Icons and Logos: Sources in Eighth-Century Iconoclasm 9781487583576

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Toronto Medieval Texts and Translations 4 ICON AND LOGOS SOURCES IN EIGHTH-CENTURY ICONOCLASM

Iconoclasm is a major topic in the history of the Byzantine Empire; its imposition was a traumatic event, with results lasting over a hundred years. The documents included in this volume, arising from the controversy surrounding the lifting of the ban on icons (sacred images), are of major significance, but until the publication of this book no English translation of the conciliar texts, in their entirety, has been available to scholars working in the field who do not easily read eighthcentury Byzantine Greek. Along with an introduction to the history of the controversy and the theology of the icons, Daniel J. Sahas presents a translation of conciliar texts on the icon debate: the Sixth Session of the iconophile Council of Nicea (787), in which the Definition of the iconoclastic Council of Constantinople (754) was read and refuted, point by point, and the Definition of the Council of Nicea (which became the Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church). The translation is carefully annotated to make the texts as useful as possible to their many modern audiences: scholars and students of medieval history, church history, Christian doctrine and thought, Byzantine studies, Eastern Christianity, and the history of art. DANIEL J. SAHAS is a member of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario; the author of John of Damascus on Islam: The 'Heresy of the Ishmaelites' (Leiden, 1972) and of a number of articles on Byzantine-Muslim relations; and a member of the Executive Committee, and representative of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Canada at the General Board, of the Canadian Council of Churches.

'John, insultingly called by them "Mansur," . . . after he took up his own cross as well as that of Christ, and followed Him, ... sounded his trumpet from the East in favour of Christ and of those who are Christ's.' (357B-C) St John of Damascus. Fresco by Frankos Katelanos, 1548. Monastery of Barlaam, Meteora, Greece. By courtesy of Sobornost!Eastem Churches Review

DANIEL

J.

SAHAS

Icon and Logos: Sources in Eighth-Century Iconoclasm An annotated translation of

the Sixth Session of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea, 787), containing the Definition of the Council of Constantinople (754) and its refutation, and the Definition of the Seventh Ecumenical Council

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London

©

University of Toronto Press 1986 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada Reprinted in 2018

ISBN 0-8020-5645-8 ISBN 978-1-4875-8223-4 (paper)

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Council of Nicaea (2nd : 787) Icon and logos: sources in eighth-century iconoclasm Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0-8020-5645-8 1. Iconoclasm - History - Sources. 2. Icons Cult - Controversial literature. 3. Orthodox Eastern Church and art - History - Sources. I. Sahas, Daniel J. (Daniel John), 194011. Title.

BR240.C68 1986

246'.53

C85-099750-X

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the University of Toronto Press.

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