Icons and Empire: The Papacy’s Battle Against the Emperor’s Heresy
When Gregory, the pope of Rome, stood up to an Emperor
It’s March, and in our Big Editorial Plan for 2025, we’ve reached the point - the 7th and 8th centuries - where we have to start talking again about the Iconoclastic period, a moment in Christian history that was about far more than just art. Iconoclasm was a cultural battle, culminating in a serious crisis, that enveloped discussion about the nature of the Incarnation, the authority of tradition, and the relationship between Church and State.
But instead of repeating the basic story of Byzantine Iconoclasm - the emperors, the edicts and the councils that we’ve already more or less covered - we’re going to push the discussion forward and look at a part of the story that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: how the West responded, and how that response permanently reshaped Christendom, leading to the final divide between East and West; the Great Schism.
Throughout Christian history, Iconoclasm has resurfaced in three major waves, each driven by the same fundamental errors and each leaving behind a legacy of destruction, both physical and spiritual. The first, the Byzantine Iconoclastic Crises (726–787 and 814–843), saw emperors attempt to purge religious images from Christian worship by force, influenced by political pressure, theological misunderstandings, and discomfort with the concept of the material world as a vessel of divine grace.
The second, the Protestant Reformation (16th–17th centuries), revived these errors, leading to the violent destruction of sacred images, altars, and relics across large parts of Europe. The third, Modern Secular and Ecclesiastical Iconoclasm (18th century to today), has taken on subtler but equally damaging forms, from revolutionary anti-Christian attacks on religious art to the quiet abandonment of sacred aesthetics within the Church itself.
But there was a time when the leadership of the western Church said no, we will carry on the traditions, no matter what an emperor says.
We’ve introduced the Byzantine iconoclastic crisis:
When Emperor Leo III began his campaign against icons in the early 8th century, it wasn’t just an Eastern problem. The popes in Rome weren’t having it, and their resistance to Byzantine Iconoclasm set off a chain reaction that ultimately led to the papacy breaking ties with the Eastern emperor, turning instead to the Franks for protection. This shift would culminate in the rise of the Carolingian dynasty and at last the creation of the Holy Roman Empire.
In today’s post for paid subscribers, we’re going to explore how the papacy fought back against Byzantine Iconoclasm, how the rise in power of the Frankish kingdoms in western Europe complicated the issue, and why this period was a crucial step toward the Great Schism, all set against the backdrop of political and theological upheaval.
Buckle up, because this will get complicated - positively Byzantine in fact. I’ve scheduled most of the month of March to get us from the start of Iconoclasm in the East, and the rise of the Carolingians in the West, to the turn of the millennium. We’ll see if we make it.
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The problem with San Vitale, and Ravenna in general, is that the minute you leave, you find you need to turn around and go right back. We were only able to spend a couple of hours, after a rather arduous trip to the island of Torcello in the Venice lagoon the day before. It’s going to need another trip, and with a WAY better camera.
The other day I posted asking people who have subscribed for free to consider upgrading to paid to join us in our more in-depth discussions, and for monthly subscribers to upgrade to annual subscriptions. In the last year this has turned into the work of a lifetime, and its expansion and the growing interest it’s generating has been really encouraging. We’ve been steadily getting 5 - 10 new free subscribers every day. But paid subscriptions haven’t been keeping pace.
I’d like to thank most sincerely the dozen or so people who responded to the post and have joined us.
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The rather haunting hall of late Gothic statues of the Apostles, from our trip last summer to Siena: I’ve still not uploaded all the videos I took. There’s more to come. All the paid and free posts on the site are available to paid members.
Things are expanding, and more plans are in the works to bring more value to subscribers, including a new website. More trips are planned, and I’m starting to find volunteers. Things are happening!
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