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The Unbroken Line

The Timeline

From Creation through the Apostles to the present, one faith has been kept whole. Toggle the layers to follow a single thread or overlay several — and see exactly where others departed.

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The Fall
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AD 787 · Nicaea, Bithynia

Second Council of Nicaea

The Second Council of Nicaea, AD 787, restoring the holy icons: Patriarch Saint Tarasius and the assembled fathers venerating an icon of Christ before the haloed Empress Saint Irene and the young emperor Constantine VI — the council that confirmed the veneration of icons.
The Second Council of Nicaea, AD 787, restoring the holy icons: Patriarch Saint Tarasius and the assembled fathers venerating an icon of Christ before the haloed Empress Saint Irene and the young emperor Constantine VI — the council that confirmed the veneration of icons.
Ecumenical CouncilsHeresies & Controversies

Because God took flesh, He can be depicted. The council affirmed the veneration of icons — honor that passes to the prototype — distinguished from the worship due to God alone (Nicaea II, 787).

Precise date