By Ioannis Siopis | Ionian University

Overview

Heresy, as deviation from the officially recognized Orthodox dogma, caused great upheaval and division in the Church, especially during the early Byzantine period (4th to 7th centuries). It directly and indirectly shaped all manifestations of Orthodoxy such as dogma, cult, hierarchical organization, etc. As a consequence, Byzantine art inevitably captured the figures of the great heretics in its iconography, those who stigmatized ecclesiastical history.

The first representations of heretics in Byzantine art appear in iconophile manuscripts of the 9th century and after (such as Paris gr. 510 and Chludov Ms. D. 129). From the 11th century onward, their representations are extended to all categories of Byzantine art, and they are also included in specific iconographies that contain rich dogmatic and ecclesiastical symbolisms such as the Last Judgment, the Ecumenical Councils, the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria, the vitae of St. Spyridon and St. Nicholas, and the Fall of Simon the Magician.

From the 14th century onward, and especially during the post-Byzantine period, the heretics tended to be demonized, as heresy was thought to be the result of diabolical actions. Some early examples of this trend are evident in the murals of the devouring of Arius from the dragon of hell, which are included in the theme of the First Ecumenical Council in the church of St. Peter and Paul in Veliko Tarnovo (14th century) and in the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria in the Monastery of Zrze in North Macedonia (ca. 1350). These themes focus on the clergyman Arius (second half of 4th century) because he was the first important heretic who caused serious problems in the unity of the Church with his teachings about the substance of Christ.

In scenes of the Last Judgment, heretics are often depicted in two ways. First, they are drifting down the fiery river; and second, they are part of the cursed, which consists of different religious and ethnic groups such as Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Armenians, etc. (especially in post-Byzantine art).

In the theme of the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria, which is always represented inside the sanctuary (exceptions are found at the churches of St. Archangels in Prilep and St. Achillios in Arilje), Arius is depicted in two ways. First, the heretic is prostrated on the ground in front of the figure of the little Christ who recognizes him as culpable for the division of the body of the Church; second, as a result of divine punishment, Arius has a dramatic ending since he is being devoured by the dragon of hell. This theme includes intensive anti-heretical meanings as it represents the order of Christ to Peter, bishop of Alexandria, for the exclusion and ex-communication of Arius and all heretics from the Church.

In scenes of the Ecumenical Councils, the heretics (mainly Arius during the period of the 13th–17th century) are always represented in opposition to Orthodox figures. They are prostrated and degraded in front of the representatives of the Byzantine state and the Church in a way that references representations of the defeated captives in Roman triumphant reliefs. In some cases, heretics are depicted in small groups conversing with the Orthodox Fathers in front of the emperor. In post-Byzantine Russian icons of the First Ecumenical Councils, the incident of the mythical death of Arius is included, which, according to tradition, took place in the latrines of Constantinople.

The iconography of the fall of Simon Magus, the first heretic in the history of the Church, recounts Simon's attempted flight and his crash to the ground after Peter the Apostle intervened. This depiction promotes the victory of the Church over heresy and magic. For an unexplained reason, the representations of the fall of Simon are limited in Byzantine art, and the majority of them almost all derive from the region of southern Italy and Sicily and date between the 11th and 12th centuries.

The post-Byzantine icons with the theme of the vitae of Sts. Spyridon and Nicholas, who confronted the heresy of Arianism, usually include the events of the First Ecumenical Council during which Nicholas slapped Arius and St. Spyridon transformed the tile in front of the philosopher Eulogios, who was a supporter of Arianism. According to tradition, Nicholas slapped Arius in order to silence him, as he was irritated by the heretical arguments that he was hearing, and St. Spyridon transformed the tile into its three components in order to present to Eulogios the visible example of the union of the Holy Trinity. In some cases, Arius is depicted as being trampled or prostrated in front of St. Spyridon. Some corresponding Western representations are those in which Thomas Aquinas stands triumphantly upon Averroes’s prostrated body.

