Abbot Walafrid Strabo (+840) on Veneration of Icons

 Every now and again one encounters claims that Abbot Walafrid Strabo (+840), the Abbot of Reichenau Abbey on Lake Constance, did not accept the veneration of icons, but, rather simply thought they were nice decorations and nothing else.  Many of us have seen this repeated over and over again, often without any actual primary source references.  Thankfully, a translation exists of Abbot Walafrid's "Libellus de Exordiis", in which he takes the position that sacred Christian images are given "sincere and moderate veneration."  In other words he opposes destruction of images, since any damage done to the icon redounds to an act of dishonour to the one it represents, but he also opposes ignoring icons, as well as giving "immoderate culturs" or "spiritual cultus" to icons; spiritual cultus being his phrase for what in the East was termed "latria".   The admission of icons deserving "honesti et moderati imaginum honores" [i.e. "honest and moderate honors of images"] accepts the teachings of St. Adrian of Rome, and the Seventh Ecumenical Council.  Abbot Walafrid only opposes "excesses" in venerating icons as well as 'spiritual cultus' [latria], not the veneration itself.