(f.) That Elipandus accused Etherius of being a false prophet, that is, for giving, as has been conjectured, a Mohammedan interpretation to the Beast in the Revelation of St John.

Something must now be said of one more doctrine, which, though it did not arise in Spain, nor perhaps much affected it, yet was originated by a Spaniard, and a disciple of Felix,[2]—­Claudius, Bishop of Turin.  Some have seen in this doctrine, which was an offshoot of Iconoclasm, traces of Adoptionism, a thing not unlikely in itself.[3]

Of the relations of Claudius to the Saracens we have the direct statement of one of his opponents, who said that the Jews praised him, and called him the wisest among the Christians; and that he on his side highly commended them and the Saracens.[4] Yet his tendency seems to have been against the Judaizing of the Church.[5]

[1] Fifty years later Alvar ("Ind.  Lum.,” sec. 9), accuses certain Christians of dissembling their religion under fear of persecution:—­“Deum Christum non aperte coram eis (i.e. Saracenis) sed fugatis sermonibus proferunt, Verbum Dei et Spiritum, ut illi asserunt, profitentes, suasque confessiones corde, quasi Deo omnia inspiciente, servantes.”

    [2] Jonas of Orleans (Migne, cvi. p. 330) calls him so, and
    says elsewhere, “Felix resuscitur in Claudio.”

    [3] Neander, vi. 119.

    [4] Fleury, v. 398.

    [5] Neander, vi. 125.

The great Iconoclastic reform, which arose in the East, undoubtedly received its originating impulse from the Moslems.  In 719 the Khalif destroyed all images in Syria.  His example was followed in 730 by the Eastern Emperor, Leo the Isaurian.  He is said to have been persuaded to this measure by a man named Bezer, who had been some years in captivity among the Saracens.[1] In 754 the great council of Constantinople condemned images.  Unfortunately neither the great patriarchates nor the Pope were represented, and so this council never obtained-the sanction of all Christendom; and its decrees were reversed in 787 at the Council of Nicaea.  In 790 appeared the Libri Carolini, in which we rejoice to find our English Alcuin helping Charles the Great to make a powerful and reasonable protest against the worship of images.[2] In 794 this protest was upheld by the German Council of Frankfurt.  But the Pope, and his militia,[3] the monks, made a strenuous opposition to any reform in this quarter, and the recognition of images became part and parcel of Roman Catholic Christianity.

Claudius was made bishop of Turin in 828.[4] Though placed over an Italian diocese, he soon shewed the independence, which he had imbibed in the free air of Spain, where the Mohammedan supremacy had at least the advantage of making the supremacy of the Pope impossible.  Finding that the people of his diocese paid worship to their images, Claudius set to work to deface, burn, and abolish, all images and crosses in his bishopric.  In respect to the crosses he went further than other Iconoclasts, in which we can perhaps trace his Adoptionist training.[5]