In affirming sacred images, the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea was not concerned with religious art; it was the continuation and confirmation of earlier definitions about the fullness of the humanity of God’s Word. Icons are a visible reminder of our heavenly vocation; they are invitations to rise beyond our trivial concerns and menial reductions of the world. They encourage us to seek the extraordinary in the very ordinary, to be filled with the same wonder that characterized the divine marvel in Genesis: “God saw everything that He made; and, indeed, it was very good.” (Gn. 1.30-31) The Greek (Septuagint) word for “goodness” is κάλλος, which implies -- etymologically and symbolically -- a sense of “calling.” Icons underline the Church’s fundamental mission to recognize that all people and all things are created and called to be “good” and “beautiful."
This is wonderfully said, but is "kallos" (Greek "good") really etymologically connected to the English "call"? And where does it leave the romanesque languages?
“This is wonderfully said, but is “kallos” (Greek “good”) really etymologically connected to the English “call”?”
I haven’t the foggiest idea, save to say that the double lambda spelling usually means beauty, not good, at least in modern Greek. The EP’s koine Greek is doubtless better than mine.
“And where does it leave the romanesque languages?”
Right where they belong when it comes to religion! :)