Byzantine Empire Restores Veneration of Icons
Byzantine rulers and church leaders had contested the religious use of images through two major periods of iconoclasm beginning in the eighth century. After Emperor Theophilos died, Empress Theodora governed as regent for their young son Michael III and supported a settlement favoring sacred images. Patriarch Methodios replaced the iconoclast patriarch John, and a council affirmed the restoration of icon veneration. On March 11, 843, the first Sunday of Lent, clergy, rulers, and worshippers carried icons in a ceremonial procession to Hagia Sophia. The commemoration became known as the Triumph or Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Why it matters: The restoration ended the Byzantine state's second and final official iconoclast period. It secured the place of icons in Eastern Christian worship and visual culture, influenced artistic production throughout the Orthodox world, and remains commemorated annually on the first Sunday of Lent. The settlement became a defining expression of Byzantine religious identity.