Iconodules

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who venerates icons or images in a religious context, often engaging in practices of devotion related to visual representations
2. An individual who supports the use and reverence of sacred images within the context of religious worship and theological significance
3. Someone who actively participates in the theological discourse surrounding the legitimacy and meaning of religious icons and their role in spiritual life

Etymology: The word "iconodules" is the plural of "iconodule", and its parts are plain Greek. "Eikón" meant likeness, image or portrait, and "doûlos" meant slave, so the compound literally means "image-slave". The Greek term was used for those who venerated religious images, and the same idea carries into English without alteration. The sense is deliberately pointed. Ancient Greek speakers used "doulos" to describe someone bound in servitude, so pairing it with "eikón" frames devotion to religious pictures as a kind of bondage to them. That is the attitude it carries: the image is the master and the devotee its servant.