The Twelve Days of Christmas

Up until now, I had no idea what the song had to do with Christmas. Why French hens, maids a milking? This must have been something for the wealthy. I have not researched the explanation below for veracity, but it reminded me we are all indeed rich by the love of Christ and our future inheritance.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.

Only the Church...

Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks…

Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.

- Albert Einstein, Time magazine, 23rd December, 1940 p. 38

Pope St. Gregory the Great

Pope St. Gregory the Great reigned from 590-604 A.D. He is the second out of four popes to be called "the Great." His pontificate marked the advent of the medieval papacy. He is considered the fourth doctor of the Church and the founder of medieval spirituality. His feast day is on September 3. (March 12 in the 1962 calendar.) St. Gregory came from a wealthy, privileged and influential background. He was extremely well-educated and Gregory of Tours praised his education as being "second to none."

St. Gregory had a very successful public career and attained a powerful position, urban prefect, by the age of thirty. He also served as a deacon for Pope Pelagius II and later as a papal representative to the Byzantine Court.

St. Gregory was one of the richest men in Rome. Unlike his equally successful colleagues, St. Gregory used his wealth to found seven monasteries in Rome. Forsaking all wealth, he converted to the monastic life in 573 A.D. Throughout his writings it is evident that St. Gregory considered his three years in the contemplative life at St. Andrew's monastery on his family estate as the happiest of his life.

A reticent monk...

St. Gregory was elected Pope after his predecessor, Pelagius II, had surrendered to the deathly plague roaming through Italy at the time. He became the first monk to be elected to the throne of St. Peter and was extremely hesitant to lead a city cursed with plagues, famines, and wars: "Farms and houses were carried away by the floods. The Tiber overflowed its banks, destroying numerous buildings, among them the granaries of the Church with all the store of corn. Pestilence followed on the floods and Rome became a very city of the dead. Business was at a standstill, and the streets were deserted save for the wagons which bore forth countless corpses for burial in common pits beyond the city walls."

He wrote to the Emperor Maurice strongly protesting his election. While he was waiting for a response from the Emperor, St. Gregory, in reaction against the plague, organized a procession to the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin. During the procession, St. Gregory and the people saw a vision of St. Michael, which symbolized that the plague was over.

St. Gregory was unsuccessful in changing the Emperor's or the people's mind on his election to the papacy. It is said that he was so horrified at the news of his election to the Holy See that he considered escaping. There is a legendary story which tells of St. Gregory, horrified at the prospect of becoming Pope, hiding in the forest for three days to avoid consecration! Although it does not seem to be historically accurate, it makes for a dramatic story. Despite his "Great" pontificate, St. Gregory never ceased to regret his election.

"Servant of the Servants of God"

St. Gregory was the first to refer to himself as, "Servus Servorum Dei." The title has been inherited and used frequently by subsequent popes.

Once St. Gregory came to terms with his new role, the word that best describes the last fourteen years of his life and his pontificate is zeal. Although he had a brief pontificate, some consider him the “greatest of the great,” because of his numerous efficacious achievements and his personal devotion and holiness, despite his poor health.

On the political front, St. Gregory, "secured the grain supply for Rome, sent troops against the Lombards, secured defense of Naples, paid ransoms when necessary to buy off soldiers, and was eventually forced to become paymaster, defraying the daily expenses of defending Rome."

The greatest challenge St. Gregory faced politically was regarding the Lombards. He wanted to establish and maintain a peace treaty with the double aim of converting them from their heretical Arian views. His attempts at peace created tension between him and Emperor Maurice because his success would advance the political importance of Rome over the Byzantine Court. Moreover, similar to Pope St. Leo, St. Gregory emphasized Rome's premier position with the rival sees and patriarchs.

