iconoclasm
Quick Summary
Iconoclasm refers to the destruction or prohibition of religious images. The term originates from the Greek for "image destroyer". Historically, this practice was prominent during the Byzantine Empire's Iconoclastic Controversy in the 8th and 9th centuries.12
Iconoclasts objected to the veneration of religious icons, citing the Old Testament prohibition against images and the risk of idolatry. Conversely, defenders argued for the symbolic nature of icons and the value of created matter. While the original meaning involved physical destruction, "iconoclast" now also describes someone who criticizes widely accepted beliefs. This opposition to representational forms is also seen in Judaism, Islam, and some branches of Protestantism.213
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ChristologyEastern Orthodox Christology…and a second wave of iconoclasm, veneration was formally restored in 843 by Theodora, the widow of the last Iconoclastic emperor, Theophilos. Tellingly, the Eastern churches celebrate the date (February 19) as the Feast of Orthodoxy. Eastern Orthodoxy maintains the divinity of the icon of Christ; there is no essential…
Read More…and a second wave of iconoclasm, veneration was formally restored in 843 by Theodora, the widow of the last Iconoclastic emperor, Theophilos. Tellingly, the Eastern churches celebrate the date (February 19) as the Feast of Orthodoxy. Eastern Orthodoxy maintains the divinity of the icon of Christ; there is no essential…
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Given the dominating place the figure of Jesus has had in Western art, it is perhaps surprising that the pictorial portrayal of Jesus was a matter of considerable debate within the Christian church during its early centuries. Thus, whereas 2nd-century theologians such as St.…
Read MoreGiven the dominating place the figure of Jesus has had in Western art, it is perhaps surprising that the pictorial portrayal of Jesus was a matter of considerable debate within the Christian church during its early centuries. Thus, whereas 2nd-century theologians such as St.…
Read More - ChristologyIconoclasm
…by inaugurating a policy of iconoclasm, believing that it was improper to attempt to portray the divine. The intense disagreement between those who advocated and those who rejected pictorial images, known as the Iconoclastic Controversy, was temporarily resolved in 787 when the seventh ecumenical council of the church, the second…
Read More…by inaugurating a policy of iconoclasm, believing that it was improper to attempt to portray the divine. The intense disagreement between those who advocated and those who rejected pictorial images, known as the Iconoclastic Controversy, was temporarily resolved in 787 when the seventh ecumenical council of the church, the second…
Read More - ChristologyIconoclasm
…a second wave of imperial iconoclasm). Thus, after 787, both parts of Christianity embraced the theological legitimacy of portraits of Jesus, and what followed was the artistic unfolding of this affirmation.
Read More…a second wave of imperial iconoclasm). Thus, after 787, both parts of Christianity embraced the theological legitimacy of portraits of Jesus, and what followed was the artistic unfolding of this affirmation.
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