The Council’s Letter to the Emperor and Empress

To our most devout and most serene sovereigns, Constantine and Irene his mother, from Tarasius, the unworthy bishop of your God-protected imperial city, New Rome, and from the whole holy council, which met by the good pleasure of God and at the command of your Christ-loving majesty in the renowned metropolis of Nicaea, the second council to assemble in this city. [a]

Christ our God, who is the head of the church, was glorified, most noble sovereigns, when your heart, which he holds in his hands, gave forth that good word bidding us assemble in his name, so that we might strengthen our hold on the sure, unshakable and God-given truth contained in the church’s doctrines. As your heads were crowned with gold and the most brilliant stones, so your minds were adorned with the precepts of the Gospel and the teachings of the fathers. Being, as it were, the disciples and companions of those whose sound went out into all the earth, you became the leaders in the way of godliness for all who bear the name of Christ. You set out the word of truth clearly and gave a brilliant example of orthodoxy and godliness, so that you were to the faithful like so many burning lamps. The church, which was ready to fall, you held up with your hands, strengthening it with sound doctrine and bringing those who were at odds into the unity of a right judgment. So we may well say boldly that it was through you that the good pleasure of God brought about the triumph of godliness and filled our mouth with joy and our tongue with gladness. And our lips speak these things in a formal decree. For what is more glorious than to uphold the church’s cause, and what else is more fitted to call forth our gladness? [b]

Certain men rose up who had the form of godliness, since they were clothed with the dignity of the priesthood, but who denied its power; and so they earned for themselves the charge of being nothing but priests of Babylon. Of such men the word of prophecy had declared long before that “lawlessness went out from the priests of Babylon.” More than that, they banded together in a sanhedrin like the one Caiaphas held, and became the spreaders of ungodly doctrines. Having a mouth full of cursing and bitterness, they thought to win the upper hand by abusive words. With a slanderous tongue and a pen to match, and objecting to the very terms God himself used, they made up astonishing tales. Then they went on to brand as idol worshipers the royal priesthood and the holy nation, the very people who had put on Christ and by his grace had been kept safe from the folly of idols. With minds set on evil they took unlawful deeds in hand, thinking to put an end altogether to the depicting of the venerable images. So they dug out all the icons that were set in mosaic work, and scraped away those that were done in painted wax, turning the fair beauty of the sacred churches into utter disorder. Among deeds of this kind it should be especially noted that they gave to the flames the pictures set up on panels in memory of Christ our God and of his saints. Finally, in a word, they desecrated our churches and reduced them to complete confusion. Then some bishops became the leaders of this heresy. Where before there had been peace, they stirred up strife among the people, and instead of wheat they sowed weeds in the church’s fields. They mixed wine with water and gave the foul drink to those around them. Though they were nothing but Arabian wolves, they hid themselves in sheep’s clothing, and tried by plausible reasoning against the truth to recommend their lie. But all the while “they hatched asps’ eggs and wove a spider’s web,” as the prophet says; and “whoever would eat of their eggs, having crushed one, found it rotten, with a basilisk inside it,” giving off a deadly stench. [c]

In such a state of affairs, with a lie busy destroying the truth, you, most gracious and most noble sovereigns, did not idly allow so grave a plague and such soul-destroying error to go on long in your day. Moved by the divine Spirit who dwells in you, you set yourselves with all your strength to root it out completely, and so to keep the government of the church steady and harmony among your subjects, so that your whole empire might be established in peace, in keeping with the name Irene that you bear. You rightly reasoned that it could not be patiently endured that, while in other matters we could be of one mind and live in harmony, there should yet be strife and division among us in what ought to be the chief concern of our life, the peace of the churches; and that too when, with Christ as our head, we ought to be members of one another and one body through our agreement with one another and our faith. So you commanded our holy and well-attended council to assemble in the metropolis of Nicaea. You did this so that, once we had rid the church of division, we might bring the separated members back into unity, and take care to tear apart and utterly destroy the coarse cloak of false doctrine that they had woven out of thorn fiber, and unfold again the fair robe of orthodoxy. [g]

And now, having carefully traced the traditions of the apostles and fathers, we speak boldly. Being of one mind by the breath of the most Holy Spirit, all knit together in one, and understanding the harmonious tradition of the catholic church, we are in full harmony with the agreed teachings set out by the six holy and ecumenical councils. Accordingly we have anathematized the madness of Arius, the frenzy of Macedonius, the senseless thinking of Apollinaris, the man-worship of Nestorius, the irreverent mixing of the natures devised by Eutyches and Dioscorus, and the many-headed hydra that keeps them company. We have also anathematized the idle tales of Origen, Didymus and Evagrius, and the doctrine of one will held by Sergius, Honorius, Cyrus and Pyrrhus; or rather, we have anathematized their own evil will. Finally, taught by the Spirit, from whom we have drawn pure water, we have with one accord and one soul wiped out altogether, with the sponge of the divine doctrines, the newly devised heresy that sprang up after these and well deserves to be ranked with them, which uttered such empty nonsense about the sacred icons. And the contrivers of this empty but revolutionary babbling we have cast far out from the precincts of the church. [h]

