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Second Council of Nicaea

Date
787
Place
Nicaea, Bithynia

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What it decided

From 24 September to 23 October 787, with legates of Pope Hadrian I. It restored the veneration of icons: the honorific veneration (proskynesis) given to an image passes to its prototype, while worship (latreia) is due to God alone. It annulled the iconoclast Council of Hieria (754) and issued 22 canons. A first attempt in Constantinople (786) had been broken up by iconoclast soldiers.

Convoked by
Empress Irene (regent for Constantine VI), with Patriarch Tarasius
Canons
22

Who recognises it

Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. The Oriental Orthodox Churches do not count it among their councils. Most Protestant churches do not accept its teaching on the veneration of images.