Furthermore, the representations of heretics in illustrated manuscripts (Chludov MS.D. 129 – 9th century, Pantocrator Cod. 61 – 9th century, Theodore Psalter Add MS 19352 – 1066, Barberini gr. 372 – 11th century, etc.) are characteristic cases in which heretics are depicted with intense negative dispositions that reach the point of indirect ridicule (like caricatures) and sometimes of violent treatment (Codex Basiliensis AN I 8 – late 12th century).

The theme of the Persecution of the new Ark, which symbolizes the Orthodox Church, was represented for the first time in post-Byzantine iconography during the 18th century mainly in the wider area of southwestern Ukraine and Romania where religious competition was intense. The Orthodox Church tried to protect its flock from the converting efforts of the Catholics. Characteristic cases are the engravings of the 18th century where various heretics are represented attacking the Ark of the Orthodox Church. Among them are distinguished Catholic priests, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims.

Key Issues and Debates

Heretics appear in a multitude of iconographic scenes that are sometimes new and sometimes derived from well-known established patterns found in Roman and Byzantine art (e.g. lex talionis, damnatio memoriae, subversion etc.). Other scenes are based on miraculous events of the Christian tradition (e.g. the fall of Simon the Magician).

In general, our knowledge about heretics is fragmentary and prejudiced as it derives indirectly from Orthodox anti-heretical writers. The situation is worse in Byzantine art as the original representations of heretics have not survived mainly due to the censorship that was applied by the Orthodox to all the different "heretical" artistic expressions. In art, heretics are either depicted in conversation with the Orthodox Fathers, or humiliated and degraded in front of the ecclesiastical and political principles of the Byzantine state. In extreme cases, they are subjected to corporal violence or face total annihilation as they are being devoured by the dragon of hell. As Christopher Walter argues, heretics are portrayed as inferiors, as victims, and as defeated opponents. In a sense, they are the visual embodiment of the superiority, triumph, and prestige of Orthodoxy. Moreover, at a social level, the above derogatory ways of depicting heretics reinforced the Byzantine perception that they were a foreign part of Byzantine society who were excluded from it and equated with the subordinate categories of subjects of the Byzantine Empire (like Jews).

The violent depictions of heretics are a reflection, a pictorial expression of the punishments and tortures (such as burning at the stake, being devoured by beasts, mutilations, and disfigurements) that convicts (including heretics) were subjected to under the Byzantine penalty code.

Moreover, as Alessia Trivellone highlights, the dissemination of heretical iconography conforms to the rise of heresies throughout Europe between the 11th and 12th centuries (Catharism, Bogomilism, Patarines, Waldensians e.g.) due to a combination of changes in religious, social, and political status. During the same period in Byzantine art, it is noteworthy that although there was an increase in the appearance and action of many contemporary historical persons and groups who were considered heretics, especially during the period of the Komnenian Dynasty, none received pictorial representation. Instead, Byzantine iconography insists on representations of the figures of the great heretics of the early Byzantine period (4th – 7th centuries). An example is Arius in scenes of the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria and the Ecumenical Councils, which include heretics in general.

The intense Triune and Christological controversies (12th century) about the hypostasis of the Holy Trinity and the remembrance of the Incarnation of Christ during Holy Mass renewed the interest in the works of the Great Fathers of the Church who confronted the first big heresies (Arianism, Apollinarism, Nestorianism, Monothelitism e.g.). Along with them, the first great heretics such as Arius, Makedonios, etc., were rediscovered and in art. Their iconographies served as patterns for the representation of heretics from all centuries. This tactic was based on the Byzantine perception that the first great heretics served as idealized types of all heretics in the collective memory throughout the centuries. In this way, the modern heretical apostasy is stigmatized as it becomes equated with the first great sects of Christianity that caused division in the body of the Church.

The representation of heretics through specific persons (such as Arius, Simon the Magician, and the iconoclastic patriarch of Constantinople John VII Grammarian) who were known in higher theological and ecclesiastical circles for their heretical action, also contributed to the faster and easier demonization of the modern heretics. Therefore, the personification of evil and the division of the body of the Church acquired a personal hypostasis in existing and recognizable personalities of Ecclesiastical History. The tactic of demonizing heretics is observed in Western Europe gradually from the 11th and 12th centuries onward, which is expressed visually mainly in miniatures. The same phenomenon is observed in Byzantine art, mainly from the late Byzantine period onward, especially on murals and icons. Two characteristic examples of this new perception are, first, the scene of the devouring of Arius in the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria and, second, the scene of Arius in the fiery river in the post-Byzantine theme of the Last Judgment.

