What is the sin of icon-slavery (iconodulia)?
The sin of making oneself a slave to dead images is a crime against nature and against God. A man ought not to exchange clothing with a woman because it’s demeaning to him as the image of God to wear the token of submission on his head. A man ought not to be ruled by his children because it’s a perversion of God’s created order. A man degrades himself if he has sex with an animal, because an animal is a lower species than man, and man ought not to perform the marital act with a lower species. Crimes against the natural order of creation are the worst kinds of sin, and bowing to images is worse than slavery to one’s children or exchange of clothing with women (which is an abomination), because both women and children are living human beings, but an image is lifeless matter; thus, slavery to an image is an even greater perversion than a man dressing in women’s clothes or a man obeying his wife and children, because a dead image is far inferior to a living woman or child. As the image and representation of God on the earth, a man who bows to a dead image makes an abominable similitude of God becoming enslaved to His own creation (and not even enslaved to a living person made in His image, but to lifeless matter)! This sin is similar to bestiality and earth-worship, which share a hierarchy reversal—humans, who are meant to rule over creation as God’s representatives, instead see inferior things as equals, or — even worse — as masters over them.
“There is no sin more grievous than idolatry, for it is an impiety against God; and yet even this sin has been forgiven, upon sincere repentance.” – Apostolic Constitutions, book 2, chapter 23
“The principal crime of the human race, the highest guilt charged upon the world, the whole procuring cause of judgment, is idolatry.” – Tertullian on Idolatry, Chapter 1
Worshiping dead images is a great sin because it entails slavery to something inferior to you, something your own hands made. If a man is forbidden to enslave himself to his wife, or to his own children, or to an animal, how much more is he forbidden to enslave himself to a dead image! As the fathers say, an animal corpse is superior to a lifeless image, because at least the animal used to be alive.
Definition of Dulia:
The Cathodox call themselves “Iconodules.” On their websites, they claim that the Greek word “dulia” simply means “veneration” or “a respectful greeting.” That is an absurd lie. Here are passages from Scripture using the same word.
Exodus 13:3 – Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you forth.”
Leviticus 25:39 – “If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave.”
Romans 8:15 – For you didn’t receive the spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:1 – Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all….
Galatians 4:6-7 – And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Galatians 4:24-26 – For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to slavery, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:30-31 – Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Galatians 4:8-9 – However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Romans 8:21 – … That the creation itself also will be delivered, freed from the slavery of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
John 8:34 – Jesus answered them, “Amen, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”
2 Peter 2:18-19 – For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the few who have escaped from those living in error, promising them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
Matthew 6:19-21, 24 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ.
Romans 6:16 – Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
1 Corinthians 7:20-23 – Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
The Meaning of Bowing:
There is a natural meaning in performing certain physical acts, like bowing. If you kiss someone, you’re saying you love them. If you spit on someone, you’re saying you hate them. When you bow down to someone, you make yourself inferior to the one who stands over you. The meaning of bowing is that you are acknowledging someone as your superior and you declare yourself to be their servant. They are your lord and you are their slave. You make yourself lower than them, allowing them to tower over you, making them appear to be greater than you. This is what a person says by prostrating before another: “I am inferior to you. You are greater than I. I am at your service.”
Revelation 22:8-9 – Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “Do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Genesis 18:1-3 – And God appeared to him by the oak of Mamre, as he sat by the door of his tent at noon. And he lifted up his eyes and behold, three men stood before him; and having seen them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and he bowed to the ground. And he said, “My lords, if indeed I have found grace in your sight, do not pass by your servant.”
Genesis 19:1-2 – And the two angels came to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat by the gate of Sodom, and Lot having seen them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and said, “My lords, turn aside to the house of your servant.”
Genesis 37:5-8 – And Joseph dreamed a dream, and reported it to his brothers. And he said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed. I dreamed that we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and my sheaf stood up straight, and your sheaves turned around and bowed down to my sheaf.” And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed be lord over us?” And they continued still more to hate him because of his dreams and because of his words.
Genesis 23:1-16 – Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of Sarah’s life. And Sarah died in Kiriath-Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying: “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me possession of a burying place among you, so that I may bury my dead from before me.” And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him: “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs; none of us will withhold his tomb from you, so that you may bury your dead.” Then Abraham rose up and bowed himself before the people of the land, the sons of Heth, and he spoke with them, saying: “If you are willing that I should bury my dead from before me, hear me, and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your midst, as a possession for a burying place.” Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, of all who entered the gate of his city, saying: “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; in the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” Then Abraham bowed before the people of the land, and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: “If only you would hear me — I will give you the price of the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.” And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him: “My lord, hear me — the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? Bury your dead.”
1 Kings 18:7 – And it came to pass, as Obadiah went on the way, Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell upon his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
Genesis 27:28 – “Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you.”
Psalm 72:11 – Yes, all kings shall bow down before him. All nations shall serve (doulia) him.
