SECOND COUNCIL OF NICAEA Meaning and
Definition
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The Second Council of Nicaea, also known as the Seventh Ecumenical Council, was a gathering of bishops and church officials held in 787 AD in the city of Nicaea, located in what is now modern-day Turkey. This council was convened by the Byzantine Empress Irene and her son, Emperor Constantine VI, in an attempt to resolve the religious and iconoclastic controversies that had plagued the Byzantine Empire for several decades.
The primary focus of the Second Council of Nicaea was to address the use and veneration of religious icons and images within the Christian Church. Iconoclasm, the opposition to the use of religious images, had been a significant source of division among Christians for years. The council affirmed the legitimacy of icon veneration, declaring it as a means of connecting with the divine and promoting reverence towards God and the saints portrayed in the icons.
Furthermore, the council condemned the previous imperial edicts promoting the destruction of icons and decreed that the veneration of religious images was not idolatrous. It also emphasized the incarnational theology, which acknowledges the role of Christ as the perfect image of God. The Second Council of Nicaea played a crucial role in restoring a sense of unity within the Byzantine Empire and laying the groundwork for the development of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.
Common Misspellings for SECOND COUNCIL OF NICAEA
- Second Counsil of Nicaea
- Second Council of Nicea
- Second Council of Nicae
- Secon Council of Nicaea
- Second Council of Niccea
- Second Council of Nicaia
- Second Council of Nickaea
