Commemorated on February
27th
An indomitable monk named Prokopios earned his niche in
Christianity's "Hall of Fame" for his staunch defense of the use of icons in the
tradition established by earlier Church Fathers. The disaffection for the icons
brought about a clamor for their removal by dissidents whose numbers formed the
iconoclastic movement, a movement which surged, ebbed, flowed, and brought
disharmony within the Christian community for the prolonged period of 150
years. It vacillated from ruler to ruler and prelate to prelate, pitting priest
against priest and brother against brother over an agonizing century and a half
of strife that brought utter misery to some and discomfort to all. But for men
with the resolved of Prokopios, the damage to the structure of the Church might
well have been irreparable and all mankind could have suffered as a result.
The story of Prokopios is little more than a study of the
iconoclasm that projected him into prominence. Influenced by the Jewish and
Muslim traditions banning the use of images of any kind in their houses of
worship, the Emperor Leo III issues a decree forbidding the use of icons in the
Christian Church in the mistaken belief that they represented the graven image
outlawed by God in his commandments to Moses. It was against such formidable
opposition that Prokopios dared to raise his voice in an impassioned plea for
the iconophiles. Drawing a distinction between veneration and worship, he
argued that icons merely represented those largely responsible for bringing
people together to worship Jesus Christ. Despite his divinity, Prokopios argued
Christ relied on flesh and blood humans to establish his Church for all mankind,
and without the help of these select few there would be no Church at all. They,
therefore, merit representation to be observed and remembered, whereas Christ is
adored.
St. Prokopios, his fellow ascetic St. Basil (February 28), and
others zealous for holy Orthodoxy rose up against the Iconoclast heresy of those
times. By order of the Emperor Leo III (716-741), St. Prokopios was arrested,
subjected to a fierce scourging and thrown into prison. Here he languished
together with St. Basil until the very death of the oppressive emperor, after
which the holy confessors were set free. St. Prokopios spent the rest of his
life in peace, guiding many on the way of virtue and salvation. He died in old
age, around the year 750, on February 27th, leaving a legacy of courage and
faith that has enhanced monasticism for all time.
Source: Orthodox Saints, Spiritual Profiles for Modern
Man January 1 to March 31, by George Poulos.
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