I’ve heard that the Orthodox use pictures. Isn’t that against the Commandments?
Image of Christ the Pantocrator, from 6th Century Egypt Icons (the word for “images” in both the Greek Old and New Testaments) are honored as reminders of the glory and presence of God, and venerated as such. Worship belongs only to God: the Father, Jesus Christ the Word, and the Holy Spirit. Just as we recognize that Man is made in the image [icon] of Christ, and so we show honor to one another – in the same way we acknowledge that God is represented in all His creation. Even further, we believe that, since Christ has entered creation and has become material, He has made matter itself holy; so material things are fit to be used to worship and depict Him. Rather than attempting a natural or artistic depiction, icons point to the realities of the Kingdom of God. They are often referred to as “picture windows to Heaven”. In other words, you will not only hear the Gospel in an Orthodox Church, you will see it. (And smell it, and touch and taste.) Icons are tools in our spiritual worship,
