Iconoclasm

doi:10.1017/9781108556620.015

12 - Iconoclasm

from Part II - Case Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 July 2025

Judith Herrin

Edited by

Richard Flower

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Richard Flower: Affiliation:
University of Exeter

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Summary

The iconoclast refusal to accept the use of images, particularly of Christ, in public and private worship in Byzantium, is often condemned as a heretical movement. But its emphasis on symbolic representations (the Cross and the Eucharist) and on spiritual veneration was essentially a reform of potentially idolatrous church practice.

Keywords

iconoclast iconophile cross portraits of Christ church council

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy , pp. 233 - 251

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556620.015 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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References

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