Covenant Iconodulist Movement

The Covenant Iconodulist Movement was a religious sect that was formed on the homeworld of  by Vaul 'Niedumayya, a religious cleric from the state of, during the 20th Age of Doubt (1700 - 1790 CE). The movement was set up to directly oppose the iconoclast nature of the, that forbade the creation and worship of icons and painting of the in their corporeal or celestial forms. Vaul argued that such creations were not heretical but instead was essential, as visualising the Forerunners as mortal and immortal would serve as a reminder that ascension was possible for all. It was one of the many movements that characterised the 20th Age of Doubt, however, unlike the other religious movements, the Iconodulist Movement gained significant support, with many members of the, Sangheili and alike. While tolerated at first, by 1751 CE, the movement began to agitate politically for the ability to create its own temples on the various subjugated races worlds, which was refused. The Hierarchs began to question to the orthodoxy of the Movement, and many religious gatherings were attacked as a result of this public pondering. Vaul protested and was later imprisoned, this lead to a small scale civil war between its adherents and the Orthodox movement of the Covenant. This was the beginning of a series of small scale conflicts within the Hegemony between the Hierarchs and smaller, heterodox religious movements. The Movement was all but crushed in 1775 CE, by an with only small pockets surviving underground. Vaul died finally in 1790 and his death marked the end of the 20th Age of Doubt, and was a victory of the Hegemony and its religious doctrine.