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<blockquote data-quote="MichaelWitcoff" data-source="post: 1351648" data-attributes="member: 16038">Refusing to venerate icons, which is neither “worshiping” nor “serving” either them or the deified people represented on the material, can bring about an anathema as per the 8th Ecumenical Council. It is showing respect to our family in Heaven, the Church Triumphant, asking their prayers and reminding us of our true nationhood. I know it seems weird to Protestants, as it seemed to me when I was making the transition from Wesleyanism to Orthodoxy, but they now bring me tremendous comfort and inspire me to higher degrees of faith, hope, and love. Praying without them is just not the same anymore.Romans 1:25 was about the pagan practice of worshipping objects in which they believed God dwelled, or actually were a “god.” It’s like worshipping the sun or moon, except something made by human hands and, subsequently, even more degraded a practice (in my opinion) than at least worshipping cool and mysterious things in the sky. Iconography is not idolatry.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MichaelWitcoff, post: 1351648, member: 16038"] Refusing to venerate icons, which is neither “worshiping” nor “serving” either them or the deified people represented on the material, can bring about an anathema as per the 8th Ecumenical Council. It is showing respect to our family in Heaven, the Church Triumphant, asking their prayers and reminding us of our true nationhood. I know it seems weird to Protestants, as it seemed to me when I was making the transition from Wesleyanism to Orthodoxy, but they now bring me tremendous comfort and inspire me to higher degrees of faith, hope, and love. Praying without them is just not the same anymore. Romans 1:25 was about the pagan practice of worshipping objects in which they believed God dwelled, or actually were a “god.” It’s like worshipping the sun or moon, except something made by human hands and, subsequently, even more degraded a practice (in my opinion) than at least worshipping cool and mysterious things in the sky. Iconography is not idolatry. [/QUOTE]

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