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Second Council of Nicaea
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Second Council of Nicaea

Christianity [787]
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Quick Facts
Date:
787
Location:
İznik
Turkey
Context:
Byzantine Empire
Key People:
Adrian I
Leo III
See all related content

Second Council of Nicaea, (787), the seventh ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey). It attempted to resolve the Iconoclastic Controversy, initiated in 726 when Byzantine Emperor Leo III issued a decree against the worship of icons (religious images of Christ and the saints). The council declared that icons deserve reverence and veneration but not adoration, which is reserved for God. It was also decreed that every altar should contain a relic, a tradition that has been retained in both modern Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Convoked by the patriarch Tarasius with the support of the empress Irene, the council was attended by delegates of Pope Adrian I, and the pope confirmed the decrees of the council. Its authority was challenged in France as late as the 11th century, however, partly because certain doctrinal phrases had been incorrectly translated. But the original verdict was eventually accepted, and the Second Council of Nicaea was accepted as the seventh ecumenical council.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.