Triumph of Orthodoxy
Byzantium was originally a stronghold of Christianity
The founder of the Eastern State put an end to the persecution of Christians, and before his death, Constantine was baptized Today, they and their mother are revered as saints Christianity became the state religion of the country, which subsequently turned into the cradle of enlightenment It was here that seven Orthodox Ecumenical Councils were held, during which they adopted doctrinal statements that became the foundation of the religion The teachings of Christ went through a difficult stage of comprehension and this became a compelling reason for the emergence and development of theology
Theologians conducted a deep analysis of all accumulated religious experience and created postulates that excluded the existence of incorrect interpretations of certain events Christianity in Byzantium went through a long, sometimes painful and painful process of its formation In the Eastern state, icon painting and temple construction actively developed The new churches organically combined the rich heritage of Greek architecture with the modest spiritual symbolism of the first Christian temple complexes In the 8th century, a serious problem was raised - more and more opponents of the idea of venerating icons appeared in society
A person, defending his convictions, can often lead even to absurd reasons to a real massacre The topic of veneration of icons literally split society Proponents of removing all images from temples and churches appealed to the teachings of Moses, which states that God forbade their use Icons became a stumbling block The most active iconoclasts began to descend to vandalism and destruction of ancient monuments, open debates and lively debates were held, and sometimes bloody skirmishes broke out
Popular sentiments were largely influenced by the close proximity to Muslims and Jews The inevitable cultural mixing began in the border regions of the country In Islam, any images of God are strictly taboo The Byzantine Emperor Leo III put an end to these disputes He suffered several severe defeats in wars with the Arabs, after which, on the advice of a bishop from Asia Minor, he imposed a ban on icons It is likely that the ruler was too upset by his failures and looked for their cause in spiritual life, which led him to the idea of actively spreading the forbidden The son of Leo III decided to consolidate his father’s state decision at the church level In order to once and for all ban the use of icons, Constantine convened a special council in Byzantium, consisting of 348 bishops The result was quite expected - icons were considered devilish inventions Those who made them were subject to anathema, that is, excommunication from the church
The fight against icons became a real trend among Byzantine rulers A ray of light briefly appeared from behind the clouds when Emperor Leo IV, reputed to be another ardent iconoclast, died His wife Irina did not share her husband’s views The widow decided to convene another council to reconsider the issue of icons The Council, which later became the Seventh Ecumenical Council, was held in Byzantine Nicaea 367 bishops attended It was decided to lift the ban on the use of icons The explanation was given in an extremely intelligible way - during prayer, a believer does not worship the icon, but the one who is depicted on it, turns to the prototype The icon in this case became a kind of mediator between the believer and God or the saints, just an image of the object of worship, and not an idol, that is, the object of worship itself
This decision did not end the controversy The situation continued to escalate As soon as believers began to restore iconography in Byzantium, they were subjected to new attacks by iconoclasts The decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council was disputed Squabbles and discord continued, but everything was put to an end during the time of Empress Theodora The ban on icons was finally lifted, and churches developed a special order of worship for the holiday, which later became known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy Initially, it was dedicated specifically to the victory over the iconoclasts, but, ultimately, it became a celebration of victory over all heresies that carry a distortion of faith The holiday is celebrated annually, but has a floating date, since the service takes place on the first Sunday of Lent