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12 - Iconoclasm

from Part II - Case Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2025

Richard Flower
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
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Summary

The iconoclast refusal to accept the use of images, particularly of Christ, in public and private worship in Byzantium, is often condemned as a heretical movement. But its emphasis on symbolic representations (the Cross and the Eucharist) and on spiritual veneration was essentially a reform of potentially idolatrous church practice.

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References

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  • Iconoclasm
  • Edited by Richard Flower, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy
  • Online publication: 17 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556620.015
Available formats
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  • Iconoclasm
  • Edited by Richard Flower, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy
  • Online publication: 17 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556620.015
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Iconoclasm
  • Edited by Richard Flower, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy
  • Online publication: 17 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556620.015
Available formats
×