It was his involvement with the Lombards which increased the temporal power of the papacy. One is reminded of St. Leo's encounter with Attila the Hun in learning of St. Gregory's famous meeting with the Lombard king, Agilulf, on the steps of St. Peter's. A peace treaty with the Lombards was accomplished in 598 and through his diplomatic progress with the Lombards, the catholization of the Lombards was underway. This was a huge step in the final defeat of Arianism by the 7th C. (Sadly, once Arianism was over, the Islamic invasions were beginning...)

One can not discuss the papacy of St. Gregory the Great without mentioning his commitment and perhaps obsession with reforming abuses prevalent in the Church at the time. He convened a noteworthy council in Rome in the year 595 and promptly abolished acceptance of any fees for ordinations or for the granting of the pallium. He also forbade an old traditional practice of charging very high prices for burying the dead in privileged places in the churches. Other abuses he sought to correct included simony, seizure of land, privileges and ecclesiastical reforms. He wrote in a letter, “We do not wish the purse of the Church to be polluted by shameful gains.”

St. Gregory, a fearless politician and pope, had a deep and great love for the poor. Every day he invited twelve poor people to dine with him. He was criticized for leaving the treasury empty when he died because of his generosity to the poor. He was also a huge defender of religious paintings and deemed them "the books of the unlearned."

Despite these difficult challenges within the city of Rome, St. Gregory believed it was his primary duty to cultivate the spiritual life by his writing and preaching.

"Pastoralis Curae"

St. Gregory's conviction was that preaching was one of the first duties of a bishop. Thus he did not spend time building churches as other popes had and would in the future.

Thus, he was a prolific writer—preserved are 850 letters of his. One of his most important works is his book on pastoral care, which he composed for bishops. St. Gregory felt the weight of his pontificate and the responsibility he had to provide his sheep with good and holy shepherds, the bishops. He was also strongly concerned with bishops being involved in too many worldly and temporal affairs, which admittedly he struggled with himself.

Gregory the "Consul of God"

There is a story that recounts St. Gregory encountering some “Anglo” pagans to which Gregory remarked, “Ah, what a pity that the author of darkness owns such fair faces, and that, with such grace of outward form, they should lack inward grace!”

He is known to the English as "The Apostle of the Island" because he is responsible for England coming to the Faith by sending St. Augustine of Canterbury and monks to proselytize there.

Earlier, St. Gregory had planned to become a missionary to England himself despite Pope Pelagius’ reluctance in giving him permission. However, the people were determined to keep their beloved Gregory in Rome. Later, St. Gregory advised St. Augustine of Canterbury not to destroy the pagan temples in England but to re-consecrate them for Christ. In this way, he set the method for missionaries of the future.

The French historian Jean Leclerq said of Gregory's influence in the Middle Ages, "Everyone...had read him and lived by him." Further, "Gregory's concern with the moral meaning of Scripture, his concerns with suffering and evil, his attitudes defining the proper exercise of power, and his view of the centrality of the church and its sacraments all foreshadow later medieval views, as does his vision of an invisible world of demons and angels surrounding men and women in everyday life ready to wreak havoc or extend aids as executor's of God's will."

St. Gregory's poor health did not prevent him from speaking to his loved ones, his people. One of these such occasions caused him to speak with moving tenderness: “But if my mouth has been silent, do not think that my love has grown cold. It happens sometimes that, even in the midst of the occupations which hinder me, love is glowing in my heart although it can not show itself in deeds….”

His preaching, although not as brilliant and eloquent as the first "Great", “has a simplicity and familiarity that Leo does not know.”

Pope St. Gregory the Great, pray for us. +

Pope St. Leo the Great

Pope St. Leo the Great is the first of only four popes in Church history to be called "the Great." He reigned 21 years from 440-461 A.D. Of the 265 Popes, he is also one of only two popes to be proclaimed a doctor of the church. His feast day is celebrated on November 10. (April 11 in the 1962 calendar.)

His chief aim was to preserve the unity of the Church, the unity of Christendom. He is thus known to us as the "Doctor of the Unity of the Church."

