The aim of this thesis is to review the origin of the cult of icons and the arguments of both the iconophile and iconoclastic sides. While the iconophile side has sources and famous advocates, such as St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John of Damascus, Patriarch Nicephorus and St. Theodore the Studite, the task of extracting the arguments of the iconoclastic side is more difficult due to the deliberate campaign to destroy their texts. For almost a century and a half, the arguments of both sides did not change significantly, but during this time the official doctrine of the Church towards icons was established, adopted by the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which was convened as a response to the iconoclastic council of 754 in Hieria. The conclusions of the latter are one of the rare testimonies of the doctrine of the opponents of icons, who did not find their fellows in the West, from where the Libri Carolini criticized both councils, with an aim to establish an independent position against Byzantine power in church matters.
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