Thousands were exiled, tortured, or martyred. Eventually the tide turned. The council affirmed that icons, though they may not be worshiped, may be honored. A new attack on icons was made under Leo V the Armenian in 815 and continued until 843, when icons were again reinstated once and for all by Empress Theodora on the First Sunday of Lent, a day still celebrated annually as the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The iconoclasts vehemently opposed icons for three basic reasons.
Icons are idols .
The Eucharist, iconoclasts further argued, was the only true image of Christ since that was the vehicle that contained Christ's real presence. The command against making images applied equally to Jews and Christians. Furthermore, there should be no portrayals of Mary, the saints, or angels. Icons are not supported by church tradition . The iconoclasts backed up their arguments with references from church fathers such as Origen, Eusebius, and Epiphanius of Salamis.