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Byzantine Iconoclasm Byzantine Iconoclasm %rom &i'ipedia, the free encyclopedia The Byzantine Iconoclasm )*reek: Εἰκονομαχία, Eikonomachía) refers to t,o periods in the history of the Byzantine -mpire ,hen -mperors, bac'ed by imperially-appointed leaders and councils of the *reek /rthodox Church, imposed a ban on religious images or icons. The 0%irst Iconoclasm0, as it is sometimes called, lasted bet,een about 123 and 141, ,hen a change on the throne reversed the ban. The 05econd Iconoclasm0 ,as bet,een 4#6 and 467. Iconoclasm, *reek for 0image-brea'ing0, is the deliberate destruction ,ithin a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. People ,ho engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any person ,ho brea's or disdains established dogmata or conventions. Conversely, A simple cross: example of people ,ho revere or venerate religious images are iconoclast art in the Hagia derisively called 0iconolaters0 )εἰκονολάτραι+. (hey Irene Church in Istanbul. are normally 'nown as 0iconodules0 )εἰκονόδουλοι+, or 0iconophiles0 )εἰκονόφιλοι+. Iconoclasm may be carried out by people of a different religion, but is often the result of sectarian disputes bet,een factions of the same religion. In Christianity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by an 0/ld.Covenant0 interpretation of the Ten Commandments, ,hich forbid the ma'ing and ,orshipping of 0graven images0, see also Biblical la, in Christianity. The t,o serious outbrea's of iconoclasm in the Byzantine -mpire during the 4th and !th centuries ,ere unusual in that the use of images ,as the main issue in the dispute, rather Byzantine Iconoclasm, Chludov than a by-product of ,ider concerns. salter, !th century."#$ As ,ith other doctrinal issues in the Byzantine period, the controversy ,as by no means restricted to the clergy, or to arguments from theology. (he continuing cultural confrontation ,ith, and military threat from, Islam probably had a bearing on the attitudes of both sides. Iconoclasm seems to have been supported by many from the -ast of the -mpire, and refugees from the provinces ta'en over by the 9uslims. It has been suggested that their strength in the army at the start of the period, and the growing influence of Bal'an forces in the army (generally considered to lac' strong iconoclast feelings+ over the period may have been important factors in both beginning and ending imperial support for iconoclasm. According to Arnold Toynbee, it is the prestige of Islamic military successes in the 1.4th centuries that motivated Byzantine Christians into evaluating and adopting the Islamic precept of the destruction of idolatric images."7$ Contents # Bac'ground 7 The first iconoclastic period: 123.141 2 The second iconoclastic period: 4#6.467 6 Issues in Byzantine Iconoclasm : 5ources ; <eferences and notes 1 Further reading 4 5ee also Background The use of images had probably been increasing in the years leading up to the outbrea' of iconoclasm. /ne notable change came in ;!:, ,hen =ustinian II put a full.faced image of Christ on the obverse of his gold coins. (he effect on iconoclast opinion is un'nown, but the change certainly caused Caliph Abd al.9ali' to brea' permanently ,ith his previous adoption of Byzantine coin types to start a purely Islamic coinage ,ith lettering only."2$ A letter by the patriarch *ermanus ,ritten before 17; to t,o Iconoclast bishops says that 0now ,hole towns and multitudes of people are in considerable agitation over this matter0 but ,e have very little evidence as to the growth of the debate."6$ Theologically, the debate, as ,ith most in /rthodox theology at the time, revolved around the t,o natures of =esus. Iconoclasts believed that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of the 9essiah at the same time, but separately. Because an icon ,hich depicted =esus as purely physical ,ould be >estorianism, and one ,hich showed Him as both human and divine ,ould not be able to do so ,ithout confusing the t,o natures into one mixed nature, ,hich ,as 9onophysitism, all icons ,ere thus heretical. <eference ,as also made to the prohibitions on the ,orship of graven images in the 9osaic La,. Ho,ever, no detailed ,ritings setting out iconoclast arguments have survived@ ,e have only brief Auotations and references in the ,ritings of the iconodules. The first iconoclastic period: 730-787 5ometime bet,een 17;.123 the Byzantine -mperor ?eo III the Isaurian ordered the removal of an image of Christ prominently placed over the Chal'e *ate, the ceremonial entrance to the *reat Palace of Constantinople, and its replacement ,ith a cross. Fearing that they intended sacrilege, some of those ,ho ,ere assigned to the tas' ,ere murdered by a band of iconodules.":$ &ritings suggest that at least part of the reason for the removal may have been military reversals against the 9uslims and the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera,";$ ,hich Leo possibly vie,ed as evidence of the &rath of *od brought on by over-the-top image veneration in the Church."1$ Leo is said to have described mere image veneration as 0a craft of idolatry.0 He apparently forbade the veneration of religious images in a 123 edict, ,hich did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross. 0He sa, no need to consult the Church, and he appears to have been surprised by the depth of the popular opposition he encountered0."4$ *ermanus I of Constantinople, the iconodule Patriarch of Constantinople, either resigned or ,as deposed following the ban. 5urviving letters *ermanus ,rote at the time say little of theology. According to Patricia Barlin-Hayter, ,hat ,orried *ermanus ,as that the ban of icons ,ould prove that the Church had been in error for a long time and therefore play into the hands of =ews and 9uslims."!$ In the &est, Pope *regory III held t,o synods at <ome and condemned Leo's actions, and in response Leo confiscated papal estates in Calabria and 5icily, detaching them as ,ell as Illyricum from apal governance and placing them under the governance of the Patriarch of Constantinople"#3$. Curing this initial period, concern on both sides seems to have had little to do ,ith theology and more ,ith practical evidence and effects. Icon veneration ,as forbidden simply because Leo sa, it as a violation of the biblical commandment forbidding the manufacture and veneration of images. There ,as initially no church council, and no prominent patriarchs or bishops called for the removal or destruction of icons. In the process of destroying or obscuring images, ?eo 0confiscated valuable church plate, altar cloths, and reliquaries decorated with religious figures0,"4$ but took no severe action against the former patriarch or iconophile bishops. Leo died in 163, but his ban on icons ,as confirmed and established as dogma under his son Constantine D )16#.11:), ,ho summoned the Council of Hieria in 1:6 in ,hich some 223 to 263 bishops participated to endorse the iconoclast position. >o patriarchs or representatives of the five patriarchs ,ere present: Constantinople ,as vacant ,hile Antioch, =erusalem and Alexandria ,ere controlled by 5aracens. The iconoclast Council of Hieria ,as not the end of the matter, however. In this period complex theological arguments appeared, both for and against the use of icons. The monasteries ,ere strongholds of icon veneration, and an underground net,or' of iconodules ,as organized among mon's. =ohn of Camascus, a 5yrian mon' living outside of Byzantine territory, became the maEor opponent of iconoclasm through his theological ,ritings. In a response recalling the later rotestant <eformation, Constantine moved against the monasteries, had relics thrown into the sea, and stopped the invocation of saints. 9on's ,ere apparently forced to parade in the Hippodrome, each hand-in-hand ,ith a ,oman, in violation of their vows. In 1;: 5aint 5tephen the Founger ,as 'illed, apparently a martyr to the Icon of the 5eventh Iconodule cause. A number of large monasteries in -cumenical Council )#1th Constantinople ,ere secularised, and many mon's century, >ovodevichy Convent, fled to areas beyond effective imperial control on the 9osco,+. fringes of the -mpire."2$ Constantine's son, ?eo ID )11:.43+ ,as less rigorous, and for a time tried to mediate bet,een the factions. (owards the end of his life, however, Leo took severe measures against images and ,ould have banned his ,ife Irene, ,ho ,as reputed to venerate icons in secret. He died before achieving this, and Irene took power as regent for her son, Constantine DI )143.!1+. &ith Irene's ascension as regent, the first Iconoclastic Period came to an end. Irene initiated a new ecumenical council, ultimately called the 5econd Council of >icaea, ,hich first met in Constantinople in 14; but ,as disrupted by military units faithful to the iconoclast legacy. The council convened again at >icaea in 141 and reversed the decrees of the previous iconoclast council held at Constantinople and Hieria, and appropriated its title as 5eventh -cumenical Council. (hus there ,ere t,o councils called the 05eventh -cumenical Council,0 the first supporting iconoclasm, the second supporting icon veneration and negating the first. Gnli'e the iconoclast council, the iconodule council included papal representatives, and its decrees ,ere approved by the papacy. The -astern /rthodox Church considers it to be the last genuine ecumenical council. Icon veneration lasted through the reign of -mpress Irene's successor, >icephorus I (reigned 437.4##), and the t,o brief reigns after his. Byzantine iconoclasm also had consequences in &estern -urope.
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