Continued 👇🏾
On the Temptations of Holy Pictures
The Church has always known the correct way to depict the Mother of God and the saints. Yet in every age temptations arise, and strange pictures enter among the faithful. Without realizing it, some have violated the order of the Church by adopting these alien forms. It caused the faithful, through lack of understanding, to oppose the order of the Church.
Preserving the Orthodox Tradition
Therefore, let us, the children of Tewahedo, approach the Church with humility and use only those pictures that faithfully express her teaching. By doing so, we safeguard the holy tradition, we strengthen the bond of the Church, and we keep for ourselves the blessing of true worship. To bring into the house of God what is foreign is to invite confusion, but to preserve what is ours is to walk in the path of the fathers.
Let us, then, lift up praise: to God who grants wisdom, to the Virgin Mother who intercedes for us, and to the Cross that shines with glory and victory.
Conclusion
Beloved, holy icons are not decorations but confessions of faith. If we follow what the Church has given, we honor Christ and His saints; if we borrow what is foreign, we bring confusion into our souls. Let us keep the icons handed down to us, guard them with reverence, and through them behold the mystery of God.
Part 5 Continues ...
May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always.
May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us.
Amen.
© John's Repentance
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