Why does the Church care about the icons of saints?

When the period of the Roman persecution against the Church passed and Christianity became the official religion, icons of martyrs and saints became widespread to emphasize the important concept that Church life continues throughout all ages, and that saints are still living and working for the Church through their continuous prayers. St. John of Damascus says, “The saints in their lifetimes were filled with the Holy Spirit, and when they depart, His grace abides with their spirits and their bodies in their tombs, and also with their likenesses and holy icons, not by nature, but by grace and divine power.”¹²²⁷ This is also what scripture declares, such as when the bones of Elisha raised a dead body; not by the virtue of their material as bones, but because of God’s work through his saints even after their departure (2

1225 John Patterson Lundy, Monumental Christianity (New York: J. W. Bouton, 1876): p. 233.

1226 St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 1.9 (on 9.9) (FOTC 117:107). 1227 PG 94:1249CD.

Kings 13:21). We also hear about the shadow of St. Peter the Apostle that healed the sick and the handkerchiefs and cloths of St. Paul that exorcised evil spirits (Acts 5:15; 19:11–12).