Council of Hieria

The Council of Hieria was a Christian council of 754 which viewed itself as ecumenical, but was later rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea (787) and by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, since four of the five major patriarchs refused to participate. However it is preferred over Second Nicaea by some Protestants. The council was significant in the controversy of Byzantine iconoclasm, condemning the veneration and production of religious icons as idolatrous and pagan, reflecting Byzantine Emperor Constantine V's iconoclasm. This council declared itself the 'Seventh Ecumenical Council'.