synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...
s held in
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
in the year 731 under the authority of Pope Gregory III to defend the practice of
Icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
Bishop of Rome
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
in February 731, he wrote a series of letters to the Iconoclast
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
Leo III, expressing his condemnation of the practice of Iconoclasm and the persecution of the traditional venerators of religious images in the east. Gregory handed the letters to an envoy, a priest named George, with orders to deliver them to the eastern emperor directly. However, upon reaching
, George was afraid of incurring the emperor’s wrath, and so he returned to Rome without having delivered the letters.Mann, pg. 205
Infuriated by George’s actions, Gregory summoned a synod sometime before October 731, with the intent of stripping George of his priesthood. However, the Synod, after confirming the importance of expressing the Roman Church’s opposition to iconoclasm, recommended that George merely be reprimanded. He was to perform a penance for his unwillingness to complete his assigned task, and for the Pope to dispatch him again to Emperor Leo III with the pope’s letters.
Second Synod
When George resumed his commission, he only made it as far as
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...
'' Sergius on Leo’s orders and held in prison for over a year. In response to this, Gregory summoned a new synod which met in Rome, at the shrine of
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupat ...
, on November 1, 731. Ninety-three western bishops participated, including Anthony,
Patriarch of Grado
This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy). '' Archbishop of Ravenna
This page is a list of Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1985, of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia. and condemned iconoclasm as a
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...
. They also decreed that:
”if anyone, for the future, shall take away, destroy, or dishonour the images of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of His Mother, the immaculate and glorious Virgin Mary, or of the Saints, he shall be excluded from the body and blood of Our Lord and the unity of the Church.”
Gregory then entrusted a new letter in favour of icons to the ''
Defensor
Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Defensor (comics), a character in ''Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions''
* Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise
People
*Defensor, a ...
'' Constantine who was to take it to the emperor. He was also imprisoned in Sicily, and the letter confiscated. Representatives of various Italian cities who also attempted to send similar letters to Constantinople had the same result. Gregory made a final attempt, this time entrusting two letters to his new ''Defensor'' Peter, one for
Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople
Anastasius (Greek: Ἀναστάσιος), (? – January 754) was the patriarch of Constantinople from 730 to 754. He had been proceeded by patriarch Germanos I (715 — 730). Anastasios was heavily involved in the controversy over icons (imag ...
, and one for the two emperors, Leo and his son Constantine, without success.
In response to the synod’s opposition to iconoclasm, in 733 Leo sent out a fleet under the command of the ''strategos'' of the
Cibyrrhaeot Theme
The Cibyrrhaeot Theme, more properly the Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots ( gr, θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν, thema Kibyrrhaiōtōn), was a Byzantine theme encompassing the southern coast of Asia Minor from the early 8th to the late 12th centuries. ...
, but it was shipwrecked in the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
. He then confiscated papal territory in Sicily and Calabria, and raised taxes there. Further, he not only removed Sicily and Calabria from the jurisdiction of the pope, but he also did the same to all the territory within the former
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...
, transferring it to the authority of the
Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
, although at that time in practice it only meant Byzantine Greece and the Aegean islands, which were under the emperor’s direct control.
The synod also ruled on the ongoing quarrel over the jurisdiction of the Patriarchs of
Grado
Grado may refer to:
People
* Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress
* Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer
* Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver
* Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso
* ...
and
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river ...
. It ruled that the Patriarch of Grado was to be the primate over the entirety of Venetia and
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
, while the Patriarch of Aquileia would only retain ecclesiastical control over
Cormons
Cormons or Cormòns ( sl, Krmin, german: Kremaun) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia.
Cormons borders the f ...
.Mann, pg. 211
References
* Treadgold, Warren, ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society'' (1997)
* Hefele, Charles Joseph; Clark, William R. (trans.), ''A History of the Councils of the Church from the Original Documents'', Vol. V (1896)
* Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. I: The Popes Under the Lombard Rule, Part 2, 657–795'' (1903)