The Council of Nicaea in 787 restored iconodule doctrine at the instigation of the empress Irene, but military reversals led Leo V to resurrect in 815 the iconoclastic policies associated with Constantine V, one of Byzantiums most-successful generals. Iconoclasm refers to any destruction of images, including the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries, although the Byzantines themselves did not use this term. Solidus of Justinian II showing Christ on one side (left) and the emperor on the other side (right), 69295, Constantinople, gold, 4.43 g, 2cm (photo: Yale University Art Gallery, CC0). Iconoclasm Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader v.5 or above installed on your computer for viewing and printing the PDF resources on this site. Charles Barber, Figure and Likeness: On the Limits of Representation in Byzantine Iconoclasm (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002). Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. For his defense of the use of images, John of Damascus was canonized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Centered in Byzantiums capital of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) from the 700s843, imperial and Church authorities debated whether religious images should be used in Christian worship or banned. Iconoclasm During these 113 years, with a short intermission between 787 and 815, iconography, the more than 4 centuries-long artistic tradition of the Eastern Roman Empire suffered great losses. And between Rome and Constantinople there stood two groups of peoples open to conversion: the Slavs of central Europe and the Bulgars in the Balkans. He ordered them destroyed and persecuted their creators. This the Byzantine chancery could not accept, for, if there were one God, one faith, and one truth, then there could be but one empire and one emperor; surely that emperor ruled in Constantinople, not in Charlemagnes Aachen. He skillfully persuaded Nicholass delegates to a council summoned at Constantinople to investigate the matter that he was the lawful patriarch despite the persisting claims of the rival Ignatian faction. Unusually, these crosses were not replaced by other mosaics nor destroyed in the ensuing centuries. Far removed from the chaos in Turkey and the Holy Land, St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt did not experience the destructive nature of the Iconoclasm. And behind that question may be found centuries of growing separation between the minds and institutions of the eastern and the western Mediterranean worlds, symbolized in the roles assumed by two among the major protagonists in the Photian Schism. Read our revised Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice. Even though he changed his standing on icons in a few instances, Theodore composed a polemic discourse, the Refutatio, refuting the arguments of the new Iconoclasts. The trigger for Leo IIIs prohibition may have even been the huge volcanic eruption in 726 in the Aegean Sea interpreted as a sign of Gods anger over the veneration of icons. [4] Constantine V, on the other hand, pridefully replaced the icons with imperial portraits and with representations of his own victories. However, concerns about praying to the icon itself gave rise to the iconoclasm debate. These events suggest the growing importance of religious images in the Byzantine Empire at this time. For reasons not entirely clear, Theodora and Theoktistos installed the iconophile patriarch Methodios I and once again affirmed religious images in 843, definitively ending Byzantine Iconoclasm. Other scholars offer a less political motive, suggesting that the prohibition was primarily religious, an attempt to correct the wayward practice of worshiping images. 1 Brubaker, Leslie and Haldon, John, Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era: the sources, FarnhamBurlington, Vt 2001Google Scholar. His successor, Constantine, had first to fight his way to the throne, suppressing a revolt of the Opsikion and Armeniakon themes launched by his brother-in-law Artavasdos. He claimed that each visual representation of Christ necessarily ends in a heresy since Christ, according to generally accepted Christian dogmas, is simultaneously God and man, united without separation, and any visual depiction of Christ either separates these natures, representing Christs humanity alone, or confuses them. We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. Underlying those differences were two more powerful considerations, neither of which could be ignored. Who were the players and what was this Controversy all about? The Iconoclasm started in 725 CE when the Byzantine emperor Leo III banned icons in the Byzantine Empire. You shall not make for yourself a carved imageany likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. Icons are most often found in Byzantine churches and monasteries, which are typically highly decorated. Constantinople lost the possibility to influence the politics of the Roman Church, which was now in the hands of the Franks. The sociologists Michael Radlet and Marian Borg test out six arguments for and against capital punishment. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message. Tumultuous times often give rise to eras in which purity and clarity are sought. By the late seventh century, the Church began to legislate on images. After Christian crusaders captured Jerusalem, the Prison of Christ featured on pilgrims' itineraries. Similar images have been found in the earliest-known Christian house church, which was constructed in Dura-Europos, Syria, in 235. Any such representation would thus be an idol, essentially a false representation or false god. The same year, Leo V summoned the second Council of Iconoclasts, overturning the decisions of the 7th Ecumenical Council, casting an anathema on its participants, and proclaiming the Council of Hieria as legitimate. They pictured the Virgin and Child standing on a jeweled footstool in the apse. Theologically, Leo III also proposed that icons broke the second commandment: 'you shall not make any graven images.' 2. One of the pages represents the Crucifixion when Roman soldiers offer vinegar on a sponge to Christ. 1. Another hypothesis, though less likely, argues that the emperor sought to integrate Muslim and Jewish populations, who viewed Christian images as idols. If one called this day the beginning and day of Orthodoxy . After the Arabs lost the naval battle and retreated from Constantinople, Leo III kept wondering why his empire was in ruins. Such is the general account of the iconoclast controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries in Byzantium. an enormous volcanic eruption hit the islands of Thera and Therasia, the estrangement of the Roman Catholic Church. Iconoclasts like Leo III, on the other hand, believed icons represented actual people, and Jesus should only be represented in the Eucharist. 312 lessons. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. All those may explain the weakness displayed throughout Theophiluss reign, when a Muslim army defeated the emperor himself (838) as a prelude to the capture of the fortress of Amorium in Asia Minor. Purposely caricatured with hair sticking out on all sides, Patriarch John attempts to erase the image of Christ with the same pole and sponge the Roman soldier uses in the scene of Crucifixion. The council drew on the pro-image writings of a Syrian monk, Saint John of Damascus, who lived c. 675749. Once Ravenna fell to the Lombards, and the exarchate ceased to exist in 751, the papacy had to seek a new protector. Next to the lunette above the imperial door in Hagia Sophia are two other lunettes with crosses. But that wasnt the end of it. At the end of the council, a great procession was carried out throughout the city, celebrating the victory over the iconoclast heresy. The Iconoclasm is the period in Byzantine history when the validity of icons was debated. In Rome, Pope Gregory III, declared iconoclasm heretical in 730, but it took the Second Council of Nicaea, in787, to agree thaticons were legitimate once again in Byzantium. Debating for over a century whether religious images should or should not be allowed may puzzle us today. The wider political consequences were seen by the estrangement of the Roman Catholic Church, which rejected the teachings of Iconoclasm. But we need to remember that Leo III was under a lot of pressure and was losing Byzantine territory very quickly. Iconoclasm varies significantly amongst faiths and their branches but is highest in religions that abhor idolatry, such as the Abrahamic religions. There had been many previous theological disputes over visual representations, their theological foundations and legitimacy. Equally fanatic in their convictions as Constantine was in his, iconodules in Constantinople gathered around Stephen the Younger, who was killed by a mob in 765. Guide to Iconoclasm in Early History The Iconoclastic Controversy over religious images was a defining moment in the history of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire. They claimed that the iconoclast arguments were simply confused. Following the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the Byzantines installed a new mosaic of the Virgin and Child in the apse of Constantinoples Hagia Sophia. Leo Vs ban on images followed significant Byzantine military losses to the Bulgars in Macedonia and Thrace, which Leo may have viewed as a sign of Gods displeasure with icons. Each could discover supporting arguments in the writings of the early church, and it is essential to remember that the debate over images is as old as Christian art. The Byzantine Empire faced invasions from Persians and Arabs in the seventh century, resulting in significant loss of territory. Mosaics of plain crosses can also be found in other churches in Constantinople, including the Hagia Sophia. edn, New Haven 1987, 4371Google Scholar. This portrayal of Christ the Merciful from the Bodemuseum in Berlin is an example of an icon. With his enemy thus weakened, Constantine won noteworthy victories in northern Syria, transferring the prisoners he had captured there to Thrace in preparation for the wars against the Bulgars that were to occupy him from 756 to 775. Recent scholarship is making the case that the old "black-and-white" narrative of the iconoclast period needs significant reconsideration, and that cultural diffusion is certainly a greater force in history