L. V. Lukhovitskiy. Εἰκονολάτραι — Orthodox or Heretics? (pp. 546–558)

Author

L. V. Lukhovitskiy (Lomonosov Moscow State University)

Keywords\n Byzantium, iconoclasm, hagiography, modern Greek historiography, polemical label

Pages\n 546–558

Summary\n

Contemporary Greek scholars use the term εἰκονολάτραι / εικονολάτρες to designate one of the two parties who participated in the iconoclastic controversy in 8–9th-c. Byzantium. Throughout the Byzantine era, however, this designation was never used for the purposes of self identification and carried only negative connotations. It was invented in mid-8th c. by the adversaries of partisans of icon veneration as a derogatory label. Those accused of being εἰκονολάτραι rejected the charge by providing a distinction between λατρευτική (due to Divinity) and σχετική (due to icons) veneration. After their final victory in AD 843, the supporters of icon veneration became simply “orthodox”, and thus every additional term of self identification was rendered unnecessary. Consequently, the label in question was marginalized and became a distinguishing mark of the iconoclastic discourse (it was used by Middle and Late Byzantine hagiographers as a literary device — to imitate the iconoclastic way of thinking and speaking). The same applies to certain post-Byzantine writers.E.g. in compliance with the Byzantine tradition, Eugenios Voulgaris in 1768 mentioned the term εἰκονολάτραι as a pejorative label applied to the Orthodox by the Protestants. The situation changed in mid-19th c. Following a pan-European romantic trend in historical writing, the first modern Greek historians S. Zabelios and C. Paparrigopoulos attempted to reevaluate the history of the Greek Middle ages and to achieve an unbiased view of the iconoclastic controversy. Thus, seeking an appropriate term to designate the partisans of icon veneration, they turned to the iconoclastic polemical vocabulary and borrowed the term εἰκονολάτραι.

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