"Ancient of Days" Icon

[Cyprian]

I will now mention another argument put forth by those who are mistaken in their belief or who openly fight against the holy icons. That is, to cite as authoritative, erroneous judgments made by the so-called "Great Moscow Council" of 1666-1667.

For example the HOCNA, in their heretical pamphlet published by the H.O.M.B. (Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston), entitled: The True Image of the Father, cite this council twice, the second time referring to it as "Pan-Orthodox". In fact, a number of judgments made by this council were in fact not Orthodox at all, and were disregarded by the faithful or subsequently overturned by later Russian synods.

This same council has also been cited as authoritative by authors on Iconography such as Leonid Ouspensky, whose theological opinions are not to be considered reliable, since he was a member of the liberal Parisian school, and later applied and was granted citizenship in the Soviet state, and worked on behalf of the Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate, while residing in Paris.

A Rev. Dr. Steven Bigham has also recently written books on Iconography, which also cite the council of 1666 as authoritative, and his opinions should also not be regarded uncritically, since he is a priest in the Carpatho-Russian Diocese of the apostate Ecumenical Patriarchate.

So it would behove us all to learn as much as we can about the history of this Council of Moscow, which took place at the end of 1666 and carried on into 1667.

[Cyprian]

I looked this up today. The reference I mentioned is, in fact, from the first English edition of Fr. Clement Sederholm's biography of Elder Leonid of Optina, ( St. Herman's Press. 1990. pgs. 123-24.) There is an anecdote about an akathist to God the Father that was given to Elder Leonid by "a certain lady." After Elder Antony had reviewed the akathist, he remarked to Leonid that "it would be dangerous to approve this..because the Church does not have any separate services to God the Father." Elder Leonid responded, "Well, then, give it here, we'll place it in the stove."

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   On page 124 there follows a lengthy footnote on the subject of God the Father by the editors.  It is unclear whether this may have been penned by Father Seraphim Rose himself, (for the 1976 Russian edition of this book) or by Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky), Fr. Damascene Christian, or someone else at St. Hermans Monastery.  It reads:

"..although some iconic representations of God the Father have at times been painted historically, they remain peripheral to the Orthodox faith, which has suffered perennially from those who would sunder One of the Hypostases or Persons of the Holy Trinity..."[/quote]

I doubt this note was penned by Hieromonk Seraphim. As far as I am aware, he had no issues with depictions of the Father in the Icon of the Trinity. Here is a snippet from a letter written by Fr. Seraphim, published in Genesis, Creation, and Early Man (pp. 542-543):

(To Bishop Gregory,
November 22/December 5, 1980)

[excerpt]

Dr. Kalomiros' opinions on creation have been greatly criticized by conservative clergy in Greece*, and theologically, in his correspondence with me, he had very shaky and superficial grounds for upholding his scientific evolutionism.
In addition, Dr. Kalomiros has now made himself notorious in Greece for starting his own schism from the Old Calendarists over the issue of the Icon of the Trinity showing God the Father as an old man--he insists the icon is heretical and justifies the breaking of communion with those who venerate or even tolerate it.