Ideological confrontation between the Church and imperial authority in Byzantium in the early 9th century according to hagiographical evidence

Abstract

The article concerns an iconoclastic definition of the Council of Constantinople of 815, which was proposed by Byzantine Emperor Leo V in the early 9th century. The author returns back to a forgotten discussion that dealt with a reconstruction of the definition made by Paul J. Alexander in 1953. The reconstruction was criticized by other researchers, but hagiography devoted to some contemporaries of the Council makes us to reflect on the Council’s attention to so-called «living images», which were opposed to the pieces of art, and interpretation of Gen. 1, 26. This is an important argument for the image theory, which was emphasized by Alexander. We do not try to make up a fi nal conclusion, but to suggest some reflections for further research.

Keywords

• icon
• iconoclasm
• the theory of the holy image
• the Council of Constantinople of 815
• Methodios I of Constantinople
• Ignatius the Deacon
• Nikephoros I of Constantinople
• Euthymios of Sardis
• hagiography