Although past research, like the study of Christopher Walter about heretics in Byzantine art, promoted that there was not a specific iconographic typology of the heretics, through the study of a large number of images of Arius, it is observed that in late Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, there is a tendency of forming a specific iconographic type. In all cases, Arius is portrayed as an old, bearded man with vestments or a simple tunic, either prostrating defeated in front of his victorious opponents or enduring divine justice. In a sense, Arius belongs to the category of iconographic characters that symbolize various social groups or institutions. His figure is established iconographically as it is widely spread, spatially and temporally, with continuous iconographic repetitions in various related anti-heretical scenes in which it maintains a sense of independence. Furthermore, the established iconographic form of Arius inspires the painters to create new variations when conditions require it, for example, the introduction of Arius in the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria.

Further Reading

Corrigan, Kathleen. Visual Polemics in the Ninth-Century Byzantine Psalters. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

This book presents and analyzes several images of heretics that are included mainly in miniatures of the 9th century as part of a study of the visualization of Orthodox controversy in Byzantine art during the iconoclasm period.

Krause, Karin. “Celebrating Orthodoxy. Miniatures for Gregory the Theologian’s “Unread” Orations (Ms. Basil. AN I 8).” Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik 68 (2018): 133–185.

In this study, Krauze analyzes the miniatures of the Basiliensis Codex AN I 8, which depict heretics being subjected to violent treatment that is characterized by their uniqueness and creativity.

Siopis, Ioannis. “The Representations of the heretics in Byzantine art” (in Greek). Unpublished doctoral thesis. Thessaloniki: Aristotle University, School of History and Archaeology, 2022.

This doctoral thesis focuses on the representations of heretics in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine art. Its objectives are the typological and morphological study of the representations of heretics, the interpretation of their iconographic framework in relation to the historical, doctrinal, social, and archaeological data of each period, and the extraction of analytical research conclusions.

Paribeni, Andrea. “L’ immagine dell’ eretico nell’ arte mediobizantina.” Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici 47 (2011): 97–117.

Andrea Paribeni, in his study on mid-Byzantine representations of heretics, focuses on the Byzantine illustrated manuscripts of the 9th-12th centuries, and more specifically on the representations of iconoclasts with a negative character.

Trivellone, Alessia. L'hérétique imaginé: Hétérodoxie et iconographie dans l'Occident médiéval, de l'époque carolingienne à l'Inquisition. Turnhout: Brepols 2009.

Alessia Trivellone extensively studied the representations of heretics in Western art, arguing that since the rise of heresy from the 11th to 12th century, the need to depict the modern heretics highlighted the lack of an established iconographic type. As a result, the painters either borrowed elements from other iconographic types that adapted to the peculiarities of the images of modern heretics or, alternatively, created entirely new types. This situation testifies to the complexity and the absence of a precise definition of the concept of the heretic in the Western medieval imagination. As a consequence, there were a variety of iconographic types during the Middle Ages.

Walter, Christopher. “Heretics in Byzantine Art.” EChR 3 (1970): 40–49.

This is the first study of the iconography of heretics in Byzantine art, but limited. Walter concludes that the heretic appears as an inferior person, as a victim, and as a defeated enemy who is humiliated, trampled, or devoured by the dragon of hell. For Walter, the heretic is rarely a portrait with its own characteristics as in most cases it is complementary to broader iconographic themes.

Walter, Christopher. L'iconographie des conciles dans la tradition byzantine. Paris: Institut francais d'etudes byzantines.1970.

In this book, Walter devotes a chapter to the representations of heretics. He points out that they are most often depicted as humiliated in front of the council as a way to promote the prestige and correctness of Orthodox dogma. Also, the author reformulates his view on the secondary and complementary character of the heretic as an iconographic type.

This contribution was sponsored by the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross.