WByzantine Iconoclasm refers to two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Orthodox Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy. The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, existed between about 726 and 787. The Second Iconoclasm was between 814 and 842. According to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm was started by a ban on religious images by Emperor Leo III and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by widespread destruction of images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. The pope remained firmly in support of the use of images throughout the period, and the whole episode widened the growing divergence between the Byzantine and Carolingian traditions in what was still a unified church, as well as facilitating the reduction or removal of Byzantine political control over parts of Italy.
WIconoclasm is the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and other images or monuments, most frequently for religious or political reasons. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be figuratively applied to any individual who challenges "cherished beliefs or venerated institutions on the grounds that they are erroneous or pernicious."
WArtavasdos or Artabasdos, Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743, in usurpation of the reign of Constantine V.
WBasil the Confessor was an Eastern Orthodox saint who lived in the 8th century and was tortured and imprisoned by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V during the iconoclast controversy.
WConstantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the Bulgars in the Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure.
WThe Council of Constantinople of 815 was held in the Byzantine capital, in the Hagia Sophia, and initiated the second period of the Byzantine Iconoclasm.
WThe Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions on it are varied.
WEuthymius of Sardis was metropolitan bishop of Sardis between ca. 785 and ca. 804, and a leading iconophile during the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Martyred in 831, he is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrated on 26 December.
WThe Feast of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat of iconoclasm on the first Sunday of Lent in 843, and later also opposition to all heterodoxy.
WGermanus I was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730. He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, with a feast day of 12 May. He had been ecumenically preceded by Patriarch John VI of Constantinople, and was succeeded in Orthodox rite by patriarch Constantine II of Constantinople.
WSaint Gregory of Dekapolis or Gregory Dekapolites was a 9th-century Byzantine monk, notable for his miracle-working and his travels across the Byzantine world. He is known as "the New Miracle-Worker", and his feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church is on November 20.
WThe Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is the festal icon for the first Sunday of Great Lent, a celebration that commemorated the end of Byzantine Iconoclasm and restoration of icons to the church in 843, and which remains a church feast in Orthodoxy. It is the earliest known depiction of this subject, and thought to have been painted in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. It was purchased by the British Museum in 1988. The dimensions of the icon are: height: 37.8 cm, width: 31.4 cm, depth: 5.3 cm.
WIconodulism designates the religious service to icons. The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (eikonodoulos), meaning "one who serves images (icons)". It is also referred to as iconophilism designating a positive attitude towards the religious use of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconodulism was manifested as a moderate position, between two extremes: Iconoclasm and iconolatry.
WIconolatry designates the idolatric worship or adoration of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconolatry was manifested mainly in popular worship, as a superstitious belief in the divine nature of icons. It was practiced as a direct adoration of icons, and other objects representing various saints, angels and the God. One of extreme practices of iconolatry was scraping parts of icons into the Holy Communion.
WIrene of Athens, surname Sarantapechaina (Σαρανταπήχαινα), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, empress regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, empress co-regent from 792 until 797, and finally sole ruler and first empress regnant of the Eastern Roman Empire from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an iconoclast, she harbored iconophile sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787).
WJoannicius the Great was a Byzantine Christian saint, sage, theologian and prophet. Well known for his devoted asceticism and defense of icon veneration, Joannicius spent the majority of his life as a hermit on Mount Uludağ, near what is today Bursa, Turkey. Joannicius lived during the reign of Emperor Theophilos, a noted iconoclast, which contrasted with Joannicius's embrace of icon veneration. Icon veneration was later restored to the Byzantine Empire under the reign of Empress Theodora, a move that some devotees ascribe to Joannicius's influence and prophecies. Joannicius served in the Byzantine army in his early years before devoting his life to ascetic study and monastic contemplation. He is venerated with a feast day on November 4 in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church.
WJohn VII, surnamed Grammatikos or Grammaticus, i.e., "the Grammarian", was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 21, 837 to March 4, 843, died before 867. He is not to be confused with the much earlier philosopher John Philoponos.
WJohn of Damascus or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, and apologist. Born and raised in Damascus c. 675 or 676; the precise date and place of his death is not known, though tradition places it at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem on 4 December 749.
WThe Lateran Council of 769 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to rectify perceived abuses in the papal electoral process which had led to the elevation of the Antipopes Constantine II and Philip. It also condemned the rulings of the Council of Hieria. It is perhaps the most important Roman council held during the 8th century.
WLeo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons.
WLeo V the Armenian was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, who succeeded him on the throne.
WThe Libri Carolini, more correctly Opus Caroli regis contra synodum, is a work in four books composed on the command of Charlemagne in the mid 790s to refute the conclusions of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea (787), particularly as regards the matter of sacred images. They are "much the fullest statement of the Western attitude to representational art that has been left to us by the Middle Ages".
WSt. Methodios I or Methodius I, was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 4, 843 to June 14, 847. He was born in Syracuse and died in Constantinople. His feast day is celebrated on June 14 in both the East and the West.
WMichael II the Amorian, nicknamed the Stammerer, reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty.
WSaint Nicetas of Medikion or Nicetas the Confessor, who is commemorated on 3 April, was a monk who opposed Byzantine Iconoclasm.
WNikephoros I or Nicephorus I was a Christian Byzantine writer and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 12 April 806 to 13 March 815.
WPope Paschal I was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824.
WThe siege of Nicaea of 727 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Umayyad Caliphate to capture the Byzantine city of Nicaea, the capital of the Opsician Theme. Ever since its failure to capture the Byzantine Empire's capital, Constantinople, in 717–718, the Caliphate had launched a series of raids into Byzantine Asia Minor. In 727, the Arab army, led by one of the Caliph's sons, penetrated deep into Asia Minor, sacked two Byzantine fortresses and in late July arrived before Nicaea. Despite constant attacks for 40 days, the city held firm and the Arabs withdrew and returned to the Caliphate. The successful repulsion of the attack was a major boost for Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian's recently initiated campaign to abolish the veneration of icons in the Empire; Leo claimed it as evidence of divine favour for his policy. The siege of Nicaea marks also the high point of the Umayyad raids, as new threats and defeats on their far-flung frontiers decreased Umayyad strength elsewhere, while Byzantine power strengthened afterwards.
WSaint Stephen the Younger was a Byzantine monk from Constantinople who became one of the leading opponents of the iconoclastic policies of Emperor Constantine V. He was executed in 764, and became the most prominent iconodule martyr. His feast day is celebrated annually on 28 November. His hagiography, the Life of St. Stephen the Younger, is an important historical source.
WSaint Symeon Stylites of Lesbos (765/66–844) was a monk who survived two attempts on his life during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm (814–842). He followed a similar model to Simeon Stylites, residing on a pillar-like structure similar to a tower. There he isolated himself from the world and fasted, prayed and studied. He is venerated with his two brothers, Saint George the Archbishop of Mytilene and Saint David the Monk.
WTheodora was a Byzantine empress as the spouse of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos, and regent of her son, Michael III, from Theophilos' death in 842 to 855. For her restoration of the veneration of icons, which ended the Byzantine Iconoclasm, she is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church; her Feast Day is 11 February. Several churches hold her as their patron saint.
WTheodore the Studite was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium. He is known as a zealous opponent of iconoclasm, one of several conflicts that set him at odds with both emperor and patriarch. Throughout his life he maintained letter correspondences with many important political and cultural figures of the Byzantine empire; this included many women, such as the composer and nun Kassia, who was much influenced by his teachings.
WTheodorus and Theophanes, called the Grapti, are remembered as proponents of the veneration of icons during the second Iconoclastic controversy. They were brothers and natives of Jerusalem.
WSaint Theodosia of Constantinople is an Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic nun and martyr who lived through and opposed the Byzantine Iconoclasm of the seventh and eight centuries.
WTheodotos I Kassiteras, Latinized as Theodotus I Cassiteras Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1 April 815 to January 821.
WTheophilos was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Amorian dynasty and the last emperor to support iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his long war against the Arabs, beginning in 831.
WTheophylact or Theophylaktos became bishop of Nicomedia in Asia Minor following the Iconoclastic Controversy of the eighth century.
WThis is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece from 717 to 1204. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.
WThe Zelve Monastery is a Byzantine-era monastery that was carved into the rock in pre-iconoclastic times. It is part of the Zelve Open Air Museum, located between Ürgüp and Avanos, Turkey.
WLazarus, surnamed Zographos, is a 9th-century Byzantine Christian saint. He is also known as Lazarus the Painter and Lazarus the Iconographer. Born in Armenia on November 17, 810, he lived before and during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Lazarus is the first saint to be canonized specifically as an iconographer. He was later followed by Saint Catherine of Bologna.