Keep Orthodox ☦️🇬🇷🇨🇾🇲🇰🇬🇪🇦🇲🇷🇺🇺🇦🇧🇾🇷🇸🇧🇬🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹🇪🇹🇪🇷🇷🇴🇲🇩☦️ We have survived islamic invation genocides and communist regimes without losing our faith Christ ☦️ no one can destroy the Orthodox Church cause Christ is with us ¡ Χριστόσ Ανέστη !

Imagine the Eastern Orthodox Church as an ancient tree that’s been standing strong and unchanged for thousands of years, deeply rooted in the original ways of Christianity. Right beside it, there's a big tree known as the Roman Catholic Church, which grew from the same roots but started to grow in a slightly different direction over time. Then, imagine that some branches from the Roman Catholic tree decided they wanted to grow in new ways, so they sprouted off and planted themselves as new trees-these are the Protestant churches. They’re like the offspring of the big Catholic tree, trying to find their own place in the garden with their unique way of growing. So, when these newer trees-the Protestants-start suggesting changes to the ancient Orthodox tree, it’s a bit like the younger generations trying to teach the oldest tree in the garden how to grow. The ancient tree has been there since the beginning, standing tall and unchanged, making it odd for its much younger relatives to question its ways.

@Nektariosthebased5150

3 ай бұрын

I like this.

"Lord Jesus Christ. Son of God. Have mercy on me. A sinner."

@ernestgrouns8710

4 ай бұрын

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on this nation and world."

@zarabees2123

4 ай бұрын

Jesus is a sinner too.

@thekatarnalchemist

4 ай бұрын

​@@zarabees2123God forbid! Let God be true and every man be a liar before this blasphemy be true!

@medotaku9360

4 ай бұрын

​@@zarabees2123 trooooollll

@ElDogeRenacido

4 ай бұрын

@@zarabees2123 what is the sin then. Go on. Tell us.

Please pray for us. My wife Cathy is against Orthodoxy. I am ready to convert. God bless you always. Daniel

@soldadillo

4 ай бұрын

Lord have mercy on us and work through us to draw our wives……holy Father St John Maximovitch please beseech Christ on our behalves…… I remember you from another channel somewhere, and have the same situation…..God bless you and help you to stay strong…..

@civillian876

4 ай бұрын

is your wife a Protestant??

@danielgaley9676

4 ай бұрын

@soldadillo you as well, my friend! Thank you for your prayers 🙏

@andys3035

4 ай бұрын

Ask your priest to add their name to the alter for prayer, if you are at this point in your journey. God bless you.

@lornadoone8887

4 ай бұрын

I converted with the consent of my husband. He remains Evangelical. It is best to wait and convert together, but that is not always possible. Find a Priest who is welcoming toward non-Orthodox spouses and understands to build bridges and not alienate a spouse-I’ve had both kinds. One Priest I had, himself a recent convert, was trying a hard-sell approach with my husband criticizing Evangelicalism. It was the opposite approach my husband needed, and may be partly the reason my husband has never become Orthodox (bad experience that triggered previous fundamentalist abuse). Definitely be patient with your wife. Praying for you.🙏🏻

Serbia 🇷🇸 is very religious country with good people. Serbian Orthodox Church is great ❤

The separation between East and West is so saddening, please pray for the reunification of all of God’s apostolic churches with charity in your hearts.

As Eritrean Orthodox we love ❤️ and Orthodox will live forever unchanged and renewed

Well explained Father. In the early church, Christian’s did not read. Icons pictures are the artistic form of the word (Bible)/ tradition. The Bible is the written form of the words of God.

@tc2851

4 ай бұрын

Not all Protestants have an aversion to icons. Your explanation is a very appropriate and I think theologically correct understanding. Letting the Icon be what it is and not inferring extra meaning is 👌.

@BrantTheResidentCalvinist

4 ай бұрын

@@tc2851I don’t think you know what the words Protestant means. All Protestants oppose ikons just as all Christian’s reject images of things in heaven as explicitly commanded in the second commandment.

@johnsambo9379

3 ай бұрын

The early Church didn't think common people should read the Bible. They executed people for copying the Bible for commoners. The early Church wasn't always right.

Πολύ ωραία και ακριβής ερμηνεία, πάτερ!!!!! Τιμούμε τα πρόσωπα στις εικόνες, και προσπαθούμε να τα μοιάσουμε! Λατρεύουμε μόνο τον τριαδικό Θεό μας!!!!!! Και η Ορθοδοξία είναι ο μόνος σίγουρος και ασφαλής δρόμος για τον παράδεισο!!!! Με αγάπη Από Θεσσαλονίκη

@user-er1dc1ww3l

4 ай бұрын

Δοξασμένο το Όνομα της Αγίας Τριάδος Αμήν Αμήν Αμήν

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

Yeah. What he said.

I'm an Catholic Apologetic. I say such things so you know that I am very invested in my learning. I have done many tours of Catholic Churches whereas I have had Protestants and Muslims come in to see the design of the Church. I go to a Basilica which is very Roman like Church. When I ask them how they can tell it's a Catholic Church, they bounce back saying "Because you have Idols"... I smile and say this "You know how to read, correct?". All say "yes". I then educate them on the age of the Church and how many people did not know how to read and as such the Church show pictures, it's design as a Holy Place of God. If you walked into a house, how would you know this is God's place. Does not God deserve more than what we sleep under? If you could not read, but heard the scripture speech, listen to your faith, plus doing works, such as partaking in the Eucharist..You would know you are in the House of God, venerating the Holy Cross. They open their eyes wide and understand that Tradition of the Catholic Church and the Orthodoxy remain as they were in the beginning of the Churches. Veneration is not Worshipping, it's a respect for all that had died for out Faith. Christian worship God, through the Son.. That is always been the way of the Catholic and Orthodoxy Churches. I urge you all to stay away from the Prosperity Gospel for your soul is at risk, the words sound so good that you think you are being taught good but that path remove worship for something than worship but more on charity. Charity for oneself and that is were your risk your soul. Let me add information about the Holy Eucharist and Protestant thought, Lutherans remain the same as the Catholic and Orthodoxy Churches, in fact the Eucharist started to be watered down in the American Churches as Protestants could not get along and split, split and split some more until the Eucharist means nothing more than just bread and wine without the water is most cases. Some Protestants have even come to believe that Tradition is not needed, removing the example of worship that Christians learn from the Jewish people.

