Bishop Theoktist calls AI-created icon a liturgical experiment

Bishop Theoktist of Pereslavl and Uglich described an AI-created icon of Carlo Acutis as a liturgical experiment. Speaking to Vesti, he said he regarded artificial intelligence as a tool.

The bishop said it remained uncertain whether the experiment would be judged successful. He compared it with earlier attitudes towards printed icons, which many people once considered inadequate alongside images painted by artists following church conventions.

Printed images are now widely used in homes and churches, Theoktist noted. He said modern technologies could serve different purposes, including the creation of icons.

His comments concerned an icon of Acutis blessed at a Catholic church in Belarus. The Italian teenager created an online resource about Eucharistic miracles. He died of leukaemia aged 15 and was canonised in 2025.