Around the time that Christianity becomes the state religion in the Roman Empire, we begin to see unhealthy innovations developing in the “middle-aged” church. These included a deeply elaborate series of ceremonies around baptism, the encroachment of icons and images, the growth of the cult of the saints, and

Many fathers during this time (such as Jerome) were alarmed by what they saw as the introduction of elements of pagan worship into the church of Christ as pagans flood into the church. And yet resisting the influx of pagans into the church was very much like trying to hold back a flood of waters with one’s hands.

We look at an incredible amount of evidence that the early church fathers were overwhelmingly opposed to these developments – especially the pagan practice of making images of Christ. In time, such production and use of images became more common until they were ultimately approved of at the second Council of Nicea (787 AD).