The first Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the restoration of the holy icons.  During the turbulent years of the late 7^th and early 8^th centuries, the Church faced a division and crisis of faith.  On one side, were the iconoclasts, literally the icon destroyers, who found all images of Christ, The Theotokos, and the saints to be idolatrous demanding their destruction.  This group had the backing of the emperor, some bishops and clergy, and the army.  On the other side of this division were the iconophiles, the icon lovers-composed of bishops, clergy, and the faithful, who defended the veneration of icons of Christ, The Theotokos, and the saints.  This group rightly incorporated the veneration of icons into their spiritual life offering the honor and devotion to the prototype, not to the wood and pigment which depicted the image.  The iconophiles claimed that God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and so it is proper that we, the faithful, depict Christ, His Mother, and the saints in ways that assist us in drawing closer to God.