Friday, June 5, 2026

It is the 5th of June 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

 

Think about the sanctuary of your church. What images do you have? Stained glass? A cross or crucifix? Banners with images or words? Whatever you have, or perhaps more importantly, do NOT have, can be traced back to one of the greatest controversies in church history. It is the great debate between the iconoclasts and iconophiles. You might know one of those words.

 

Today, an “iconoclast” is someone who challenges or “breaks” tradition. But historically, it is a literal “image breaker”. These were those Christians who took the injunction in the 10 Commandments against “graven images” to reject any image- especially of Jesus. The iconophiles were those who had a “philia” or “love” of images and believed that they not only were permitted, but an important aspect of worship and understanding the two natures of Christ.

 

And we will tie this important historical conversation to one of the most significant women in the medieval church and what our friends in the Eastern Orthodox Church refer to as “the Triumph of Orthodoxy”.

 

She was the empress Theodora - there are quite a few by this name, and so she is called “the Armenian” or the Blessed. She was born around 815 and, in 830, was selected by the Emperor Theophilus at a bride-show (we’ll just leave that there). She would be crowned on this, the 5th of June in 830- a day now associated with her and the turning point in the Eastern church when it comes to the role of images in that tradition. In fact, if I said “byzantine icon,” you might imagine one of those famous wooden blocks with gold and other bright colors- a flat image of Christ or a saint that marks the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Emperor Theophilus was an ardent Iconoclast- and he had supported those who outlawed the use of images (there is an interesting tie in to the spread of Islam and its prohibition of images that paralleled and encouraged iconoclasm in the Eastern church). But Theodora, the now Empress, was an ardent iconophile. She is said to have secretly kept her icons for veneration despite her husband's opposition. And when he died, before his 30th birthday, he is said to have repented of his iconoclasm- or at least, that’s the story that was told by the now ruling regent, Empress, on behalf of their young son, the toddler and future emperor Michael.

 

Theodora was careful not to swing back towards Iconophilia too hard- her place as a female ruler was tenuous enough. But with the support of the Patriarch Methodius, she was able to convene a synod in 843 that not only permitted the reintroduction of images but also defended them as “windows into the divine”. The point became central to the eastern tradition- following Colossians 1:15, Christ is the image, or “icon” of the invisible God. The physical and human nature of Jesus is cemented in the very physical and tangible icon. The restoration of images by Theodora is commemorated every year in the Eastern church on the first Sunday of Lent- known in that tradition as “The Triumph of Orthodoxy”. Think of it like Reformation Sunday on October 31st for Protestants- that Sunday on which the particular theological distinction is celebrated. For the Eastern Orthodox, the image, or icon, is not decorative but theologically charged and a hard-won victory. And it was Theodora who made it happen, the Empress of Armenian descent who was crowned on this day, the 5th of June in 830, who defied her husband, the Iconoclast Emperor, and helped to implement the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”. She would rule until 855 when her son came of age, was exiled to a monastery, and died sometime after 867. Today, we remember the Empress Theodora, her defense of icons, and the Triumph of Orthodoxy in the Eastern Church in the 9th century.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Genesis 14, where we meet a mysterious character (who is later explained in Hebrews 7):

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
 Creator of heaven and earth.

20 And praise be to God Most High,
 who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 5th of June 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who is both icono- and audio-phile- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who, after attending hundreds of games, caught his first-ever foul ball at an otherwise awful Angels game. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.