4 ай бұрын

Yet Orthodox hold that Catholics aren't in the ark.

@Nektariosthebased5150

3 ай бұрын

We do not hold that Roman Catholics are the same since the beginning.

Christ Is The Word! Christ is Logos, Eternal Word Jesus IS THE Word Not a BOOK! ALL Scripture points To Christ

@christophercano4809

4 ай бұрын

All scriptures in the world?

So wonderful to see you Father so appreciative

@VoxClamantisinDeserto-zw2mt

4 ай бұрын

This ungodly man is just a representative of a den of thieves, and of a synagogue of satan. Repent!

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

@@VoxClamantisinDeserto-zw2mt Shut up heretic.

Thank you for this wonderful interview. ☦️

Good I am the first comment 😂 I am currently moving from Protestantism to orthodoxy and have had struggles with conversion mostly due to these things. I do not believe veneration is idolatry but for the Protestant who feels it is, it may be the case if you were to venerate a saint feeling that way because of your mentality towards it, but if someone knows they are not worshipping then they are not. I can pay respect to my father and love my father and not be worshipping him. If I keep a picture of my father after he passes I do not think god will accuse me of worshipping a graven image. Let’s be practical here.

@FirstnameLastname-py3bc

4 ай бұрын

True. Yeah, and consider this - because one thinks it's wrong doesn't mean it's wrong, it means one thinks it's wrong. (God instructed to paint Seraphims and Cherubims, and as I know also patriarchs of old testament)

4 ай бұрын

I think the main problem is that in eastern Orthodoxy it's not a pious opinion but rather mandatory by threat of anathema.

@living_orthodox

4 ай бұрын

It’s because iconoclasm is fundamentally a denial of the incarnation of Christ. It actually led to another heretical belief that Chris didn’t have a real human body. Iconoclasm leads to many other problems.

@therealkingbaldwin

4 ай бұрын

Because the iconographic principal applies to the Father and the Son. If you refused to honor the Son and only honor the Father, you aren't honoring the Fathee, because the Son is the image of the Father. If you refuse to honor an image of the Son then you are not honoring the Son Himself. If you refuse to show respect to the saints, then you are denying the fact that God has imbued them with glory.

@alexanderbielski9327

4 ай бұрын

@@therealkingbaldwin oh for sure! My struggles aren’t an intellectual understanding but a spiritual one! Just hasn’t clicked yet but I haven’t attended a service yet either and I am anticipating a more immersive experience than my Baptist upbringing. Hopefully this will give me the kick I need and I have a feeling it will.

Just to continue on what father Boryan said about married clergy. Married men can become deacons and priests, deacons and priests cannot marry. If a priest becomes a widower or his wife leaves him, he cannot remarry. Bishops come only from the monastic world. In the early Church bishops could be married men, but later when their jurisdictions became bigger and bigger, the Church decided that because it became very difficult to tend also to their families, it was best they be unmarried.

Beautiful explanation for those who have ears to hear and open hearts to God. Blessings Father

Magnificent ! , thank you beautiful Father ! and this is a very wonderful young man we pray for him, and we pray for one day, his conversion into our incredible church and faith 🙏🏻✝️❤️🌷

Orthodox icons, especially in the traditional byzantine style, are not fully realistic depictions of humans but depictions of transfigured humans, they have an ontological dimension, hence the human bodies do not look natural. Furthermore, the veneration of an icon of a saint is in essence veneration of the ultimate prototype, i.e., Christ, Who has transfigured the depicted saint in a deified ontological state; in this sense, Orthodox Christians venerate a saint and, through him or her, worship Christ. In the Orthodox Tradition and theology, the Uncreated Divine Energies, the Uncreated Grace of the Holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Holy Trinity) are present in the human world and can be fully communicated to Christians; icons can communicate the Uncreated Grace to the person venerating it, hence the existence of wonder-working icons. Unlike western christian denominations, Othodoxy does not have neo-platonic distortions so, the human body (and the material world in general) is not downplayed or demoted but has great spiritual significance together with the soul of a person. Consequently, there is no mere symbolism in Holy Communion, icons, or baptism, but actual body and blood of Christ, physically present Uncreated Grace, and actual water for the full immersion of the baptized person, respectively. A highly recommended book in English that can serve as a good introduction to the Orthodox faith, which also discusses the differences to many christian denominations as well as religions, is "Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape" (Revised Edition) by Andrew S. Damick.

We love u Abba. Pray for us.

This was excellent and very well done. Clear and concise.

Дуже цікаво, як ковток свіжого повітря. Бажаю злагоди та довгого життя усім православним! 🌞

Do you have photos of family and friends? Do you worship said family or friend ? Think of them as photos of family

Ad a Baptist minister I agree wholeheartedly with what he’s saying about people trying to mold God to fit them. I don’t care what denomination you claim, we must change to fit Jesus. Not the other way around.

@litpath3633

4 ай бұрын

amen

@litpath3633

4 ай бұрын

and awomen lol jk did you see that from the congress guest speaker a while back? lol the people leading this country are insane. we should pray for them constantly. I worry about this nation and the wrath it is storing up for itself.