Genesis 33:3 – “He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.”
Genesis 33:8 – And he said, “What are these things to you, all these companies that I have met?” And he said, “That your servant might find favor in your sight, my lord.”
Genesis 33:14 – “Let my lord go on before his servant, and I shall proceed slowly, slowly on the road, according to the ease of the journey before me, and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir.”
Genesis 42: 6 So Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground…. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies, come to map out the roads to our country.” But they said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food.”
Genesis 50:18 – Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “behold, we are your servants.”
1 Samuel 24:8 – Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, ‘My lord the king.’ And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.
2 Samuel 9:6 – And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.”
Him did Joshua the Son of Nun see, as the captain of the Lord’s host, in armour, for their assistance against Jericho; to whom he fell down, and worshipped, as a servant does to his master. – Apostolic Constitutions, book 5, chapter 20
For he who worships is naturally lower and weaker than that which is worshipped. – Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 2, chapter 18
“The Meaning of Doulia has changed! It just means a respectful greeting!”
So just to be clear, are you saying you DO think it would be a sin to be enslaved to lifeless images, and you denounce anyone who makes themselves a slave of images? No? Then why are you saying, “The meaning of doulia has changed! It doesn’t mean slavery!” You seem very uncomfortable admitting that you’re a slave of images. Do the early church and the Scriptures condemn all image-slaves as idolaters? Interesting! So you WOULD be an idolater if you called yourself an iconodule in Biblical times OR during the first five centuries of church history! Is that correct?
So you’re saying it was necessary that the church change the meaning of the word “doulia” in order to protect you from being an idolater? But wait, aren’t you doing the exact same actions that idolaters did? Aren’t you bowing to images, praying to them, burning incense to them, crowning them, and lighting candles around them? Isn’t this “service?” Why bother pretending you have the power to change the definition of doulia when you’re still fulfilling the old definition of doulia? It’s not as if you were performing brand-new actions while attaching an old word to it, but rather, you’re doing the exact same actions that idolaters always did, and you’re even using the same words to describe yourselves, but you’re claiming that you are not truly slaves of images, because “doulia” doesn’t mean “slave” anymore! But we can very clearly see that you’re serving the images.
If you can change the meanings of words that have centuries and even millennia of precedence – both in the church and the pagan world – why not simply announce that things which were forbidden have become legal, instead of gaslighting everyone and claiming that the word itself has changed its meaning? And tell me, when did the church officially announce that icon-slavery is now officially legal? In order to do that, they would have to also acknowledge that icon-slavery was once condemned, wouldn’t they? When did they do this? You can’t name the day? Of course not. In reality, the Cathodox have no problem with being image-slaves. They’re proud of it. And even if you could name an official day when the church officially legalized image-slavery, you would still have to admit that all of the men and women who professed to be Christians were in sin for serving images before a council had officially legalized it.
“Yes, we acknowledge that doulia DID mean slavery in ancient times, even up until today. We acknowledge that slavery to images is idolatry. We acknowledge that all idolaters must be excommunicated and are hated by God. But today, we hereby declare that we CAN be iconodules, because doulia no longer means slavery! Even though we’re still acting as slaves by serving them the icons!”
How convenient is it that they just so happen to be changing the meaning of a word that proves they are IDOLATERS! Yeah, of course they would have to change the meaning of this word, or else they ARE idolaters after all!
Does the church have the authority to change the meaning of ANY word? Can you change the meaning of “latria” as well? If you guys have the authority to add new doctrines and change the meanings of words, why not just say slavery to images is okay, rather than denying that you’re slaves?
“Doulos doesn’t mean slave! It means SERVANT!”
Tell me, do you accept being an icon-servant, but feel uncomfortable being an icon-slave? Because there is no such distinction between “servant” and “slave” in Greek. Actually, there are five words for “servant” in Greek, and Doulos happens to be the MOST EXTREME type of slavery!
- Therápōn (θεράπων): A trusted attendant or companion-servant, often implying a more respectful or voluntary bond of service than a standard slave. It is the root word for the modern “therapist”.
- Misthōtós (μισθωτός): Refers to a hired worker or hired servant who works for wages and keeps their personal freedom.
- Diakonos (διάκονος): Means a servant, waiter, or minister. It focuses on the action of serving or doing work rather than the legal status of ownership. It is the root word for the modern “deacon”.
- Oiketes (οἰκέτης): Specifically means a household slave or domestic servant belonging to a specific family or home.
- Doulos (δοῦλος): Means a permanent slave or bond-slave. It refers to someone who belongs entirely to a master, lacking personal freedom or ownership rights.
When you call yourself an icon-slave, you’re saying that lifeless image – which YOU fashioned with your own hands – is your MASTER! You’re saying it OWNS you! You are its property! How utterly absurd, to say that the thing you own is actually your owner! In reality, this is slavery to demons.