Monastic politics and vested interests in the inter-iconoclastic years: myths and realities
It used to be generally assumed that there was a solid and obdurate monastic opposition to imperial iconoclasm during the eighth century. But until the period of the Council of Nicaea in 787 there is in fact no reliable evidence to support this contention. Nor is there solid evidence for monastic op...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2020
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| In: |
Konzilien und kanonisches Recht in Spätantike und frühem Mittelalter
Year: 2020, Pages: 239-250 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Monasticism
/ Iconoclasm
/ Politics
/ Council 2. (787 : Nizäa)
/ Council
/ History
/ Church history studies 700-800
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages KCA Monasticism; religious orders KCC Councils SB Catholic Church law |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | It used to be generally assumed that there was a solid and obdurate monastic opposition to imperial iconoclasm during the eighth century. But until the period of the Council of Nicaea in 787 there is in fact no reliable evidence to support this contention. Nor is there solid evidence for monastic opposition to the synod of 754, or to the policies of Constantine V in general, before the events of 765/766, when the monk Stephen was killed and a number of higher-ranking military personnel were executed for plotting against the emperor. Even then, such opposition was highly localised, apparently quite limited, and represented no general opposition. Support for and hostility to imperial religious policy depended chiefly on closeness to the court and the emperors themselves, and thus on the degree of dependency upon the emperors and their court. Until now, it has generally been assumed that individuals or groups opposed or publicly objected to iconoclasm as a question of conscience— iconoclastic ideas posed a fundamental challenge to their understanding of orthodox belief. But were other motives also involved? This short contribution will consider this question in the light of the activities and views of a number of key players in the events of the last decades of the eighth century. |
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| ISBN: | 3110684306 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Internationale Konferenz "Konziliare Entscheidungsfindung in Spätantike und Frühem Mittelalter (6.-Mitte 9. Jh.)" (2017 : Frankfurt am Main), Konzilien und kanonisches Recht in Spätantike und frühem Mittelalter
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/9783110684377-015 |