ThenextvisionofthisByzantinelifeofminethatrisesbeforemeisthatofagreatroundbuildingcrownedwithmencladinbishops’
robes。Atleasttheyworemitres，andeachofthemhadacrookedpastoralstaffwhichinmostcaseswascarriedbyanattendantmonk。
Somedebatewasinprogress，orratherraging。Itssubjectseemedtobeastowhetherimagesshouldorshouldnotbeworshippedinchurches。Itwasafuriousthing，thatdebate。OnepartytoitwerecalledIconoclasts，thatwasthepartywhichdidnotlikeimages，andIthinktheotherpartywerecalledOrthodox，butofthisIamnotsure。SofuriouswasitthatI，thegeneralandgovernoroftheprison，hadbeencommandedbythoseinauthoritytoattendinordertopreventviolence。ThebeginningsofwhathappenedIdonotremember。
WhatIdorememberisthattheanti-Iconoclasts，thepartytowhichtheEmpressIrenebelonged，thatwasthereforethefashionablesect，being，asitseemedtome，worstedinargument，fellbackonviolence。
Therefollowedagreattumult，inwhichthespectatorstookpart，andthestrangesightwasseenofpriestsandtheirpartisans，andevenofbishopsthemselves，fallingupontheiradversariesandbeatingthemwithwhateverweaponwastohand；yes，evenwiththeirpastoralstaves。Itwasawonderfulthingtobehold，theseministersoftheChristofpeacebelabouringeachotherwithpastoralstaves！