Before the popes could bring themselves to make a final break with subjection to the emperor in Constantinople one final blow was needed. This came with the Iconoclast Controversy, which brought with it not only a religious conflict but also a political one. Eastern exiles made Rome a center of opposition to an image smashing whose errors were discussed by St. John of Damascus. Taken from the series: Dr. John Rao, "From Augustine and Chrysostom to the Papal-Frankish Alliance Christianity in the Early Middle Ages (395-752) - 2006 VonHildebrand Institute"