Frankish iconoclasm

Until the end of the VIII century, it is not known about any significant disputes about the cult of images from the Franks. Famous inventories of items of Merovingian art contain references to numerous paintings, but almost all of them have not been preserved. There are no satisfactory explanations for this phenomenon ^[1] . Some evidence from chroniclers may indicate a contradictory attitude to the worship of images in the first half of the eighth century. In general, for this period, neither wearable images that could be called icons, nor oaths on such images, nor the visions of believers are known ^[2] . The only exceptions are miniatures from the Gospel of Gundokhin (754) ^[3], made at a low artistic level.

Under the year 767, the Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks report that "a study began on the holy Trinity and on images of saints, King Pepin convened a council at the estate of , [and] about this study conducted a synod ." In the Annals' versions compiled at different times, this message is somewhat different: in an earlier version, dated around 790, it is said that Pepin convened a “great synod”, and not a “council”, which was then passed by a “synod”. This change in the idea of ​​the status of this collection took place at the end of the reign of Charlemagne (768–814), when the image dispute was in full swing. The details about this cathedral and about the “Trinity study” mentioned here are not known ^{[approx. 1]} , the researchers associated these events with the Franco-Byzantine relations of the time, centered around the possible conclusion of a marriage between the two courts. Ultimately, the union was not concluded, possibly due to the opposition of the papacy , who feared for their possessions in Italy, which could be threatened if such an alliance were concluded ^[5] .

At the , in which 12 Frankish bishops took part, the question of images was not the main one, but for political reasons Pope Stephen III (768-772) was important to prevent the convergence of Byzantium and the state of the Franks. In this regard, it was necessary to show that the iconoclastic policy of the Byzantine emperors of that time was heretical ^[6] . At the initiative of the Franks, the issue of images was considered, and the iconoclasm was condemned by the decision of the cathedral, and the Iconoclast Council of 754 was anathematized ^[7] .

The successor of Stephen III, Pope Adrian I (772-795) entered into a correspondence with the Empress Irene and her son Constantine VI , urging them to abandon iconoclasm. In 787, the ecumenical Second Nicene Council took place, where the veneration of icons was restored. Soon the decision of the cathedral in low-quality Latin translation ^{[approx. 2]} reached the court of Charlemagne. By this time, the Franks made a compromise decision on this issue, condemning both the worship of icons and their destruction. On the instructions of Charles, the acts of the council were studied by his two advisers in matters of theology, Alquin and Theodoulus of Orleans . The refutation of the cathedral they had compiled, Capitulare adversus synodum , was sent to Rome in 792, and Theodolf continued to work on more detailed criticism of the cathedral in his Opus Caroli Regis Synodum ^[9] . In 794, a council in Frankfurt was convened to resolve the issue of attitudes towards the recently emerged adoptionist trend in the Spanish church and the Nicene Council, at which the decisions of the Nicene Council on icons were rejected ^[10] .

In 815, iconoclasm in Byzantium was renewed under the emperor Leo V (813-820) ^[11] . The emperor Louis the Pious (814–840) learned about the onset of the second iconoclastic period in Byzantium from the letter of Emperor Michael II (820–829) ^[12] .

Regardless of these events, Bishop Claudius of Turin conducted a battle with images between 816 and 818 years in his diocese ^[13] .

In 825, with the permission of the Pope in Paris, Louis the Pious assembled a council of bishops and theologians, at which the decisions of the Second Council of Nicene were again condemned. Paris Cathedral condemned both iconoclasts and icon worshipers. According to the Council, worship ( lat. Λατρεία ) befits one God, and forbids the worship of icons, allowing their veneration ( lat. Veneratio ); wrongly equating icons to the Holy Cross; icons are not present for worship, but for the remembrance of godly love ( lat. pro amoris pii memoria ), are an adornment, but for the ignorant - teaching, with such an attitude towards them they do not harm faith ^[14] . At the Paris Cathedral, after careful consideration, it was decided that the images are resolved, but they are not important for faith or worship. The previous decision was confirmed that the images should not be destroyed or worshiped by them ^[15] .

At the Constantinople Council of 869–870, papal legates confirmed the definitions of the Second Council of Nicaea . In the western church, the worship of icons did not receive recognition as an obligatory dogma, but the theoretical foundations of icon veneration in Catholic theology generally corresponded to the Second Nicene Council ^{[16] [17]} .

• McCormick M. Textes, images at iconoclasme dans le cadre des relations entre Byzance et l'occident carolingien // SSCI. - 1994. - V. 41 . - p . 95-158 .
• Noble T. Images, Iconoclasm, and the Carolingians. - University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. - 488 p. - ISBN 978-0-8122-4141-9 .