων ποιεῖν εἰδωλικῷ θεσμῷ εἰκόνας εἰς ἀφομοίωσιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ τῶν μαρτύρων, ετι δὲ καὶ ἀγγέλων καὶ προφητῶν. τὸν τοῖχον κονιάσαντες χρώμασι διηλλαγμένοις τὰς εἰκόνας ἀνετύπωσαν. οτι δή, φασί, τὰς εἰκόνας τῶν ἁγίων ποιοῦμεν εἰς μνημόσυνον καὶ τιμὴν αὐτῶν. ψευδωνύμους πόθεν δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλλου γραφῆς οστεα καὶ νεῦρα ἐνηρμοσμένα κατάδηλα ἐγένετο, τῆς ἐκείνου ην λέγειν συνέσεως. οἱ νομίζοντες ἐν τούτῳ τιμᾶν τοὺς ἀποστόλους, μαθέτωσαν οτι ἀντὶ τοῦ τιμᾶν, πλέον αὐτοὺς ἀτιμάζουσιν.\n\nΠαῦλος γὰρ τὸν ψευδώνυμον ἱερέα ἐνυβρίσας τοῖχον κεκονιαμένον ἀπεφήνατο. «οιδαμεν γάρ», φησὶν ̓Ιωάννης, «οτι οταν φανερωθῇ, ομοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα», καὶ Παῦλος τοὺς ἁγίους «συμμόρφους τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ» ἐκήρυξεν· πῶς ουν τοὺς ἐν δόξῃ μέλλοντας φαιδρύνεσθαι ἁγίους ἐν ἀδόξῳ καὶ νεκρῷ καὶ ἀλάλῳ θέλεις ὁρᾶν, τοῦ κυρίου λέγοντος περὶ αὐτῶν· «εσονται γάρ, φησίν, ὡς αγγελοι θεοῦ». πῶς δὲ καὶ ἀγγέλους πνεύματα ὑπάρχοντας καὶ ἀεὶ ζῶντας ἐν νεκροῖς γράφων προσκυνεῖς, τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος «ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα καὶ τοῦς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πῦρ φλέγον»; λέγω δὲ ο τι οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ θέλουσι προσκυνεῖσθαι.","english":"A discourse of Saint Epiphanius against those who practice making images by idolatrous custom for the likeness of Christ and the Theotokos and the martyrs, and also of angels and prophets. They plastered the wall and with varied colors they depicted the images. For, they say, we make the images of the saints for their memorial and honor. But from where, in the depiction of the archangel, were bones and sinews fitted together made clearly manifest, which it would be for his understanding to declare? Those who think that in this they honor the apostles, let them learn that instead of honoring, they rather dishonor them.\n\nFor Paul, having insulted the falsely named priest, declared him a plastered wall. \"For we know,\" says John, \"that when he is revealed, we shall be like him,\" and Paul proclaimed the saints \"conformed to the Son of God.\" How then do you wish to see the saints, who are to be resplendent in glory, in a inglorious, dead, and speechless state, when the Lord says concerning them: \"For they shall be,\" he says, \"as angels of God\"? And how do you worship angels, who are spirits and always living, by depicting them among the dead, when the prophet says: \"He who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a blazing fire\"? And I say that they themselves do not wish to be worshipped.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰδωλικῷ θεσμῷ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'by idolatrous custom' frames image-making as a pagan practice, not merely a misuse of Christian art.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"συμμόρφους τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ","severity":"info","text":"Echoes Romans 8:29 (συμμόρφους τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ υἱοῦ), but Epiphanius adapts the phrase to argue against physical representation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα","severity":"info","text":"Likely a loose citation of Psalm 104:4 LXX (ποιῶν ἀγγέλους πνεύματα), though the exact wording is not verbatim.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Παῦλος ... τοῖχον κεκονιαμένον","severity":"info","text":"The metaphor of a 'plastered wall' for a false priest may allude to a lost Pauline tradition or a contemporary polemic against hypocritical clergy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage moves from a general accusation (idolatrous custom) to specific scriptural arguments, then to rhetorical questions, building a cumulative case against images.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ψευδωνύμους πόθεν δὲ αὐτῷ","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text is corrupt or elliptical here; the sense of 'from where, in the depiction of the archangel, were bones and sinews...' is reconstructed from context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'falsely named priest' (ψευδώνυμον ἱερέα) is unclear; possibly a specific opponent or a generic figure.","The phrase 'when he is revealed' (ὅταν φανερωθῇ) in the John citation is ambiguous—could refer to Christ or a saint."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"9 «Ορα μή· σύνδουλος γάρ σου εἰμὶ καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου τῶν ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ιησοῦ. τῷ θεῷ, φησίν, προσκύνησον». ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἠθέλησαν προσκυνεῖσθαι. καὶ γὰρ ο τε εὐαγγελίζεσθαι ἀπεστάλησαν, ἑαυτοὺς προσκυνεῖσθαι οὐκ ηθελον, ἀλλὰ τὸν αὐτοὺς ἀποστείλαντα Χριστόν. ὁ γὰρ ἐξουσίαν παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβὼν δεσμεύειν καὶ λύειν ἐπὶ γῆς καὶ οὐρανοῦ, ελεγε Κορνηλίῳ ο τι «ὁμοιοπαθής εἰμι κατὰ σὲ ανθρωπος», καὶ ἐδίδασκε μὴ ἑαυτὸν προσκυνεῖσθαι ἀλλὰ τὸν σωτῆρα Χριστόν.