Do the Icons of Orthodoxy Border on Idolatry?
In Orthodox Christianity, icons are never worshipped, but they are honored or venerated. The second Commandment says, “You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness or anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4, 5). The warning here is (1) that we are not to image things which are limited to heaven and therefore unseen, and (2) we never bow down to or worship created, earthly things such as the golden calf. Does this condemn all imagery in worship? The Bible speaks for itself, and the answer is no. Just five chapters after the giving of the Ten Commandments, God, as recorded in Exodus 25, gives His divine blueprint, if you will, for the tabernacle. Specifically in verses 19 and 20, he commands images of cherubim to be placed above the mercy seat. Also, God promises to meet and speak with us through this imagery! (Exodus 25:22). It is not true imagery which is condemned in Scripture, but fa
