With the Byzantine-Norman Wars draining what little money remained in the imperial treasury, and Robert Guiscard marching across the Balkans, Alexios was forced to assemble a synod of Greek ecclesiastics who authorised him to employ the wealth gathered as offerings in the churches for public service.
Leo declared that the government had committed sacrilege in melting down sacred objects which were entitled to the adoration of Christians.
The technical discussions centered on the Second Council of Nicaea held in 787, and its ruling that "worship" was due to God only, and the "relative veneration" that could be given to images.
Leo, however, insisted that a secular use of the material was identical to blasphemous disrespect for the image and, ultimately, the prototype.
His technical argument was that the Logos had assumed a human "form" as depicted materially on the icon.