than ideological competition. That was found in the person of the Frankish leader Pippin III, who sought some form of sanction to legitimize his seizure of the crown from the feeble hands of the last representative of the Merovingian dynasty. Arguments relied mostly on the Old Testament prohibition (quoted above). Therefore, if you were looking at an icon of Mary, you were actually seeing Mary herself. The iconoclasts responded by pointing to the express wording of the Second Commandment. Later that year he was murdered by his favourite, Basil, who, on his bloody path to the throne, had earlier disposed of Caesar Bardas. . The latter point is debatable, as is the contention that Iconoclasm was particularly an expression of sentiment to be found in the eastern themes of the empire. Images, or "icons," played a central role in Christian worship and devotion from an early period. images], and wantonly inflicting bitter wounds on her, wherewith her face was scarred. Representation, after all, can boil down to a question of power: who gets to represent what? However, none of these caused the tremendous social, political and cultural upheaval of the Iconoclastic Controversy. The Lombard advance, it may be remembered, had restricted Byzantine authority in Italy to the exarchate of Ravenna, and to that quarter the popes of the 7th century, themselves ordinarily of Greek or Syrian origin, turned for protection against the common enemy. Due to limited capacity, we may not admit visitors at the end of the day. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Have a correction or comment about this article? WebIconoclasm ( Eikonoklasmos, Image-breaking) is the name of the heresy that in the eighth and ninth centuries disturbed the peace of the Eastern Church, caused the last of the many breaches with Rome that prepared the way for the schism of Photius, and was echoed on a smaller scale in the Frankish kingdom in the West. The debate finally ended in 843, when Empress Theodora reasserted the role of icons in religious practice. 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Figure 3. However, a few decades later, under the reign of Empress Irene in 787, the Second Council of Nicaea condemned the Council of Hieria and argued for the continued use and veneration of icons, distinguishing the devotion (proskynesis) given to icons from the worship (latreia) given to God alone. A typical Byzantine icon subject is Christ Pantocrator, or Christ, the Creator of All. Historical evidence firmly identifies Leos son, emperor Constantine V, as an iconoclast. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR. Copyright Cambridge University Press 2014, Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS; e-mail: judith.herrin@kcl.ac.uk, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022046913001589, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. "coreDisableEcommerceForArticlePurchase": false, Krum died suddenly in 814 as he was preparing an attack upon Constantinople, and his son, Omortag, arranged a peace with the Byzantine Empire in order to protect the western frontiers of his Bulgar empire against the pressures exerted by Frankish expansion under Charlemagne and his successors. Not only did John oppose Iconoclasm but the Islamic prohibition of images as well. Iconoclasm Between 787 and 815, his epigrams celebrating icons were placed at the Chalke Gate of the Imperial Palace. Evans, Helen C. and Ratliff, Brandie (eds), Byzantium and Islam: age of transition (exhibition catalogue), Metropolitan Museum of New York, 2012 Google Scholar. And pagans could argue that veneration of the Cross, say, was another form of wood-worship, not so different from worshipping trees. To allow the menu buttons to display, add whiteestate.org to IE's trusted sites. Pope Gregory II refused to accept the iconoclastic doctrines of Leo III, and his successor, Gregory III, had to openly condemn them at a council. Today, icons are pervasive throughout the former Byzantine Empire in Eastern Orthodox churches and holy sites. Gods Messenger: Meeting Kids Needs is a brand new web site created especially for teachers wanting to enhance their students spiritual walk with Jesus. Church leaders often condemned such images and devotional practices, which seemed too similar to the pagan religions that Christians rejected. Leo fell victim to assassination, but before his death events beyond his control had improved the empires situation. Published online by Cambridge University Press: The church was severely damaged by the earthquake of 740 and probably reconstructed by the Iconoclastic Emperor Constantine V, during which time the cross was added; the motif of a cross was one of the rare symbols allowed by the State during this period. The pro-iconography Patriarch Germanos completely rejected such transgression against the Church of Constantinople, so he was replaced by the iconoclast Anastasios. Iconoclasm is a period of Byzantine history usually chronologically placed between 730 and 843. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002). His work indicates the degree of gradual Byzantine penetration into the coastal fringes of the Balkan Peninsula, as does the number of themes organized in that same region during the early 9th century: those of Macedonia, Thessalonica, Dyrrhachium, Dalmatia, and the Strymon. We created Smarthistory to provide students around the world with the highest-quality educational resources for art and cultural heritagefor free. The latters intransigent zealotry found little favour with Caesar Bardas, Michaels uncle, who had seized power from the empress regent in 856. Icons were typically painted on wood or made with mosaic tile, although other media can be used. Assisted by Omortag and relying upon the defenses of Constantinople, Michael defeated his enemy, but the episode suggests the tensions beneath the surface of Byzantine society: the social malaise, the ethnic hostility, and the persisting discord created by Iconoclasm. St. Catherine's Monastery has the largest collection of Byzantine icons existing today. Theodore took the leading role in the iconodule opposition during the Second Iconoclasm. This includes personalizing your content. Iconoclasm Thomas the Slavonian, Michaels former comrade in arms, gave himself out to be the unfortunate Constantine VI and secured his coronation at the hands of the Patriarch of Antioch. If you think there should be more material, feel free to help us develop more! Probably as a result of this council, iconoclasts replaced images of saints with crosses in the sekreton (audience hall) between the patriarchal palace and Constantinoples great cathedral, Hagia Sophia, in the 760s (discussed further below). Almost immediately upon Leos accession, the empires fortunes improved markedly. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content. 11 September 2014. All rights reserved. Iconoclasm Emperor Constantine V gave a more nuanced theological rationale for iconoclasm. After reviewing this lesson, you should be able to, To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Iconoclasts argued that it did, creating too close a connection between the image and the actual person depicted. . The creation of images integral to Byzantine art stagnated during the Iconoclasm period. Phase 1 (yellow) The original mosaics predate Iconoclasm and were probably created in the late seventh or early eighth century. Veneration of the icons was definitely rehabilitated in 843, and it was done in so diplomatic a fashion that the restoration, in itself, produced no new rifts, although old factionalisms persisted with the appointment of a monk, Ignatius, as patriarch. Western Christianity doesnt have an official equivalent. Neoplatonism: How Does it Relate to Plato? Photios condemned the iconoclasts for Stripping the Church, Christs bride, of her own ornaments [i.e. John of Damascus even went as far as to tell the emperor to keep his nose out of church business. WebThe first phase of iconoclasm ended in 787, when the Seventh Ecumenical (universal) Council of bishops, met in Nicaea. Iconoclasm Historical texts suggest the struggle over images began in the 720s. In the face of the Bulgar menace, none of the following three emperors succeeded in founding a dynasty. . In the 8th century, the Eastern or Orthodox branch of Christianity gave historythe word iconoclasm, from the Greek words for icon smashing.. WebIn the Byzantine world, Iconoclasm refers to a theological debate involving both the Byzantine church and state. Also, the Arab leader, Caliph Yazid II, condemned icons in his territories in 721, and his empire boomed after that. A Timeline of European Architecture in the Middle Ages, Barnett Newman: Spirituality in Modern Art, Get to Know Constantin Brancusi: Patriarch of Modern Sculpture, Early Religious Art: Monotheism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Divine Art of Austerity and Piety in the Byzantine Empire (330-1453 AD), Beyond Constantinople: Life In the Byzantine Empire. Theodore, abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople, wrote in defense of icons during this time. Through the centuries, icons became increasingly widespread in Byzantium. Still another consideration favouring Iconoclasm may be found in the intimate connection of iconoclastic doctrine with the emperors conception of his role as Gods vicegerent on earth. Did the Byzantine Empire practice Christianity. Since Jesus was both human and divine, the iconoclasts argued that artists could not depict him in images. All Rights Reserved. . Iconophiles opposed iconoclasts. iconoclasm synonyms, iconoclasm pronunciation, iconoclasm translation, English dictionary definition of iconoclasm. Iconoclasm Thus, in 800, Charlemagne was crowned the Emperor of Rome in Saint Peters Basilica. The main reason Leo III decreed that all icons should be destroyed, the iconoclast stance, is because he thought the image an icon depicted was not just an image. 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904. According to traditional accounts, Iconoclasm was prompted by emperor Leo III removing an icon of Christ from the Chalke Gate of the imperial palace in Constantinople in 726 or 730, sparking a widespread destruction of images and a persecution of those who defended images. Taking root in the political and religious elites in Constantinople, this movement had a long-lasting effect on the medieval world. 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