\n\n11 περὶ δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων οἱ πατέρες οἱ ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ συνελθόντες– πάντως γὰρ οτι διὰ τοιαύτην ὑπόθεσιν συνήχθησαν–λέγουσιν· «ει τις ἐγκαταλείπει τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀγγέλους ὀνομάζει, ἀνάθεμα εστω· οτι ἐγκατέλιπε τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ̓Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν καὶ εἰδωλολατρείᾳ προσελήλυθε». πῶς τὸν ἀκατάληπτον καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητον καὶ ἀπερινόητον ἀπερίγραφόν τε γράφειν λέγει τις, ον οὐκ ι σχυσε Μωυσῆς ἀτενίσαι; φασίν τινες οτι ἐπειδὴ τέλειος ανθρωπος ἐγένετο ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς ἀειπαρθένου, διὰ τοῦτο ανθρωπον αὐτὸν ποιοῦμεν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐνηνθρώπησεν, ινα τὸν ἀκατάληπτον δι' ου τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, διὰ χειρῶν σου γράψαι δυνηθῇς; οὐκοῦν οὐκ εστιν ομοιος τοῦ πατρὸς οὐδὲ ζωοποιεῖ τοὺς νεκρούς; ποῦ σοι διέταξε ταῦτα ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ γῆς, ποιῆσαι ομοιον αὐτῷ καὶ προσκυνεῖν καὶ ὁρᾶν; αυ τη ἡ διάταξις τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστιν, ινα καταφρονήσῃς θεοῦ. ὁ θεὸς γὰρ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ παλαιᾷ καὶ καινῇ ταῦτα ἀναιρεῖ, ἀκριβῶς λέγων· «κύριον τὸν θεὸν προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις».","english":"See that you do not; for I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers who bear the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, he says.\" But not even the apostles wished to be worshipped. For those who were sent to proclaim the gospel did not want themselves to be worshipped, but rather Christ who sent them. For he who received authority from him to bind and loose on earth and in heaven said to Cornelius, \"I am a man of like passions as you,\" and taught that he himself should not be worshipped, but rather the Savior Christ.\n\nConcerning the angels, the fathers who assembled in Laodicea—for surely they were gathered for such a reason—say: \"If anyone abandons the church of God and invokes angels, let him be anathema; for he has abandoned our Lord Jesus Christ and has resorted to idolatry.\" How can one say to depict the incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable, and unportrayable one, whom Moses was not able to gaze upon? Some say that since he became a perfect man from Mary the Ever-Virgin, for this reason we make him a man. And did he become incarnate for this, that you might be able to depict the incomprehensible one through whom all things came to be, by your hands? Therefore, is he not like the Father, nor does he raise the dead? Where did he command you, when he came on earth, to make an image like him and to worship and behold it? This ordinance is of the evil one, that you might despise God. For God in the whole Old and New Testament abolishes these things, saying precisely: \"You shall worship the Lord God and serve him alone.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"σύνδουλος γάρ σου εἰμὶ καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου τῶν ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase echoes Acts 10:26, where Peter says to Cornelius, 'I am also a man of like passions as you,' rejecting proskynesis. Epiphanius adapts this to argue against image veneration.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"οἱ πατέρες οἱ ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ","severity":"info","text":"The Council of Laodicea (4th century) is referenced; its canon 35 forbids invoking angels, linking angel veneration to idolatry. Epiphanius uses this to condemn image-making of angels.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"προσκυνεῖσθαι","severity":"info","text":"The Greek verb 'proskyneisthai' (to be worshipped) is central: Epiphanius argues that apostles and Christ reject such worship, implying images that invite proskynesis are idolatrous.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"κύριον τὸν θεὸν προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις","severity":"info","text":"This echoes the Decalogue (Exodus 20:3-5) and Deuteronomy 6:13, commanding exclusive worship of God. Epiphanius cites it as biblical authority against image veneration.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"περὶ δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων","severity":"info","text":"This passage was cited in the Iconoclastic controversy (8th-9th centuries) to support the prohibition of religious images. The reference to Laodicea was used to argue against angel depictions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁμοιοπαθής εἰμι κατὰ σὲ ἄνθρωπος","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text has 'homoiopathēs' (like-passioned), but the English draft renders 'of like passions as you.' The Coptic Vorlage may have influenced the phrasing; the sense is clear but the exact wording is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τῶν ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ' could mean 'those who bear the testimony of Jesus' (martyrs) or 'those who have the witness of Jesus' (Christians); the reading as martyrs is taken based on context.","The reference to 'οἱ πατέρες οἱ ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ' may be to the Council of Laodicea (c. 363-364) or a local synod; the reading as the council is taken."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}