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

But by forming your own “denomination” you are not doing that. As a baptist minister you literally work at fitting Jesus into your mold. If you were changing for Jesus you would join renounce your heresy and join the church. The one holy and apostolic church.

@litpath3633

4 ай бұрын

@@katiek.8808 denominations were never mentioned in scripture, only believers and non-believers, Jews and gentiles. Catholics would say the same about their denomination, same with Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses. The only way to really know is to study scripture and determine who is closest to the truth, all we really have is scripture to rely on. I put my full faith in God, not a denomination. An organization can't save me, only Jesus can.

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

@@litpath3633 denomination is political correct for heretical. I was just being nice. Come to the church. You are missing on massive oral tradition which is how this all started. What you have is a drop in the bucket. I used to think just like you. And like you I was wrong.

Amen!! ☦️

God blessed you.

Excellent explanation!

99% of the anti-Orthodox comments here fall apart with basic presuppositional critique.

@Stanaford

4 ай бұрын

Every single Abrahamic religion, not even merely denominations of Christianity, believe the exact same. To them they feel just as right as you feel you are. “But I actually am right” you might say… well, they say the same thing about themselves. “Well, they’re wrong” you might reply. “No, you’re wrong” is what they say.

@Theorthodoxcowboy

4 ай бұрын

@@Stanaford Christianity is objectively right in relation to historicity and morality. No other Abrahamic religion has that claim

@Stanaford

4 ай бұрын

@@Theorthodoxcowboy Read the last two parts of my comment.

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

@@Stanafordbut the last two parts of your comment actually have no bearing on what’s true. What does have bearing is the factual state of the claims. The facts are that the ONLY Abrahamic religion is Orthodox Christianity. You don’t know this because you don’t even know what you don’t know. Instead of being so arrogant try leaning what you are talking about. You do this by doing what the host of the channel has done. You don’t do this by building straw men which is what you have done.

@Stanaford

4 ай бұрын

@@katiek.8808 “Instead of being so arrogant” look at that ad hominem. Read the last two parts of my comment again.

Glory to God ❤

very informative video I appreciate it alot

Orthodoxy is the only option at this point.

@godsaveskyrieeleison5859

4 ай бұрын

There were never options. There has only always been the Eastern Orthodox church. It is our church which has remained unchanged for 2000 years and that has been and affirmed the ecumenical councils of which there are 7. It is our church which put the Holy Bible together for the edification and salvation and tutelage of the world in honor and glory of the Holy Trinity, the one true living God. Just like God is one and indivisible in his Trinity, so also is his body of the faithful on earth. His body can never be divided and anyone who diverges or divorces themselves from the Orthodox understanding is preaching a false Gospel just like Saint Paul warned in the Bible. "If one teaches a different Christ other than the one I have preached, even if it is an angel of light or myself then let him be ANATHEMA". Saint Paul was correct to warn even of himself if he should be swayed or fall into heresy, that is why that proclamation is so important and vital. There is only one sound and good doctrine and it is that of the early church and church Fathers, like Saint John Chrysostom and his liturgy which we use until today or Saint Basil the Greats liturgy which mirrors that of Saint John Chrysostom. So you see. There were NEVER and will NEVER be options. There is only the ONE Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church. God bless you 🙏☦️

@IamMysterium

4 ай бұрын

Only always the EOC! What about the West? Unchanged? What about your heretical Patriarchs and past?

@Theorthodoxcowboy

4 ай бұрын

@@IamMysteriumsame can be applied to the west. The eastern church has seen heresies and overcome them. The west embraces heresies and is overcome by them

@godsaveskyrieeleison5859

4 ай бұрын

@@IamMysterium We don't have a papal system. Pappan is heresy. If one Patriarch falls off the others are there to reprimand him. Heresy of individuals is irrelevant because by claiming that some fell away this proves Orthodoxy wrong, you just condemned Christ who PROMISED the Holy Spirit would guide his ONE church. So which is it? Are you correct on condemnation of Orthodoxy because some individuals error and Christ is wrong in protecting his church, or the other way around. Please consider the folly of your words before you speak them. In fact what you just claimed that there is no objective truth and that God doesn't providentially rule over creation. You just became super protestant and a Christian relativist. Bravo. Nothing in Christianity is now ultimately provable by your stance. Well done sir. Now Muslims, Hindus, Satanists all belive in the same thing. Christianity is just an idea. This is why Orthodox reprimand Protestants out of love.

@IamMysterium

4 ай бұрын

@@Theorthodoxcowboy Rome is the only NT church still around in any glory. The rest buried under Islam then Communism, God's punishment for schism. EO is here in the West mainly on the coat tail of Islam.

Acts 17:29-31 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

the Orthodox Church compiled the books of Scripture that would ultimately become the Bible at multiple Ecumenical Councils. It took centuries and the oversight of thousands of God-fearing and prayerful bishops, monks, and emperors. Do you really believe, in all that time, they never once saw that verse, or did and said "oh no, we're actually idolators!" Not to mention the 7th Ecumenical Council defends iconography as a practice and means of right Christian worship. You are presupposing the meaning of the verse based on your own interpretive framework and NOT the hermeneutic of the Church Fathers, the holy men who performed exegesis on Scripture over a thousand years ago. The meaning of the verse is that God is not comparable to creatures and that we cannot fashion anything that is like God that can perform that role, and he is admonishing idolaters who, though well meaning, are wrong. You are also presupposing that any image in iconography is worshipped. This is blatantly false and the Church condemns worship of anyone or anything other than the Holy Trinity. We show great reverence for the Mother of God, the Saints, and Angels; we honor them with songs, prayers, and gestures of veneration and love, and believe they intercede on our behalf before God's throne. But they are creatures and cannot save, only the deified flesh and blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can accomplish that.