In his epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul exhorts the Church to "stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not (to be) frightened in anything by your opponents." (Philippians 1:27-28)

Leo, a true lion, was unafraid to strongly use papal power to preserve the unity of Christendom. He rightly understood that the glue that holds the unity of Christendom is obedience and allegiance to the Pope. Here are some of his last words from a letter, "the same medicine must be applied to all wounds in all places, in order that the Lord's flock may all be restored in all churches through the zeal of the shepherds, and so that through concern for charity, all Christ's sheep may feel that they have one shepherd."

Papal Primacy and Unity in Christ

Pope St. Leo the Great understood well his mission and authority in holding the office of St. Peter, the first pope.

It can be argued that the greatest thing Pope Leo did was to strengthen papal power by making a bold claim to the legitimacy of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome as the inheritance of the office that St. Peter himself was given by Christ. Leo took seriously Christ's words, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16: 19)

The concern for unity is what motivated Leo to frequently expound the traditional position that the Bishop of Rome is the successor of St. Peter who is the visible head of the Universal Church. He saw the the bishop of Rome as a "symbol of faith in unity, a sacramental representation of the Church's being one in Christ."

For this reason, Leo strongly fought against the heresies in his day: Priscillianism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Manicheanism, and Monophysitism.

"Peter has spoken through Leo!:" Leo's Tome and the Monophysite Heresy

About 10 years prior to Leo's election to the throne of St. Peter, the third ecumenical council of the Church, the Council of Ephesus, had defeated the Nestorian heresy which claimed that in Christ were two persons and that Mary was the "Christokos" (Christ-bearer in Greek) and not the "Theotokos" (God-bearer in Greek). This means that she is only the mother of the human person, not the divine person. However, Jesus is one person, with both human and divine natures. The council defeated this heresy on Christ and thus rightly proclaimed Mary to be the Mother of God, since Jesus is God. (Mother of the Word made flesh, not Mother of God the Father, Creator of the Universe.)

During Leo's pontificate, another attack on orthodox Christology came through the Monophysite heresy. Monophysitism denies the two natures (human and divine) in the one person of Jesus Christ. They believed Christ had only one divine nature. In 449 A.D., the monk Eutyches and his Monophysite followers held the 2nd Council of Ephesus which affirmed this heresy. Pope Leo deemed the council a "Robber Synod," and called the true third general council, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. At the council, Leo's Tome (his book on the Monophysite heresy)was finally read (it had been ignored at the "Robber Synod") and the heresy was defeated. The bishops (only four came from the West, most were from the East) cheered, "Peter has spoken through Leo!" This cry from the (remember, largely Eastern!) bishops should be instructive for those who accuse the papacy of being a man-made or medieval invention. Four centuries after Peter: "Peter has spoken through Leo!"

Powerful words, indeed.

Leo's Tome is called, "the plain man's guide to the doctrine of the Incarnation."

Leo's role in defeating this terrible heresy was integral to preserving the traditional understanding Christ's personhood and nature. His leadership and strength also reaffirmed the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. At this council, Leo rejected the passing of Canon 28 which tried to make the Patriarch of Constantinople equal in authority with Rome.

The Lion versus Attila the Hun, the "scourge of God"

In history, the Huns are remembered as the savages they were. Attila, their leader, was known as "the scourge of God." Interestingly enough, Attila was also a learned man and was fluent in Latin. In 452 A.D., General Orestes was a Roman politician at the time and had conspired with Attila to attack Rome. Pope St. Leo persuaded Attila not to sack the great city. So impressive was this encounter with Attila, that art has preserved its memory and legacy through Raphael's work.

Another impressive, diplomatic encounter occurred when Genseric the Vandal was persuaded by Leo to spare the lives of the Romans by not burning the city. Genseric agreed and he and his men only looted the city.

