What then is the difference between ‘icon’ and ‘idol?’
‘Icon‘ means an image or representation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, of his immaculate Mother, and of his saints. In the language of the sacred Scriptures, an image can be blessed by God or evil, depending on (1) who established it, (2) what it represents, (3) how it is treated, and (4) with what intention.
Rulers, parents, bishops, indeed every human being, possess a measure of iconic quality, and to each is due proper honor and veneration according to God’s commandments (Eph 6:2; 1Pe 2:13, 17; see Q559, Q567). This honor is expressed in visible ways, notably by the ‘holy kiss’ (Rom 16:16; 1Th 5:26; see Q523).
The Ark of the Covenant and the bronze serpent are examples of Old Testament icons; and in the case of the serpent, a life-saving icon pointing to Christ became an idol when God’s people began to offer it undue worship, for which reason it had to be destroyed (2Kg 18:4; see Q118, Q266). As Scripture warns, even the image of a deceased child, acceptable in itself, can be perverted: “a father, afflicted with untimely mourning, made an image of the child so quickly taken from him, and now honored as a god what was formerly a dead person, and handed down to his dependents mysteries and sacrifices” (Wis 14:15).
An icon is, therefore, a visible object to which proper reverence is given with the blessed intention of confessing “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi 2:11; see Q043, Q083). An idol, by contrast, is any created thing toward which attention, trust, desire, or devotion is directed without being referred, in thanksgiving, to what St Gregory the Theologian calls “the ultimate Origin” (Eph 5:20; Col 3:17; see Q402).
