Iconoclasm in Byzantium
The history of European art places humanity at its center. In the hierarchical world order that replaced the anthropomorphic worldview of antiquity, the depiction of human figures emphasized distinguishing traits rather than individuality. The aim was to indicate the position of the depicted figure within the hierarchy.
Byzantine society's worldview was narrow and vertically oriented. It pointed to the ruler at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, with only God above them. Due to the vast distance between the autocrats and their subjects, the apex began to merge with the celestial sphere, while the subjects were diminished to insignificance.
In the 8th and 9th centuries, the issues of art became intertwined with the doctrinal debates of Christian theology. Disputes over the legitimacy of religious images culminated in the Iconoclastic Controversy, which divided Byzantine society into two hostile camps.
The veneration of images likely originated from the cult of saints and relics. Following Platonic philosophy, an image was considered merely a representation and an inadequate depiction of the ideal. The chief ideologue of the iconophiles in Byzantium was John of Damascus, the most significant thinker of his time. He regarded images as symbols and intermediaries. His arguments preserved pictorial representations from being excluded from medieval culture.
Emperor Leo III (717–741) openly opposed the veneration of images, considering it pagan idolatry. He was influenced by iconoclastic bishops in Asia Minor and may have been prompted by a devastating earthquake, which he interpreted as a sign of divine wrath against image worship. When the emperor's agents destroyed a revered image of Christ, the outraged populace killed them. A rebellion broke out following the declaration of iconoclasm. While the western parts of the empire remained loyal to image veneration and even proclaimed a rival emperor, the rebellion was suppressed.
The iconoclastic movement reached its zenith during the reign of Leo's son, Constantine V (741–775). The emperor combated image worship through administrative measures and theological writings. He argued that the image and the person depicted were entirely identical. He opposed the depiction of Christ, the veneration of images, and the reverence for saints, claiming that Christ's divine nature was beyond representation. God, being ineffable, could not be depicted in human form.
The debate between the two opposing views centered on the doctrine of Christ's incarnation. This explains the intensity of the conflict. The struggle was as significant as any subsequent theological debate. The iconoclasts saw only similarity and difference between an image and its subject, while the iconophiles acknowledged a certain unity: essential difference within existing unity and essential unity within existing difference.
The Council of 754 declared the iconophiles heretics (monophysites) and ordered the destruction of all images. This decree led to relentless conflict, peaking in the 760s. However, the movement's most significant phase ended with the emperor's death.
The informational role of images saved human depiction for art. Images were essential for representing the most powerful figures—the emperor and God in human nature.
The iconoclastic controversy had far-reaching political consequences for the relationship between Rome and Byzantium. The emperor lost influence over the Latin Christians of the West. This initiated the dissolution of the ancient oikoumene and made the universalism of the emperor and the church impossible. The process eventually led to the Great Schism of 1054.
Darkó Jenő "Császárimádó Róma- képromboló Bizánc", Magvető Kiadó, Budapest, 1977