Byzantine Iconoclasm

Topic

The Byzantine Iconoclasm refers to two historical periods in the Byzantine Empire during the 8th and 9th centuries when the use of religious images and icons was opposed by imperial and religious authorities. This theological and political conflict led to the widespread destruction of icons and the persecution of those who venerated them, deeply dividing the Eastern Christian church. The controversy was ultimately resolved in 843 with the restoration of icon veneration, celebrated as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.