Council · Today in 787
Second Council of Nicaea
Nicaea II settled the first great iconoclast crisis by defending the veneration of holy images. The issue was not whether wood and paint should be worshipped; the council distinguished veneration from the worship due to God alone. Its deeper argument was incarnational: because the Word truly became visible flesh, images can bear witness to him. This became the last council accepted as ecumenical by both East and West.
The honor shown to the image passes to the prototype.
Highlights
- Icons were restored.
- Veneration was distinguished from worship.
- John of Damascus's arguments were vindicated.
- It became the last shared ecumenical council of East and West.
How it happened
What happened
The council restored the veneration of icons after decades of iconoclast policy in the Byzantine empire.
The argument
Are icons idolatry, or can images of Christ and the saints be venerated without worshipping matter?
What changed
The council distinguished veneration from worship and defended images on incarnational grounds.
Why it matters
If God truly became visible in Christ, the material world can bear witness to God without becoming an idol.
Book of the day
Three Treatises on the Divine Images
John of DamascusA reading pick tied to today's figure, quote, era, or event. The great defense of icons and a natural closing book for the patristic age.
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