It is said of Leo that during his time, "he was the only truly great historical figure in either the Church or the civil order...Pope St. Leo the Great was the one man who, by the clarity and vision of the Church as one and universal, and by the force of his own administration, did much to fashion the framework on which European civilization could grow in an essential unity."

Leo the Saint

As Pope, Leo was as fierce as a lion in proclaiming orthodox doctrines and uniformity in disciplines according to canon law. As pastor, he was as gentle as a lamb when dealing with his sheep. In a letter to Anastasius, the Bishop of Thessalonica, he writes, "Although men of priestly rank sometimes do things that are to be reprimanded, yet kindness may have more effect on those who are to be corrected than severity: exhortation than perturbation, love than power."

Like all holy and saintly men, Leo was also humble. On one of his pontifical anniversaries he expressed, "St. Peter rejoices over your good feeling and welcomes your respect for the Lord's own institution as shown towards the partners of His honor, commending the well-ordered love of the whole Church which ever finds Peter in Peter's See, and from affection for so great a shepherd grows not lukewarm over even so inferior a successor as myself."

Pope St. Leo the Great, pray for us. +

The English Accident-Part 2

In 1547, Henry VIII died. He was succeeded by his young, sickly son Edward VI. Since he was only nine years old this was Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer's chance to de-Catholicize England.

In 1548, the first edition of the Book of Common Prayer was published. Of course, the book is entirely Protestant as he was. He sends a copy of it to both Luther and Calvin and they criticize it highly for still being "too Catholic." In 1552, his second edition is published. All references to the mass are now called "the Lord's Supper."

When Edward VI died at the age of 16, the populace was in favor of Mary Tudor (Catherine of Aragon's daughter) ascending to the throne. The people were Catholic and wanted a Catholic queen. They did not consider Ann Boleyn's marriage to Henry legitimate and so neither was her daughter Elizabeth. Parliament, however, was in favor of Lady Jane Grey. The populace revolted and Mary Tudor became queen in 1553. She felt it her mission to restore the Faith in England. Her first step was to send Cranmer to the Tower. In his place, Cardinal Reginald Pole, equally faithful to the Pope, was elected.

"Bloody Mary"

Thanks to anti-Catholic history textbooks, Mary Tudor is remembered in this unfair way. During her entire reign, she was very popular with her subjects. Without them, she would not have been able to take the throne. She did make the mistake of burning 300 heretics; however, her successor, Elizabeth I, burned over 700 Catholics and perhaps even more. Elizabeth, of course, is remembered as "Good Queen Bess."

Another mistake Mary made was to marry Phillip II. He was a very good man and loyal to the Church but he was a Spaniard and this did not sit well with the English people during a time of the increasing use of the vernacular languages and the rise of nationalism.

When both Mary and Archbishop Pole died in 1558 (on the same day!), so did any chance for Catholicism to survive in England.

Her legitimate successor was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who was Henry VIII's great-niece. However, through the political shenanigans of Parliament, Elizabeth I took the throne and reigned for 45 years. Raised thoroughly Protestant, she refused to attend mass on her first Christmas or receive the Eucharist at her own coronation mass. This "greatest English monarch" however, was merely a figurehead and was controlled by a man named William Cecil. He is known as the "architect of Protestant England." He wanted to protect his wealth and did so quite cleverly. He supported the Protestant movement in Scotland and in the Netherlands. In 1559, he was the impetus behind the Elizabethan Act of Supremacy and Oath of Loyalty. He was also behind the Act of Uniformity which abolished the mass, mandated Anglican services and reinstated Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer. He made it a capital crime to be a Catholic. In 1563, the Anglican 39 Articles was released. It was also a crime to associate with the Jesuits.

Those who did, like St. Margaret Clitherow, were killed. She was hiding priests and was killed by suffocating from rocks and planks.

In 1570, Pope St. Pius V wrote Regnans in Excelsis. against Elizabeth and ex-communicated her in 1571.

Cecil used the ex-communication to his great political advantage. He called the Pope a "Roman prince" and suggested to the English people that one can not truly be English and Catholic. This idea begins to stick with the populace.

