Second Council of Nicaea
- proper noun
- In 787, the Second Council of Nicaea established important rules for the veneration of holy images.
Examples
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The decisions made at the Second Council of Nicaea shaped Christian attitudes toward religious images for centuries.
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The Second Council of Nicaea played a pivotal role in ending the first period of iconoclasm.
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Historians often discuss the theological implications of the Second Council of Nicaea.
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The Second Council of Nicaea addressed issues of iconoclasm.
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Did the Second Council of Nicaea change church doctrine?
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The Second Council of Nicaea was crucial in defining how icons should be treated in Christianity.
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Many scholars believe that the Second Council of Nicaea significantly influenced church practices regarding iconography.
Synonyms
A church meeting in 787 AD that said using holy images is allowed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally interpretable: 'Second' + 'Council' + 'of Nicaea' clearly signals an ordinal ecclesiastical assembly held at Nicaea, so a learner who knows the component words can infer it refers to a particular historical church council. However, the detailed doctrinal status and historical significance (e.g., that it was the seventh ecumenical council and condemned iconoclasm) are not derivable from the parts and require background knowledge, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The Second Council of Nicaea is named for the second major meeting of church leaders in the town of Nicaea, where they decided the rules for using holy pictures. They said people may 'honour' but not worship these images and condemned those who destroyed them, so the council is remembered as the meeting that restored religious images.