IThe Church has ALWAYS worked in a conciliar manner to determine theological disputes. We see this in the first ever Christian council presided over by the Apostles themselves. See the Jerusalem council in Acts. Additionally, no where in Holy Scripture is it said what is to comprise Holy Scripture. Councils were held to determine the cannon of Scripture, a cannon that is still not agreed upon by Rome, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox alike. St. Athanasius (an authority figure...patriarch of Constantinople) is credited with the first surviving list of the 27 books of the New Testament in 367AD, what was the church doing for 300 years? We know there were icons in the catacombs. How do you know you have the correct cannon? Why the masoretic text and not the Septuagint? Are you not relying on St. Augustine and Calvin to determine how Scripture is to be applied? It is worth mentioning that St. Augustine was reading a bible with the deutercanon intact too. As far as authority goes: The authority given to the Apostles by Christ is the same authority (in a normative sense) given to their successors (Apostolic Succession). The Apostles (Bishops) eventually repose and that authority is passed down to their successors. We can be sure that the oral and written traditions being passed down through the Church are correct because the Church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Holy Scripture is obviously a part of this puzzle, no question. I assume (and please correct me if i am wrong) that you are supposing that the Second Council of Nicaea is off base when looking to Scripture. And I would ask to whose interpretation are you adhering to when coming to this conclusion? Why, in your view are the Eastern Fathers wrong? #### Exodus 25:18–22 “You shall make two cherubim of gold... and there I will meet with you.” #### Numbers 21:8–9 “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole... and everyone who looks upon it shall live.” #### 1 Kings 6:29 “And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees.” St. John of Damascus framed it perfectly: “The same law that forbids making idols also commands the making of cherubim. Therefore, it is not the making of images that is condemned, but their adoration as gods.” — _On the Divine Images II.10_ The Fathers appealed to the visual revelations in the New Testament as well. We see, in the Transfiguration, Christ's divine glory manifested, at His baptism the Holy Spirit appearing like a dove, Tongues of Fire at Pentecost, and the vision of Christ in Revelation 1:13-16 --- A few Patristic sources used in defense of Holy Images: St. John of Damascus (c. 675–749) -“In former times, God, without body or form, could never be depicted. But now that God has appeared in the flesh and lived among men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God... I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake.” — _John of Damascus, On the Divine Images I.16 _“God commanded Moses to make images of cherubim for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:18). Shall we call Him lawless? Far from it. He was teaching us that not all making of images is idolatry, but only the making of idols.” _John of Damascus, On the Divine Images II.10 St. Basil the Great (c. 329–379) -“The honor paid to the image passes to its prototype.” St. Athanasius the Great (c. 296–373) -“The Son is the living Image of the Father, and he who sees the Son sees the Father.” — _Athanasius, Against the Arians II.45_ St. Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzus) (c. 329–390) -“I honor the matter through which my salvation came — the wood of the Cross, the ink and paper of the Gospels, the body and blood of my Lord.” — _Gregory Nazianzus, Oration 45 (On Holy Pascha)_ The Council explicitly declared: We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers... define with all certitude and accuracy that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, the venerable and holy images... are to be set forth in the holy churches of God, and to be venerated and honored.” — _Definition of Faith, Nicaea II_ “For the honor paid to the image passes to the prototype, and whoever venerates the image venerates in it the person of him who is represented.”