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#From AD 726 when Leo III began his attack on icons until AD 780 when Empress Irene ended the attacks
#Again from AD 815 through AD 843 when [[Theodora, the Empress|Empress Theodora ]] stamped out the attacks permanently
The iconoclasts had support from both inside and outside the Church. Outside the Church, there may have been influence from Jewish and Muslim ideas, and it is important to note that just prior to the iconoclast outbreak Muslim Caliph Yezid ordered the removal of all icons with his territory. Inside the Church there had always existed a "puritan" outlook which saw all images as latent idolatry.
Largely through the work of St. [[John of Damascus]] (AD 759c. 676-826749), who, ironically, was housed in Muslim-controlled lands and therefore outside the reach of the Empire, the iconodules' position won out. He addressed the charges of the iconoclasts thus:
:''Concerning the charge of idolatry: Icons are not idols but symbols, therefore when an Orthodox venerates an icon, he is not guilty of idolatry. He is not worshipping the symbol, but merely venerating it. Such veneration is not directed toward wood, or paint or stone, but towards the person depicted. Therefore relative honor is shown to material objects, but worship is due to God alone.''
[[ar:المجامع المسكونية السبعة]]
[[fr:7e Concile œcuménique]]
[[mk:Седми вселенски собор]]
[[ro:Sinodul VII Ecumenic]]