Final answer:
St. John of Damascus defended the use and veneration of icons based on the doctrine of Incarnation. He argued that since Jesus was God made visible, depictions of Him were permissible. Icons were also seen as an aid to devotion and were widely accepted by the faithful.
Step-by-step explanation:
St. John of Damascus, also known as St. John Damascene, was a prominent defender of the veneration of icons during the Iconoclastic Controversy, a dispute in the 8th and 9th centuries over the legitimacy of religious images in the Byzantine Empire. He argued against the iconoclasts, who believed that icons should not be used in worship, by asserting that since Jesus Christ was God made visible in human form, it was permissible to create and venerate images of Him. Additionally, icons served as reminders of the truth of the Incarnation, that God became flesh and lived among humans.
St. John's reasoning was centered on the fundamental Christian belief in the Incarnation. If God, in the person of Jesus Christ, chose to be visible and tangible to human senses, then it follows that depictions of His human form do not diminish His divinity but celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation. This theological position legitimized the use of icons as objects not simply of decoration but as aids to devotion, offering the faithful a means to honor and remember the saints and the life of Christ.
It was also argued that prior to the incarnation of Christ, God had indeed been invisible and beyond depiction, a position the iconoclasts emphasized. However, once Christ became incarnate, took on flesh and was visible to human eyes, this fundamentally changed the way God could be represented. Thus, the crafting and veneration of icons were not a violation of divine invisibility but a direct consequence of Christ's Incarnation.
Theological debates aside, the acceptance and love of icons by the people played a role in their eventual triumph after the controversy. The 843 CE affirmation by the Church and imperial authorities of the use of religious images marked the 'Triumph of Orthodoxy,' and signified the lasting impact that St. John Damascene's arguments had on Christian worship and the veneration of icons.