@Arsene20

4 ай бұрын

@@fahn777 Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. John 3:16 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. Isaiah 53:3-6 3 He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him. 4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. 5 But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all To fall on Him. 1 Corinthians 1:21 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

@Arsene20

4 ай бұрын

1 Timothy 2:5 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, Romans 8:34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. @@fahn777

@kmj2000

4 ай бұрын

You can't just rip things out of context. In Acts 17 Paul was in Athens and was speaking about Greek gods/idols that were being worshipped: Acts 22-23 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship-and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

Thank you for explaining the Icon because the protestant always excuse about it

Where is this church? I am currently looking for a church. Thank you.

@lighttheworld

4 ай бұрын

It’s called the Holy Resurrection - it’s in Pennsylvania

@onecor1031

4 ай бұрын

Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church Lebanon PA Fr. Borjan Vitanov

@marinahull8470

4 ай бұрын

Lebanon, PA

If it's right to take out a photo of your loved ones and even kiss the photo of your child or grandma who passed and even talk to that photo in rememberence, it's much the same looking upon an icon in rememberence and love.

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

No. Your grandkids aren't God.

@synthesaurus

4 ай бұрын

Do these photograph answer your prayers and perform miracles? Or do you have a particular photo of you relative who protects you from car accidents?

4 ай бұрын

But if I choose not to do so, should I be anathematized, as the 7th Ecumenical Council states? That seems harsh.

@michaelmcgill4627

4 ай бұрын

Who said that was right in the first place? 🤦🏻‍♂️

@AlphaOmegaTruth7

4 ай бұрын

I don't know what anathematized mean, please excuse my ignorance, but it seems to mean some type of punishment or looked down on maybe, and no I don't think that's right to judge each other if one prefers to or not. I feel both should respect each other's preference. I also feel as believers in the Holy Jesus Christ and the family he has built into his church, we should be able to look upon the beauty of the iconography and appreciate it. Weather you choose to feel closer with them through icons or without them. Some people don't want to see photos of loved ones that passed because their memory and mind is enough and some do because it helps them feel close. I know God is always close and so is the kingdom of heaven, for those whom received the holy Spirit. I believe intention is everything and God judges us based on that , based on our hearts. Our ignorance or our knowledge. I think trying our best to be good children to God and loving each other and God is the main thing.

Kyrie Eleison Me and thank you for everything Christos Anesti

Priests can be married in the Catholic Church. For Eastern Rite Catholics this is the same as the Orthodox Church. For Western or Roman Catholics it does require an exception. One of our families good friends is a married Roman Catholic priest.

Icon veneration is very clearly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Isaiah 44:9-11 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Romans 1:21-23 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. To address the "worship" vs "veneration" argument: Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭ And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped [proskyneo] him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭ And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship [proskyneo] God. ‭‭ The immutable counsel of scripture advises that we are not to engage in such veneration. One who claims to submit to the authority of the Word of God cannot then justify their clandestine activities against said Word. Those who defend iconography do so against the counsel of scripture. Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

The Orthodox Church compiled the books of Scripture into the Bible at multiple councils over the course of 600 years. You really think they just overlooked those verses or didn't understand the proper exegesis of the passages? You're also conveniently leaving out the parts where God commanded images be made for the Tabernacle and Temple. Maybe read the canons of the Ecumenical Councils (especially the 7th), instead of relying on your own presuppositional framework about what constitutes "idolatry" based on your superficial reading of passages divorced from the very Church that oversaw their compilation.

@ibelieveinscience1141

4 ай бұрын

@@fahn777 Please remember that every single one of the Prophets and the Apostles were JEWISH. They were not Orthodox Christian. The faith described by the Bible predates the Orthodox Church. Furthermore the people who compiled the Biblical canon do not resemble in doctrine the orthodox christians of today. Like I said, they absolutely IGNORED the commandments of Yeshua just like the Pharisees IGNORED the commandments of Yeshua. I will cite Mark 7:9 AGAIN "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." yOu rEalLy tHiNk tHeY jUsT oVeRlOokEd tHoSe vErsEs? Absolutely 100% they did as carnal man is wont to do.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

@@ibelieveinscience1141 you completely ignored what I said about reading the canons ans works of the post-Apostolic fathers. What you're giving me are assertions and not arguments.

@ibelieveinscience1141

4 ай бұрын

@@fahn777also, kindly cite the scripture where Yehovah commands images in the tabernacle. If you are referring to the Ark of the Covenant, the people didn't worship or venerate it. Veneration of images is idolatry period.

@ibelieveinscience1141

4 ай бұрын

@@fahn777 Why do you prioritize the works of man over the Word of God? The thoughts of self-exalted, piddling men does not override what scripture clearly says. I'm telling you that they were ignorant and you're insisting that they aren't when the scriptures clearly resist their ignorant interpretations. I do not revere the thoughts of men over the Word of God. If you want to esteem man more than you esteem the Word of God, that's your business, but please know you do so to your own detriment and that you will never entice anyone who actually loves and respects God. I have more scripture for you though seem to be averse to it. Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭23 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. As Yeshua Hamashiach, Iesus Cristos, said to Satan: Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Again, you serve man if scripture isn't your ultimate authority. Good day ✨

☦️☦️☦️

are you Serbian?

Why do you say hate? How do you know what's in someone's heart?

🏆🏆🏆🏆✝️✝️✝️✝️🕊🕊🕊🕊

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

@AlexSaavy

4 ай бұрын

You’re right. That’s why I turned away from Mormonism and Protestant Evangelical Christianity after that and turned instead to the Orthodox Church. 😉

@larrybedouin2921

4 ай бұрын

@@AlexSaavy If an outward displays of piety is what you're searching for then I guess you went to the right place for all of the wrong reasons.

