Second Council of Nicaea

Council · 787 CE · Nicaea, Bithynia

The council defended the place of holy images in Christian life, distinguishing honorable veneration given to icons from worship owed to God alone.

Historical context

Iconoclasm revived after 787; the restoration remembered in 843 followed a later phase. John of Damascus defended images before the council and was not a participant.

Reception

The Oriental Orthodox churches receive the first three councils, not this later council as ecumenical. Non-reception does not imply denial of Christ's complete divinity or humanity. The 1990 commission affirms basic agreement on ancient icon veneration while distinguishing council reception.

Perspective note

Comparative historical/source study. The original author's or church's reception is retained; inclusion does not make every claim Oriental Orthodox teaching. Historical documents retain their original claims. The reception label follows the selected church perspective; library access does not imply assent.

Key points

The defense of icons is tied to the real incarnation of Christ.
Read the definition alongside its distinction between veneration and worship.
The council also issued disciplinary canons, including measures on monastic life and simony.

Scripture

Colossians 1:15 — Christ is called the image of the invisible God.
John 1:14 — The Word became flesh.

Primary sources

The council anathematizes the claim:

Nicaea II rejects treating sacred images as gods, marking a boundary between icon veneration and divine worship.

Anathema to those who say that Christians resort to the sacred images as to gods.
— Second Council of Nicaea, Definition of Faith (Concluding anathemas), trans. Henry Percival, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 14

Passage context and translation

The council's definition distinguishes reverence given to an icon from worship reserved for the divine nature. A similar but differently worded sentence earlier on this page belongs to Basil of Ancyra's confession, not the council's definition.

Before the excerpt

Anathema to those who call the sacred images idols.

After the excerpt

Anathema to those who say that any other delivered us from idols except Christ our God.

Percival translation in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 14; wording is from the anathemas following the council's Definition of Faith.

Sources and further reading

OCA: Iconoclasm and Nicaea II (Orthodox historical overview)
Nicaea II: definition and canons (primary collection) (Primary council texts in translation)
Reception: Armenian Apostolic Church, Western Europe · Faith (Website)
Modern Armenian self-description. Its dating of an official response at Dvin to 506 is not a quotation from surviving council acts.
Reception: Eastern-Oriental Orthodox Joint Commission · Second Agreed Statement (Website)
Joint commission agreement. Section 8 explicitly distinguishes the families' reception of later councils; section 10 submits recommendations to churches for action.

All records