In 1603, Elizabeth died. The mass and the Catholic way of life is deteriorating and some do not know or remember what it was like. James I became King (He is famous for the King James Version of the Bible) in 1603. Although his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was a Catholic and was imprisoned for 20 years and executed because of it, he has been raised as a Protestant and under his reign is the complete eradication of the Faith in England.

The English Accident-Part I

Catholic thinker Hilaire Belloc posited that the English Reformation (The Reformation in England) was an Accident. He believed this because King Henry VIII and his people were thoroughly Catholic, in both mind and manner, as well as belief. What caused this break was not an attack on the Church-the priesthood, the sacraments, the doctrines-but was a schism in order to obtain a divorce from his wife Catherine of Aragon of Spain. Belloc also posited that had England not fell, Europe would have been saved from the Protestant movement.
It would have died out as all other previous ones had.

This "accidental" circumstance in England is very different than what was going on at the same time in the Empire (the German nation-states-the Lutheran movement) as well as in Geneva where John Calvin was spreading his brand of Protestantism. The difference between the Reformation in England and in Geneva can be understood by noting that during Henry VIII's "series of unfortunate events," the mass and the whole of Catholic life continued to be celebrated and lived as it had been for more than a thousand years. At the same exact time in history (1530s) in Geneva, the Protestants had taken control of the nation-state and by 1535, the mass was banned. The idea of banning the mass in England, however, would have been a horrifying thought to the monarch.

The impetus in denying papal authority for Henry was his selfishness in wanting Anne Boleyn to be his wife. He had wanted her to be his mistress as her older sister had been, but she refused and insisted on being his wife---and Queen. Church historian Warren Carroll argued that the whole argument of Henry's desire to produce a male heir is exaggerated and that it was his obsession with Anne that led to the schism. Henry had already produced an heir, Mary Tudor, with his legitimate wife, Catherine. The Pope had granted Henry the permission to hold a Tribunal to discuss the marriage case but that the final decision would be Rome's. The fact that the Pope allowed such an ecclesiastical court to gather was novelty in itself!

Cardinal Wolsey, the Archbishop, convinced Henry that Pope Clement VII would grant him an annulment from Catherine. When he turned out to be wrong, Wolsey was replaced by St. Thomas More.

However, it was not Henry, but his prime minister Thomas Cromwell (see picture), who is understood to be the true creator and architect of the English reformation. Here's his novel contribution: (it reminds me the serpent whispering in Eve's ear...)

"Henry, why does the Church have to be controlled by the Pope? You could be the head of the Church in England."

Besides this idea, Cromwell also convinced Henry to dissolve ALL the monasteries in England. By 1540, Henry, Cromwell, and the avaricious nobility had run all the religious out and had seized the wealth and the lands for themselves. Interestingly enough, that same year, 1540, Cromwell fell out of favor with Henry and was executed. (What good is it to gain the whole world...) The dissolution of the monasteries is what later made it harder to reunite with the Church--they would have to return the lands and money.

Under Cromwell's influence, Henry passed three religious mandates in order to deal with his marital problems, or rather, satiate his sexual appetite:

1. He is the head of the Church, not the Pope.
2. He has the right to approve, reject, modify ecclesiastical laws and books.
3. He must be submitted to by all the clergy and bishops.

"I want, I want, I want, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, now, now now"---for any of you fellow Hook lovers out there.

St. Thomas More refused these mandates and resigned as Lord Chancellor.

Another major player in the English Reformation is Thomas Cranmer. He became the Archbishop of Canterbury and is known to be a wavering and spineless man. (He took an oath of loyalty to the Pope, then recanted, around six times...)

Under his "blessing," in 1533, the beloved and popular Queen Catherine of Aragon is replaced with Anne Boleyn. Anne gives birth to Elizabeth shortly after the wedding. (Once she was "engaged" to Henry, she submitted to him.) It's so classy when your new "Queen" is a pregnant bride. But anyway...within the same year...

