Before we can fully examine the Byzantine Iconoclasm, we must first understand the icon's definition, form, and function within Byzantium.
What is an Icon?
The word "icon" originated from the ancient Greek eikon, meaning "image" or "likeness." Eikon can also be defined as a "living image" such as a reflection or vision. An icon is a religious work of art most commonly in the Eastern Orthodox that can have various subjects including Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels, saints, and apostles either as portraits or narrative scenes of the holy figures' lives. While commonly associated with painted, wooden panels, the Byzantine icon could be of any size, material, or technique. Icons can be large images in the architecture of churches such as the apse mosaic of the Virgin and Child at Haiga Sophia, or small, portable, even wearable, images used for private worship like the Double-Sided Pendant Icon with the Virgin and Christ Pantokrator.
In Byzantium, an icon was not merely an image. The icon was a representation made holy by two relationships. The first was shared between the figure depicted, known as the "prototype", and their likeness in the image. The second was the relationship between the icon, its prototype, and the worshipper. The first relationship gives the icon its power as the holy essence was believed to exist inside the image of its likeness. The second relationship allowed the prototype to act through its icon and respond to the needs of those who venerated the object in prayer. Veneration was a sensory experience in Byzantium. It was not enough to see the icon but to engage the senses such as touch as well.
What is Iconoclasm?
Iconoclasm literally translates to "image breaking". Iconoclasm refers to the systematic destruction of images, often for political or religious purposes. It is important to note that the Byzantines did not create the concept of iconoclasm, nor is the Byzantine Iconoclasm the only example of this phenomena.
The Byzantine Iconoclasm was a period of conflict that witnessed the organized destruction of religious imagery by the church and state in two distinct phases. The First Iconoclasm was between 726-787 A.D. while the Second Iconoclasm lasted between 814-842 A.D. The conclusion of the Byzantine Iconoclasm saw the reinstation of the image in what is known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
What Caused the Byzantine Iconoclasm?
The Byzantine Iconoclasm was a time of great change for both the church and state with theological, political, and sociological consequences. While the exact causes and points of origin are still debated, it is generally understood to have been in response to the significant rise in the cult of the icon in the years prior to the conflict. For our purposes, we will focus on the religious debate surrounding the role of the image within the church as it was this argumentation that shaped the laws and lives of Byzantium.
See "The Great Debate: Iconoclasts and Iconophiles" to learn more.