As the hands and feet move at the direction of the mind, so we, having received the grace and strength of the Spirit, and having also the help and cooperation of your royal authority, have with one voice declared as godliness and proclaimed as truth that the sacred icons of our Lord Jesus Christ are to be had and kept, since he was truly man; also those that set out what is told as history in the Gospels; and those that represent our undefiled Lady, the holy Mother of God; and likewise those of the holy angels (for they have shown themselves in human form to those who were counted worthy to see them), or of any of the saints. We have also decreed that the brave deeds of the saints are to be portrayed on panels and on the walls, and on the sacred vessels and vestments, as has been the custom of the holy catholic church of God from ancient times. This custom was regarded as having the force of law in the teaching both of the holy leaders who lived in the first ages of the church and of their successors, our reverend fathers. We have likewise decreed that these images are to be reverenced, proskynein, that is, that greetings are to be offered to them. The reason for using this word is that it has a twofold meaning. For kynein in the old Greek language means both “to greet” and “to kiss,” and the preposition pros adds to it the idea of strong desire toward the one greeted. So, for example, we have phero and prosphero, kyro and proskyro, and so also kyneo and proskyneo. This last word implies greeting and strong love; for what someone loves he also reverences, and what he reverences he greatly loves. The everyday custom we keep toward those we love bears witness to this, and both ideas are shown in practice when two friends meet. This word is not only used by us; we also find it written down by the ancients in the divine Scriptures. For it is written in the histories of the Kings, “And David rose up and fell on his face and reverenced (prosekynese) Jonathan three times and kissed him.” And what does the Lord say in the Gospel about the Pharisees? “They love the places of honor at feasts and greetings (aspasmous) in the marketplaces.” It is plain that by “greetings” here he means reverence (proskynesis). For the Pharisees, being very proud and thinking themselves righteous, were eager to be reverenced by everyone, and not merely to be kissed; for receiving greetings of that kind smacked too much of lowliness, and that was not to the Pharisees’ liking. We also have the example of Paul the divine apostle, as Luke relates in the Acts of the Apostles: “When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. On the next day Paul went in with us to James, and all the presbyters were present. And when he had greeted (aspasamenos) them, he related one by one the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.” By the greeting mentioned here the apostle plainly meant to give the reverence of honor (timetike proskynesis) that we show to one another, and of which he speaks when he says of Jacob that “he reverenced (prosekynesen) the top of his staff.” With these examples agrees what Gregory, called the Theologian, says: “Honor Bethlehem, and reverence (proskyneson) the manger.” [j]

Now who among those who understand the divine Scriptures rightly and sincerely has ever supposed that these examples we have cited speak of the worship in spirit (latreia)? Certainly no one ever has, except perhaps some people wholly without sense and ignorant of all knowledge of the Scriptures and of the teaching of the fathers. Surely Jacob did not adore (elatreusen) the top of his staff? And surely Gregory the Theologian does not bid us adore (latreuein) the manger? By no means. [m]

Again, when we offer greetings to the life-giving cross, we sing together: “We reverence your cross, O Lord, and we also reverence the spear that opened the life-giving side of your goodness.” This is plainly nothing but a greeting, and is called one, and its character is shown by our touching the things named with our lips. We grant that the word proskynesis is often found in the divine Scriptures and in the writings of our learned and holy fathers for the worship in spirit, since, being a word of many meanings, it can be used for that kind of reverence which is service. There is also the veneration of honor, love and fear; it is in this sense that we venerate your glorious and most noble majesty. There is another veneration that comes from fear alone, as Jacob venerated Esau. Then there is the veneration of gratitude, as Abraham reverenced the sons of Heth for the field he received from them as a burial place for Sarah his wife. And finally, those who hope to obtain some gift venerate those above them, as Jacob venerated Pharaoh. Therefore, because this term has these many meanings, the divine Scriptures, when they teach us, “You shall venerate the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve,” say simply that veneration is to be given to God, but do not add the word “only.” For veneration, being a word of wide meaning, is an ambiguous term. But they go on to say, “him only shall you serve (latreuseis),” for to God alone do we give latria. [n]

Since the things we have decreed are so well supported, it is admittedly and beyond all question acceptable and well-pleasing before God that the images of our Lord Jesus Christ as man, and those of the undefiled Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, and of the honored angels and of all the saints, should be venerated and greeted. And if anyone does not so believe, but sets out to debate the matter further and is ill-disposed toward the veneration due to the sacred images, our holy ecumenical council, strengthened by the inward working of the Spirit of God and by the traditions of the fathers and of the church, anathematizes him. Now anathema is nothing less than complete separation from God. For if any are quarrelsome and will not obediently accept what has now been decreed, they are only kicking against the goads and injuring their own souls in their fight against Christ. And by taking pleasure in the insults offered to the church, they plainly show themselves to be among those who madly make war on godliness. They are therefore to be counted in the same class as the heretics of old, as their companions and brothers in ungodliness. [o]

We have sent our brothers and fellow priests, the God-beloved bishops, together with some of the abbots and clergy, to give a full report of our proceedings to your godly ears. In proof and confirmation of what we have decreed, and also for the assurance of your most devout majesty, we have submitted proofs from the fathers, a few out of the many we have gathered to show the brightly shining truth. [p]

And now may the Savior of us all, who reigns with you and who was pleased to grant his peace to the churches through you, preserve your reign for many years, and also your council, your nobles and your faithful army, and the whole state of the empire; and may he also give you victory over all your enemies. For it is he who says, “As I live, says the Lord, those who glorify me I will glorify.” It is he also who has girded you with strength, and who will strike down all your enemies and make your people rejoice. [q] And you, city, the new Zion, rejoice and be glad, you who are the wonder of the whole world. For although David did not reign in you, still your devout sovereigns preside over your affairs here as David would have done. The Lord is in your midst; may his name be blessed forever and ever. Amen. [r]