Second Council of Nicaea

Background

In the eighth-century Eastern Roman Empire, a major controversy arose over icons (sacred images of Christ and the saints used in worship). Emperor Leo III is believed to have begun restricting the veneration of icons in the 720s and 730s. Under his son Constantine V, the Council of Hieria in 754 condemned both the making and the veneration of icons. Opponents of icons argued that venerating them was idolatry forbidden by the Ten Commandments. Defenders of icons countered that because of the Incarnation, in which God became man, Christ could be depicted in images. The leading theologian among the defenders was John of Damascus.

Proceedings

• 786: The regent Empress Irene and the young Emperor Constantine VI convened a council in Constantinople. However, iconoclast soldiers burst in, and the council was dispersed.
• 787: The council was reconvened at Nicaea (present-day İznik, Turkey). It was presided over by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople, and Pope Adrian I also sent legates. Around 300 bishops are reported to have attended. The final session was held in Constantinople.

The council annulled the decisions of the Council of Hieria of 754 and reaffirmed the veneration of icons. In doing so, it distinguished between two kinds of reverence: adoration (Greek latreia), which is offered to God alone, and the honor and veneration (proskynesis) shown to icons. The council explained that the veneration offered to an icon passes not to the image itself but to the one whom the image represents. It also enacted canons concerning church order.

Outcome and Influence

The controversy did not end with the council. In 815, under Emperor Leo V, iconoclast policy was reinstated. Only in 843, under Empress Theodora, was the veneration of icons definitively restored. The Orthodox Church commemorates this event as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."

Reaction in the West was mixed. Charlemagne's circle in the Frankish kingdom criticized the council's decisions in the so-called Libri Carolini, and the Council of Frankfurt in 794 also rejected them. Some scholars hold that inaccuracies in the Latin translation of the council's documents contributed to this opposition. The Roman Church later accepted the council.

Assessment

• The Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church: Both recognize this council as the Seventh Ecumenical Council. In the Orthodox Church, the council is especially important as a foundation for the theology of icons.
• Protestantism: Protestants generally do not accept the council's decisions as binding authority, though the strength of this position varies by denominational tradition.
• The Reformed and Presbyterian tradition: John Calvin criticized the use of images in churches. The Heidelberg Catechism forbids representing God by images and placing images in churches. The Westminster Standards, including the Westminster Confession of Faith, likewise forbid worship by means of images.
• Lutheranism: Martin Luther opposed iconoclasm, and Lutheranism has maintained the tradition of placing crucifixes and similar images in churches.
• Anglicanism: The Thirty-Nine Articles state that councils may err.

Most Korean Protestant churches do not place images in their sanctuaries. Their predominant use of a plain cross likewise reflects this Protestant tradition.