Which Byzantine empress restored the veneration of icons in 787?

Irene of Athens restored the veneration of icons in 787 while serving as regent for her son, Constantine VI. Her government sponsored the council that reversed the earlier Byzantine policy of iconoclasm.

The Second Council of Nicaea met in 787 and declared that icons could receive honorary veneration, while worship or adoration was reserved for God alone. The council argued that respect shown to an image passed to the person represented, especially in light of the Christian belief in the Incarnation.

Irene’s role was political as well as religious. Her husband, Leo IV, had ruled during a period when iconoclasm remained influential. After his death, Irene governed for Constantine VI and worked with Patriarch Tarasios to organize a council. An earlier meeting in Constantinople in 786 was disrupted by iconoclast soldiers, so the council was reconvened at Nicaea.

A frequent confusion involves the empress Theodora, who restored icon veneration later, in 843, after a second period of iconoclasm. Irene is the correct answer for the restoration associated with 787.