@Cp3659

4 ай бұрын

I truly believe this verse refers to Muslims. They deny that Jesus was God manifest in flesh. They falsely claim he was just a prophet.

@ElDogeRenacido

4 ай бұрын

@@larrybedouin2921 your response bleeds with ignorance if you really believe that about Holy Orthodoxy.

“They” don’t hate the ikons and whom they represent. What other Christians have difficulty with is the fact that ikon veneration was made essential for one’s salvation. Not venerating them is anathematized. Why is it so hard to understand?

@VoxClamantisinDeserto-zw2mt

4 ай бұрын

Orthodoxy and catholicism are the religions of the spiritually dead and blind, of the accursed of God. These people are all completely Biblically illiterate.

4 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@HellenicLegend7

4 ай бұрын

It’s like saying I love You God but not my brothers and sisters who finished the race and You acknowledged and are with You in eternity.

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

Not venerating icons is a denial of the Incarnation. Iconography shows that Christ really was Incarnate, and rejection of it is a denial of this. That is why you are anathematized. You are Iconoclasts. The Protestant reformers supported Iconoclasm, just like the ancient Iconoclasts. And many modern day Protestant heretics do in fact support Iconoclasm. Of course, you cannot actually be anathematized since Protestants technically are not part of the Church, but that does not deny that you profess the Iconoclastic heresy.

@through-faith-alone

4 ай бұрын

@@HellenicLegend7 no it's not, this is a false equivalency.

Not only are you not kissing wood and paint, you are not kissing the saint, either. You are venerating the image of God in that person (or should be).

He has the same perception as do we the Catholics.

Take your hands out of your pockets when you're standing in church! What’s a shame 😢

@kmj2000

4 ай бұрын

why is having hands in pockets disrespectful?

Words of the scripture are made of letters bearring meaning. In a way its a form if image for the mind. Generally for priest class only could read. ICONS can be understood by everyone. Priest class dont like that hence the prosciption.

It's fine to keep iconography, and to remember the great saints and what Jesus has done, but it's clearly against god to kiss it, because now it's a form of worship.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

that's your presupposition. I can kiss a photo of my mother because I love her and respect her. I do the same to my icon of the Mother of God; I love her and honor her role in redemptive history. In Orthodoxy, she is never depicted without her Son, because without Him salvation isn't possible.

@kmj2000

4 ай бұрын

Kissing is not worshipping, and I say that as someone who does not like kissing icons. Worship in the Biblical sense has very specific actions and requires offerings. If kissing was worshipping that would mean that we couldn't kiss anything.

The 10 Commandments are only the first ten of 613 Commands or Mitzvot Evangelicals mention " No graven images" but do not speak of Other Commands such as not consuming unclean animals... No working on the Sabbath Sundown on Friday as the Hebrew Sabbath Observing the Passover...

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

Since Christ’s death and resurrection everything in creation is now clean. To consider anything unclean is blasphemy to the Lord and a denial of his sacrifice. This is why doing scripture solo is dangerous. Find an Orthodox Church and start attending.

Married men and their wife have to accept perfect and perpetual Continence in order and before the married man is ordained to the priesthood. Both husband and wife have to be in agreement with this in order for the ordination to proceed and be valid. This is the most misunderstood doctrine in our modern day of the priesthood, who Christ is and who and what the priesthood configures. The Schismatic Eastern Orthodox got this wrong with allowing their married men who wanted the priesthood, to continue their conjugal life through and with the marital act. This is precisely why our Church is suffering in chaos and confusion. This error affects the meaning of marriage, the priesthood and who Christ is.

Can Jesus stop European genocide?

@f10pped36

4 ай бұрын

He can stop anything but we humans are wicked and start it to begin with. He gave us free will and we chose the spread hatred instead of love as we should

@hakooplayplay3212

4 ай бұрын

He didn't stop all people from dying when he was on earth with them. Its not him, it's our sins. 1There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

The Greek have never fully departed from their pagan roots lighting candles praying to the deceased who they believe as they once did, go to heaven / hell immediately after death. And also their multiple gods which have now become a nightmarish philosophy/theology called the trinity.

Yea, you pray, bow down and kiss A GOLDEN IMAGE…THAT’S IDOLATRY!!! These people are doing this because they think they’ll "earn" grace from Mary or their other so-called "saints" and these people hear their prayers through these images!! The priest IS LYING!!! This guy literally also bashed the Bible by saying we can make an "idol" out of it!?! God’s Word can be an idol!?!

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

You didn’t listen and are holding onto a straw man.

@Akihito007

4 ай бұрын

@katiek.8808 Yes I did and the people are LITERALLY kissing the images and bowing before them, making them IDOLS!!! Those images are no more sacred than my car keys! The priest is LYING and excusing blatant idolatry. Keep your worthless relics: us Reformed only need God's Word and the Gospel.