Henry is excommunicated by Pope Clement VII and his marriage is declared invalid. In reaction to the Pope, in 1534 (the Pope is now Paul III), Henry passed the Act of Succession and all bishops were required to take the Oath of Succession denying papal authority. In 1535, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher were beheaded at the Tower of London for refusing to take the Oath. Also in 1535, Henry passed the Act of Supremacy, which makes the King of England the Supreme Head of the Church of England. (Where is THAT in the Bible? So much for sola scriptura, aye?) Carthusian monks are martyred for refusing the oath.

Irreconcilable Differences

No, I don't mean the Catholics and Protestants. Remember, England is still Catholic at this time.

Much like a celebrity couple, less than two years later, Henry is less than enchanted with Anne and you know what happens: Off with her head! Easy come, easy go.

In 1549, the still-Catholic Henry had Parliament pass Six Articles Abolishing the Diversity of Opinions:

1. Affirms Transubstantiation
2. Communion of both species not necessary (this was a big Protestant demand)
3. Clerical celibacy must be upheld
4. Vows of chastity must be observed by both sexes
5. Private masses are legitimate (Luther wanted these abolished)
6. Regular confession is good and necessary

He reaffirmed traditional Catholic teaching and dogma.

Henry died--as a Catholic--in 1547 and leaving behind his three kids: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

Coming soon: The English Accident-Part II

The First Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church

All Christians should be aware of the ancient councils that provided clarification on doctrine according to Sacred Tradition. It is important to know what heresies the Church has dealt with in the past. (Heresies tend to "reincarnate" later in society in various shapes and forms.)

Here's a brief outline of the first seven councils:

(1) The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
Heresy: Arianism (Denied the divinity of Christ)
The Council declared that Jesus is true God and true Man.

(2) The Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.
Heresy: Arianism
The Council reaffirmed the previous Council of Nicea and also combated Macedonianism which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit and believed He was a creation of the Son. The work of these two first councils is where the Church wrote the Nicene Creed. (Officially the Nicea-Constantinople Creed.)

(3) The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
Heresy: Nestorianism
Nestorius believed that Christ was two persons. Mary was not the Mother of Christ as God but Christ as Man. She was therefore not the "Theotokos" (God-bearer in Greek, Mother of God) but the "Christokos:" only the Mother of Christ as Man. The Council affirmed that Christ is ONE DIVINE PERSON with no division. Thus, Mary is the Mother of God.*

*As the Word made flesh, not the Mother of God the Father, Creator of the Universe. (I lament the fact that this asterisk is even necessary for Christians.)

(4) The Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.
Heresy: Monophysitism
Monophysitism taught that Christ has one nature, a divine nature, that swallowed up the human nature. The Council affirmed that Christ has two natures: one human and one divine. This is also known as the Hypostatic Union in Christ. He is one person with two united natures: human and divine.

(5) The 2nd Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D.
Heresy: Three Chapters (Nestorianism)
The "Three Chapters" were theological writings which were tainted by the Nestorian heresy. The Council reaffirmed the teachings of the Council of Ephesus and Chalcedon.

(6) The 3rd Council of Constantinople in 680 A.D.
Heresy: Monothelitism
Monothelitism taught that Christ only had one will; that the human will was absorbed by the divine will. The Council affirmed that Christ has two wills, human and divine, in accordance with His two natures.

(7) The 2nd Council of Nicea in 787 A.D.
Heresy: Iconoclasm, Adoptionism
Iconoclasm taught that sacred images were idolatrous. Adoptionism taught that Christ was not the Son of God by nature, but only through adoption. The Council affirmed that images in sacred art are not idolatrous. It also reaffirmed the hypostatic union in Christ.

The martyrs DIED to preserve orthodoxy in theology. The least we can do is KNOW it. The current notion that theology doesn't matter must be abandoned.