(miniature from the Khludov Psalter )
The Iconoclastic Cathedral ( Ieri Cathedral ) - a meeting of the higher clergy of the Christian church, held in 754 in the palace of Jeria, on the Asian coast of the Bosphorus , between Chalcedon and Chrysopolis (Scutari) at the initiative of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V. At the cathedral, decisions were made condemning the veneration of icons .
The cathedral was attended by 338 bishops of the Christian church in the East . Among them, icon worshipers were not represented [1] , these were iconoclast bishops who took the place of displaced icon worshipers, or bishops who received specially created departments for them. [2] However, subsequently, at the VII Ecumenical Council, many of them renounced iconoclasm and turned to Orthodox Christianity with repentance.
The imperial palace in Jeria (a suburb of Constantinople on the Asian coast of the Bosphorus) was chosen as the place for the cathedral; The last meeting of the cathedral took place in the Vlaherna Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary , which by that time had lost its icon-painting ornaments. Arriving bishops gathered in this church together with Emperor Constantine V. The throne of the Patriarch of Constantinople was vacant after the death of Anastasius , presided at the Council of Theodosius, Bishop of Ephesus [3] . At the insistence of the emperor, the council elected the new bishop of Silla from the Pergian metropolis Constantine as the new patriarch of Constantinople . The churches of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem were not represented at the cathedral. The cathedral was attended by 338 bishops, its main leaders were Sisinia Pastilla , Metropolitan of Pergia Pamfilskaya and Vasily Trikokav , Metropolitan of Antioch of Pisidia.
Meetings of the cathedral lasted from February 10 to August 8. After much discussion, the emperor persuaded all bishops to condemn icon veneration . The following dogmas were approved at the Cathedral of 754:
- Icons were commanded to be read as idols .
- All worshipers of icons were anathematized, including Patriarch Herman of Constantinople .
At the same time, the cathedral did not speak out against veneration of saints, but, on the contrary, declared an anathema to everyone who β does not ask for their prayers, as those who have the daring, according to church tradition, to intercede for peace .β [four]
Oros Cathedral was solemnly proclaimed on August 27 at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, Constantine V was called the 13th apostle and proclaimed anathema to the defenders of icons: German of Constantinople, John of Damascus and George of Cyprus . In the oros of the cathedral it was indicated: [5]
- βSo, being firmly instructed from the inspired Scriptures and the Fathers, and also having established our feet on the stone of the divine service of the spirit, we all, dressed in the priesthood, came to the same conviction in the name of the Holy Trinity and unanimously determine that any icon made from any substance, as well as painted with the help of the wicked art of painters, must be erupted from Christian churches. She is alien to them and deserves contempt β
- βNo man dares to engage in such an ungodly and indecent business. If someone from now on dares to make an icon, or worship it, or put it in a church, or in his own house, or hide it, such if it is a bishop or presbyter, or deacon, let him be deposed, and if a monk or layman, then let him be anathematized, and may he be guilty of royal laws, since he is an opponent of God's precepts and an enemy of paternal dogmas. β
The participants in the council substantiated their decision with references to the Holy Scriptures ( John 4:24 , John 1:18 , John 5:37 , John 20:29 , Deut. 5: 8 , Rom. 1: 23-24 , Rom. 10:17 , 2 Cor. 5:16 ) and the fathers of the church (in the oros there are references to the names of saints Epiphanius of Cyprus , Gregory the Theologian , John Chrysostom , Basil the Great , Athanasius the Great , Amphilochius of Iconium , Theodotus of Ankir and Eusebius of Caesarea). [6]
Although the Cathedral of 754 claimed universal status, its decisions were rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea .
The decrees of the Ieri Cathedral were preserved in the form of quotations in the documents of the Second Council of Nicaea . In the Russian translation this is volume 7 of the Acts of the Ecumenical Councils. At the sixth meeting of the Second Council of Nicaea, the decisions of the Ieria Cathedral were read out by Bishop Gregory of Neocaesarea in parts; deacon of the Great Church, John, and then deacon and Kuvuklisiy ( kouboukleisios ) Epiphanius read after each part of the refutation.
Notes
- β Ostrogorsky G. The beginning of the iconoclastic dispute. Paris, 1930.P. 200
- β Uspensky L. A. A brief history of the iconoclastic period
- β Kartashev A.V. Ecumenical Councils of Klin, 2004.P. 592
- β Resolution of the Iconoclastic Cathedral of 754
- β Kartashev A.V. Ecumenical Councils of Klin, 2004.S. 595
- β Bolotov V.V. History of the Ancient Church vol. IV. Petrograd, 1916.S. 526
Links
- The text of the decisions of the Council
- Iconoclastic Cathedral 754 (A.V. Kartashev. Ecumenical Councils)
- Lukhovitsky L.V. Iery Cathedral // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2009. - T. XXI. - S. 301-304. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-038-7 .
- Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, Volume 7. Act Six.
- Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova Amplissima Collectio Vol 013 p. 245-328.