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

@@Akihito007 yes the gospel provided to you by the very people you despise and straw man. You didn’t see anything but what you wanted to see. It’s really a shame. I say these intercession prayers daily and all I ever do is ask saints to pray for me. Or ask the Theotokos to intercede like she did at the wedding in capernum. This goes on in every reformer church when you all pray for 98 year old Mary who broke her hip. And doing the sign of the cross is not bowing to saints. And since when is bowing worship? You are being absurd. You don’t even understand the context of what worship is. You think worship is idolizing a book. I can assure you the idolatry is you and that book. The Word is actually Jesus Christ and he is only in The Church he started. You don’t have The Word you just have words. Words again assembled by the very people you despise. You live a contradiction no different than any atheist.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

So-called "Saints"? Who are the elders in Revelation offering the prayers of the living as incense before the throne of God? I don't understand this Protestant idea that the Saints are just worm-food and are not currently aiding in God's ministry of creation, awaiting the bodily resurrection at the Last Judgement. And yes, you can definitely make an idol out of the Bible. Many evangelicals believe it is LITERALLY Jesus because of the word concept fallacy of Christ being the "Word of God". I know a guy who thinks he has to pray to his bible or his prayers won't be heard. What you fail to realize is the Bible isn't "God's love letter to you", but a liturgical text that has been divorced from the Church that oversaw it's compilation and preservation, as well as the yearly cycle of feast days and daily readings that holistically give you an idea of Christ's redemptive work. PS - We cover our gospel in gold and kiss it on Sunday and do not consider that idolatry. We simply are not Gnostics like most Protestants and believe that God can sanctify matter. Was Jesus's resurrected body physical or only spiritual?

I wonder what Paul would write to the Galatians … he considered mans tradition as dung for the excellency of Christ.

@ThomasG_Nikolaj

4 ай бұрын

huge difference between man made traditions and Holy / Apostolic tradition

@f10pped36

4 ай бұрын

Well considering Paul helped out with establishing the way we worship among many other of the apostles he would probably be fine with this

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

St. Paul would probably call you a heretic.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

Paul told Timothy, whom he ordained as Bishop of Ephesus, to hold onto the traditions he received from Paul both written and oral.

🚨 BASED ALERT ⚠️ BASED ALERT 🚨

Me i doubt that the war in the church will be a mental one😂😂😂😂😂😂

What is missing from this is noting that there are Eastern Catholics and all of what he says is also true of the Eastern Catholic Church. The only exception would be is that Eastern Catholics do see the Pope as the first among equals.

@hakooplayplay3212

4 ай бұрын

It was like this, before the schism, but then pope claimed to be above all

Forget the people who took you away from 1200s, 1500s, 1700s, etc etc. ALL SINNERS BUT STAY with him from A.D. HIS APOSTLES MADE HIS CHURCH PETER APPOINTED CLEMENT AND SO ON ✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️

A better title for the video: "This is how religion is missing the forest for the trees."

Is this a Greek Orthodox priest?

@ellikatachana3607

4 ай бұрын

Serbian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, same doctrine different liturgical language. All Eastern Orthodox are the same regardless of the language of worship which corresponds simply to the country it comes from.

@OrthodoxHSMother

4 ай бұрын

He is in the Serbian jurisdiction

Evangelicals cite the the 2nd Commandment when it comes to " Idolatry but yet totally dismiss the Rest Of The Law! Leviticus 19 prohibits cutting of hair, beard It Also Forbids body markings, piercings, tattoos.... It Also states to Not wear clothing made from 2 different materials!! Hypocrisy!! IF you're going to mention The LAW OF Moses, Then Observe the Entire Body of the Law, Not just what You picked out!!

Can we at least acknowledge that the main problem is not use of the icons, but rather the mandatory necessity at the risk of anathema.

@IAMFISH92

4 ай бұрын

As an Orthodox Christian I think this is paramount to acknowledge. We don’t think it’s a matter of theological opinion or personal piety to venerate icons/relics etc. We make the claim that the refusal to do such things is anti-Christological. I don’t fault Protestants for pushing back against this. I willingly accept it myself, but I’m not gonna sit here and pretend Protestants don’t make a good point in their critique of compulsory veneration at the risk of being anathematized.

4 ай бұрын

@@IAMFISH92 thank you so much for the charitable response. It is greatly appreciated. God bless.

@IAMFISH92

4 ай бұрын

God bless you too, brother!

@cantrait7311

4 ай бұрын

That explains nothing looks like idol worship which Protestants think is idolatry

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

I've been a practicing Orthodox Christian for several years now, attending multiple churches and temples, and I am yet to see or hear about anyone being forced to venerate icons under the threat of anathema. In my own experience and in the experience of every single Orthodox person I've spoken to, icon veneration is entirely optional. Some people kiss and bow to the holy persons on the icons, others don't. I've never seen anyone being forced or coerced to do it. You could receive anathema for dishonoring and disrespecting the saints on the icons for sure, but simply for not venerating them - highly doubtful.

The icons defend the truth of the what?

@djurote3932

4 ай бұрын

Incarnation

@synthesaurus

4 ай бұрын

@@djurote3932 that’s a stretch. As all the other arguments in support of ikon veneration. The problem is that the church made it necessity to venerate the ikons. As if God cannot be approached without these physical mediums.

@ghassanmina

4 ай бұрын

​@@synthesaurusNo this is not true and God can be venerated without any medium and the proof is that the first Christians did not have Icons, Bible... Or any other medium and they believed in Jesus Christ. But as the priest explained the Icons are good tools to explain the theology and facilitate to the people the understanding of the theology. If you don't need any medium to believe in God and you don't need anybody to explain to you anything go for it. From my side it was a pleasure for me every Sunday to go to the church with my Grandfather who was an illiterate and barely can read but he was so knowledgeable about our faith and we used to go through every icon and he used to explain it to me and explain what it represents. God bless you!

@djurote3932

4 ай бұрын

@@synthesaurus God can be approached without icons, after all we had desert fathers most of whom didn't had icons. What the Church says is that one that denies icons denies incarnation.

@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo

4 ай бұрын

@@synthesaurus I dont know where you are getting this "knowledge" from. but it most definitely is not true. the majority of prayers an orthodox does is without the presence of icons e.g. laying in bed, driving in a car, walking down the street, visiting a hospital etc. We do not approach God TROUGH an icon. they are not some kind of magical portal or something. they are there to ASSIST. not to give access. Sorry but i think you have a very poor understanding of what icons actualy are or what Holy Orthodoxy is. I dont blame you because you obviously are talking out of lack of knowledge on the matter. but it would be great if you'd educate yourself before making all kinds of untrue wild claims about Orthodoxy.

