Leo III argued that God had prohibited religious images in the second commandment—“Thou shalt not make any graven image . . .”—whereas iconophiles claimed that the images were a form of worship. Referencing specific works from the chapter,

Question

provide a brief history of the iconoclast controversy, and then construct your own argument for or against the creation of religious images.

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. The Byzantine emperor Leo III, who came to power during the second Muslim siege of Constantinople, began to formulate a position opposing the use of holy images. He understood that the Muslims, who were still regarded as Christian heretics, had barred images from their mosques and, so the logic went, their military successes against the Byzantine Empire were a sign both of God’s approval of their religious practice and disapproval of Byzantium’s. Like the Muslims, Leo argued that anyone worshiping religious images was an idolater and was offending God. The solution was to ban images. Thus was inaugurated a program of iconoclasm, from the Greek eikon (“icon” or “image”) and klao (to “break” or “destroy”), the practice of destroying religious images. In 726, Leo removed the image of Christ above the Chalke (Bronze) Gate of the Imperial Palace in Constantinople, resulting in a pitched battle between his soldiers and iconophiles (“lovers of icons”) in which several soldiers died. In 730, he issued an edict requiring the removal of all religious images from all churches.
2. Students’ arguments about the permissibility/advisability of creating religious images will vary.