714 I M A I M B in the proceedings (Act. ii. ). Such remains of Christian antiquity as the statue of Hippolytus, recently dug up at Ostia, and usually assigned to a date not later than the 5th century, as also the sitting figure of St Peter, dating from the same period, now seen in St Peter s, Rome, have no iminediats connexion with the subject of this article. The same remark applies to the still earlier statue at Paneas referred to by Eusebius (H. E., vii. 18), said to have been raised in honour of Christ by the woman mentioned in Matt. ix. 20 ; if it was really intended to represent Christ at all and not rather the emperor Hadrian, it was, at all events, obviously no object of special veneration. About the 9th century, however, "graven images" seem to have become more common. Thus in the treatise De Imaginibus (c. 31) of Agobard of Lyons (ob. 840), there is an obvious controversial allusion to molten or moulded statues of angels or holy men. With the gradual introduction of the architecture commonly known as Gothic, there came in a great advance in plastic art. The new cathedrals gave scope for and even demanded a wealth of decoration formerly unknown, until it seemed as if, not only the entire Biblical history, but all the Ada Sanctorum, were to be artistically told in wood and stone. The earliest extant sculptures in stone or stucco cannot be carried farthsr back than the llth century. But the discussion of their date and character belongs to the artistic rather than to the religious side of the subject. 1 At the period of the Reformation it was unanimously felt by the reforming party that, with the invocation of saints and the practice of reverencing their relics, the adoration of images ought also as matter-of course to cease. The leaders of the movement were not all, however, per fectly agreed on the question as to whether these might not in some circumstances be retained in churches. Luther, it is well known, had no sympathy with the iconoclastic outbreaks which history mentions as having taken place with some frequency at this period ; he classed images in themselves as among the "adiaphora," and condemned only their cultus ; so also the " Confessio Tetrapolitana" leaves Christians free to have them or not, if only due regard be had to what is expedient and edifying. The "Heidelberg Catechism," on the other hand, emphatically declares that images are not to be tolerated at all in churches. This position, which is that of all the reformed churches, has an obvious connexion with their view as to the division of the decalogue, they following Origen on this question while the Lutherans adhere to the Philonic arrangement (see DECALOGUE). At the council of Trent (session xxv.) the Church of Rome finally formulated the doctrine on the subject of images vvbich is still of authority within its communion. That doctrine is avowedly based on the decrees of the second council of Nice. It is declared that images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other saints are to be set up and retained, especially in churches, and that "due" honour and veneration are to be accorded them by kissing and prostration. Warnings are appended, however, against their superstitious abuse somewhat in the spirit of Gregory the Great s letter and of the decision of the Frankfort synod. The Greek Church continues tenaciously to adhere to the decrees of the second Nicene council, and has not yielded to any of the artistic impulses which have elsewhere made themselves so powerfully felt. The sacred pictures which abound everywhere, and are treated with extraordinary reverence and affection, are for the most part very defective aesthetically. Indeed the preference seems to be given to 1 Such works as Lubke s Kunstgeschichte may be consulted in this connexion ; also Didron s Iconographie and Jameson s Sacred and Legendary A . t. those executed in rude archaic style, and even now the painter of pictures intended for religious uses must bear in mind the monk s famous criticism on Titian. Nude or incompletely draped figures are forbidden, and only half lengths are permitted " ut omnis stultse cogitationis occasio tollatur." No representation of the Godhead or of the Trinity is attempted. Although it is in the records of a Constantinopolitan council that the earliest extant notice of the cruoifix occurs, that symbol is not now used in the East. The literature of the subject is immense. The most important monographs are from the Catholic point of view, Maimliourg, Histoire de VHertsie drs Iconoclastes (Paris, 1679-82); from the Pro testant, Daille, De Imaginibus (Leyden, 1642), and Spariheim, Historia, Imaginum restituta (Leyden, 1686). For the acts of the councils, Lab be or Mansi must be consulted ; the learned compila tion, of Goldast, Imperialia dccrcf.a de cultu imaginum in utroque impcrio promulgata collecta ef, illuetrata (Frankfort, 1608), will also be found useful. Compare Schlosser, Gesch. der bildersturmcnden Kaiser (Frankfort, 1812). The sections relating to image worship in the great work of Chemnitz (Examen Cone. Trid. , pars 4) are charac terized by learning and moderation. The whole subject is treated, of course, in all the church histories ; with most fulness and in sight in that of Neander. The iconoclastic controversy is dealt with also in the histories of Gibbon and Milman. Copious archseo- logical details are also given iu Augusti s Dcnkwurdigkeiten, vol. xh. (Leipsic, 1831). (J. S. BL.) IMAM is the name given to the priest who leads the prayers of a Mahometan congregation, and is exactly equivalent to Antistes. In the Koran, chap. ii. v. 118, it is said of Abraham, " Verily, I will set thee as an imam (high priest or model) for men." In Turkey the imam, besides his function as a minister, performs the rites of circumcision, marriage, and burial. He is distinguished only by avoid ing gay colours in his dress and wearing a white turban. In Persia the imam is also called a mujtahid; he has no secular duties. The title has been always borne by the caliphs or successors of Mahomet, the earlier ones having, like the Prophet himself, conducted the services in person, and addressed the people in a k/tulbah or homily on the great weekly gathering on Fridays. The title thus came to signify head of the faith, and as such is claimed and used by the present sultans of the Osmanli dynasty in Turkey, the last of the legitimate caliphs, El Mutawakkel, having in 1517 A.D. ceded his prerogatives to Selim I., the first Ottoman sultan, and his heirs. The caliphate (see CALIPH) is also called El Imdmah, the imamate. The Shiah sect hold that the office of imam was specially assigned by Mahomet to Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, and passed from him to his legitimate male issue by Fatima Mahomet s daughter. The first imam then was Ali ; the next two were Ali s sons Hasan and Husein (see HASAN); then came Ali Zein el Abidin, son of Husein. His son Zeid founded the sect called the Zeid- iyeh, who recognized him as imam. This sect split into two subdivisions, one of which declared that the imam ought to be designated by his predecessor, the other that the imamate was elective, but must be confined to the descen dants of Fatima. The twelve imams generally received by the Shiahs do not, however, include Zeid, but are the following : (1) Ali ibn Abi Talib ; (2) El Hasan his son; (3) El Husein, Ali s other son ; (4) Ali Zein el Abidin, son of Husein ; (5) Mohammed el Bakir, son of Zein el Abidin ; (G) Jaafer es Sadik, son of El Bakir ; (7) Musa el Kadhim, son of Jaafer ; (8) Ali er Ridha, son of Musa ; (9) Mohammed et Taki, son of Er Ridha ; (10) Ali el Hadi, son of Et Taki; (11) Hasan el Askari, son of El Hadi. Here the chain of succession breaks off, the twelfth imam being Mohammed el Mehdi, suraamed Abu Knshn, who was predicted by the Prophet, and who is yet to come. The title imam is also applied to the founders of the four great orthodox sects of Mahometans. IMBROS, or IMVRO, an island in the vEgean Sea,
lying west of the southern end of the Thracian Chersonese,