Many simple folk of eastern europe do not know difference between worship and veneration or complicated theological explanations some sophisticated orthodox resort to. When they see a stain looking like Mary they end up making a shrine there. Some ikons become “magic items” bringing luck and salvation. Some churches end up named after “miraculous ikons”. These are all easily observable and undeniable facts. Hence the controversy. The question is this: are ikons absolutely instrumental in the process of salvation?

@synthesaurus

4 ай бұрын

@@nikusja5864to be fair I haven’t been forced to do it either. But I am in a North American Orthodox church. I do, however see all this ikon venerating activity on the part of “ethnic” orthodox during the Divine Liturgy. The priest did address this but I guess these cultural “aberrations” are hard to irradiate.

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

The majority of people throughout history were illiterate, and books were rare and expensive to obtain. The role of the icons is to tell the Gospel in a visual form for those who are not able to read. So, in short, yes, icons were and still are instrumental in spreading the Gospel and bringing the Truth to people for their salvation.

Kissing icons is a tradition. It’s a stumbling block for many in the diaspora of a different time and culture. I wish priests would stop trying to “defend” it with logic and explanation because the tradition is just not clearly understood even by most orthodox who do it.

Regarding Communion: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6.63)

@gigig2492

4 ай бұрын

Jesus also said “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you”. John 6:53-58

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

No, no, no. Even Paul says that partaking in the Eucharist unworthily can make you sick or kill you. How is this possible if the Eucharist is just symbolic? Also, was Jesus's resurrected body spirit or physical? Did Melchizedek offer spiritual bread and wine or was it an actual oblation? Are we not after the Priesthood of Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ? Read the Didache, a mid 1st century text written around the same time as the first gospels. It is an instruction manual for new Christians and they partook in the Eucharist believing it was the body and blood of Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a 2nd century disciple of the Apostles Peter and John, also talks about how it is the Body of Christ.

The song Personal Jesus from Depeche Mode is not about what the father is explaining, with all respect I need to correct. The song is about the relationship of Priscilla and Elvis Presley, how unhealthy their relationship was, Elvis being kinda like a god figure for Priscilla. The song's real and intended meaning is exactly against idolatry and worshipping and adoring or following other human beings instead of God. Please listen to their song called Judas - nearly perfectly written orthodox christian narrative by a "wordly" songwriter who amittedly has been a God seeker in his entire life. Please pray for them. ❤

In my humble (but accurate) opinion, what English lacks is a word that means latreia. Worship and veneration should be synonymous.

@Razamaniac

4 ай бұрын

''latreia'' means ''to adore'', not just worhip, but to adore something above all else, while ''proskynisis'' means ''to approach and kiss'' which is an act of adoration but not the adoration itself. Its also considered an act of submission.

@HellenicLegend7

4 ай бұрын

In Greek we very often use the word τιμῆ (pron. tee-mee, stress on the last syllable) for veneration, which means to honour the icons.

@joachim847

4 ай бұрын

@@Razamaniac Sometimes you'll see "adore" as a translation of proskuneo, in the recent Antiochian liturgical texts for instance, I think. What a mess. We all seem to be playing the "nuh uh" game with the Protestants and I'm sick of it.

@Razamaniac

4 ай бұрын

@@joachim847 the word Proskuno though is also paired with the word ''Timitikos'' (dotiki), ''timitiki proskynisis'' means ''honorable adoration'' which has nothing to do with worshipping.

@joachim847

4 ай бұрын

@@Razamaniac Here's the issue: English was once an Orthodox language, and worship meant acknowledging the worth of something or someone, like a new bishop when we acclaim him "Axios!" That started changing in the 16th century with the English reformation, and it took a while. Here's a quote from the Anglican marriage ceremony: With this ring I thee wedde: with my body I thee worship: and with al my worldly goodes I thee endow. In the name of the father, and of the sonne, and of the holy gost. Amen. Only now, 500 years later, does worship mean the inward, absolute veneration due to God alone, and that is precisely because English is now a protestant language and protestants tend to think God is the only person or thing with any value whatsoever. THAT is the philosophical reason we need to reclaim "worship" as synonymous with "veneration", because allowing protestantism to define the terms is already a concession we shouldn't make. Practically speaking, when we tell protestants we "don't worship icons or saints or Mary", they get the impression we're holding back some devotion for God alone. They're gonna be disappointed, because we really love Mary. The devotion we give to her DEFINITELY meets the protestant definition of "worship", so let's stop saying that's not what it is. Just accept it. Meanwhile, we are NOT confused about who God is, and it is to Him alone we offer the Sacrifice of the Divine Liturgy, which is latreia. It's not a matter of degrees, or holding back some emotion or gesture. Latreia is the Mystery of the Eucharist.

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images., Isaiah 42:8 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders,. Nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.,1 Corinthians 6:9-10

@atgred

4 ай бұрын

Of course!! The passage of Isaiah refers to graven images OF OTHER GODS!! None of the images in this church are of “gods”!! They are ICONS, representing Christ and the women and men, who before us GAVE ALL GLORY TO GOD, but as Hebrews 12 says, THEY ARE OUR WITNESSES. 158 THE SYNOD OF JERUSALEM 1672 And if some say we commit idolatry in adoring the Saints, and the Eikons of the Saints, and the other things, we regard it as foolish and frivolous. For we worship with *LATRIA* the only God in Trinity, and none other ; but the Saints we honour upon two accounts : firstly, for their relation to God, since we honour them for His sake ; and for themselves, because they are living images of God. But that which is for themselves hath been defined as of *DULIA* . But the holy Eikons [we adore] relatively, since the honour paid to them is referred to their PROTOTYPES. For he that adoreth the Εikon doth, through the Εikon, adore the prototype ; and the honour paid to the Εikon is not at all divided, or at all separated from that of him that is pourtrayed, and is done unto the same, like that done unto a royal embassy.

