Council of Hieria

The Council of Hieria, held in 754 AD, was an assembly of Byzantine Church leaders convened by Emperor Constantine V. It aimed to address the controversy of iconoclasm, which involved the rejection or destruction of religious images. The council concluded that the veneration of icons was heretical and affirmed the destruction of images in churches. This decision reflected the broader tensions within Christianity during that period, particularly between iconoclasts (those against images) and iconodules (those in favor). The council's decrees were influential but later overturned by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which restored the veneration of icons.