Ideas and Images Serving Christianity: Words Illustrated by Forms and Forms Explained by Words

It is worth remembering that Christianity, established by the Word of God, is essentially a religion of the word. Based on the word of the sacred Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, Christianity also needed, for its diffusion and consolidation, to constantly employ a varied range of words that are, structured in the form of patristic exegesis, theological treatises, apologetic writings, catechetical teachings, homilies, and liturgical hymns. In turn, the image appeared from the very beginnings to indicate that in Christianity isas a necessary support and a complement to the word, as it makes a way of making visible the contents of the invisible words. That way, words become images, forming as the visible shapes of ideas. In the meantime, the words supported the images, acting as explanations of the images, especially when their iconic appearance is not evident. Therefore, words and images have become essentially intertwined in Christianity: the words reflected in the images, and the images revealed by the words. The current Reprint of the Religions’ Special Issue “Ideas and Images Serving Christianity: Words Illustrated by Forms and Forms Explained by Words” brings together thirteen studies by specialists in various academic fields, such as theology, Mariology, philosophy, iconography, arts and humanities, cultural studies, Church history, literature, and sociology. Each of them has cooperated in an outstanding manner to this monograph that undoubtedly provides a valuable contribution to the existing scholarship.