All the symbolism in Church worship has two poles, which give it its theological meaning: typological and iconological.
The first pole is typological. For example, Baptism had its Old Testament types in cicumcision, the Red Sea crossing, the Flood, etc. The same applied to the other mysteries and rites. Two theological conclusions may be drawn from this:
- No symbolism in worship of the Church reffered to nature and its properties. Instead, it reffered to historical events.
- Typological symbolism never refers to the past, but always to the future. Thus Baptism is not a type of the Flood, but the Flood is a type of Baptism.
The second pole of symbolism is precisely that which moves between the Resurrection and the future in its eschatological form. What is the difference between two poles?
a. In contrast with a shadow or type, an icon is grounded in the thruth of the New Testament, in realized, rather than expected Christology. The fact that Christ became human mandates the making of icons. Iconology must include historicity in its making.
b. In contrast with the state of things to come, the icon is distinct from the thruth because it borrows its means of expression of nature. Whole notion of an icon depends quite literally on the notion of person and the distinction between person and nature. This implies personal, but not natural presence. For example, icon of Christ is nothing other than Christ, apart, of course, from the difference in essence.
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In Liturgy, iconic symbolism is a matter of personal presence and not of natural presence. Nature participates in it only in a secondary way and to the degree that it is hypostatized in the person. The veneration of icons, the recognition of supernatural properties in holy relics and objects, can become forms of paganism if these objects are regarded as possessing these properties in their nature and not in the personal presence of the person with whom they are connected. Moreover, all the movements and actions in worship are also icons and imagings, together with those who perform them.
Liturgy is, being pointed to the future realities, image of the Kingdom of God. Every part of Liturgy represents establishing of Eschaton, which Maximus the Confessor nicely explains in Mystagogia. The early Christians have gathered on the Eucharist in order to wait Second Coming of Christ. Obviously, strong eschatological spirit has descreased in time.