@yamar6

4 ай бұрын

@@atgred You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. (Exodus 20:4-5) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see, They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:4-8) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24

@katiek.8808

4 ай бұрын

@@yamar6you are referring to the uninscribable while pointing at the inscribable. And a picture of Christ is not a graven image. It’s a picture. You are using words you don’t even know the definitions of. A graven image is like a golden calf. Or a giant owl. Then people do sacrifices to them. You just simply are not listening.

@yamar6

4 ай бұрын

@@katiek.8808 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 7 It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going.,2 Corinthians 5:7., Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them”: second of the Ten Commandments.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

@@yamar6 you know the Orthodox Church is the one who compiled the Biblical canon in the first place? Multiple councils, overseen by hundreds or possibly thousands of bishops and monks over the course of 6 centuries. I'm sorry, but to understand that and think the Church condones idolatry is retarded.

Goat herders religion from bronze age still going strong.

What saddens me is the religious pride that exhaust charity !

@richarddouglas8015

4 ай бұрын

By charity theological meaning is love of our Christian brothers and all !it is the theological virtue faith hope charity which contains the cardinal virtues fortitude temperance Prudence patience !

They worship traditions more than The Word

@barkobunga2276

4 ай бұрын

How was the canon of scripture established?

@champion9540

4 ай бұрын

​@@barkobunga2276 Through tradition😎❤️☦️

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

Christ is the Word, the Logos of God. We worship Him. The Holy Tradition is what has been passed down from generation to generation by the Apostles, through the Fathers.

@mmr1137

4 ай бұрын

The Bible is also based on traditions

@hakooplayplay3212

4 ай бұрын

You can't even read the Old testament w/o tradition. It had no spaces between words andonly vowels letters. You get this letters by masora = Juwish tradition. Also if you get other letters you still can't understand most of it w/o knowing the tradition of understanding it, also translation is always an interpretation. Word loosing its meaning outside of tradition of its understanding.

Такие не искусные образа я тоже ненавижу ..Вы говорите правильные слова об иконах а показываете не непонятно что ? Слова высокого качества должны соотноситься с качеством живописи .

@hakooplayplay3212

4 ай бұрын

Вроде хорошие иконы. Дело вкуса конечно, но в них нет ничего такого что должно вызвать ненависть. Не понимаю вас. Это не картины для эстетического наслаждения, это богословие в красках.

Show us anywhere in Bible old and new testament where this practise is done

@machinotaur

4 ай бұрын

This presupposes sola scriptura, which Orthodoxy rejects

@kostaskladakis8938

4 ай бұрын

@@nikusja5864 I found Christ in the Bible and not in traditions and I am happy where I am thanks

@stuntman083

4 ай бұрын

@@kostaskladakis8938 who do you think decided which 27 books would even be in the New Testament?

@montozza4217

4 ай бұрын

@@kostaskladakis8938you know, they call Protestant church a “reform(ed)” church. Sure, when you have a paper cup or a plastic cup, you can drink water, but when you squeeze it, then it’s not good for the initial intention. Yet, could we agree that the squeezed cup is basically a re-formed cup?

@ElDogeRenacido

4 ай бұрын

The fact that we are made in the image of God. We are all "icons" of God. The fact that the Ark of the Covenant has ANGELS depicted on top of the box. The fact that Yeshua Christ Himself said: "If you have seen me, then you have seen my Father." HE IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, ICON OF GOD THE FATHER.

I have nothing against icons or religious art. just when people bow to them and kiss them / swing incense thimbles to them etc.

Exodus 20:4 KJV Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. The CHURCH needs to read this PASSAGE over and over and over again until it sinks in. Enoch (PROPHET)

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

Cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant, detailed images and ornaments in the Temple, ornaments on the priestly robes. God commanded for all of those to be created and put there, so obviously not every image is graven and there has been holy iconography dating as early as the times of Moses. Commanded by God.

@HellenicLegend7

4 ай бұрын

Also what about the bronze serpent in the desert?!

@cabellero1120

4 ай бұрын

Why do Evangelicals bring up the Law of Moses when they do NOT observe Any of it?

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

You understand the Church is the one that oversaw the compilation and preservation of Scripture in the first place? You can look up the canons of the Council of Carthage (256ad) and see what Old Testament Books were accepted, and the Council of Trullo to see their affirmation as well as the New Testament canon. It took 6 centuries to have an official Biblical canon. You really think, in 600 years, the thousands of bishops, monks, and theologians who carefully compiled these texts based on traditional usage, authorship, and many many other criteria, OVERLOOKED THE SECOND COMMANDMENT? That's retarded, and you are just making assumptions based on your Protestant presuppositions. I was an evangelical for 27 years. Orthodoxy does not support idolatry, you just refuse to admit your worldview is possibly in error.

kzread.info/dash/bejne/iYaWqa2CZbfMoLw.htmlsi=kYZDpzVP3AVjqMrc

I came out of orthodoxy and personally know orthodox that DO worship Mary and the saints, there is to much focus on everyone else but Christ when it's all about him! Furthermore, the priest said he looks at St.Nicholas as a role model therefore kisses the icon, this is idolatry and why would you hail a human as your role model when Jesus is the one we should be imitating? The Holy Spirit leads no man to kiss icons or look to saints or Mary, read the scriptures in the new testament and you will see no born again Holy Spirit filled believer looking to no one but Jesus.

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

We focus on the Theotokos and the Saints because they point to Christ. We revere them as one would revere a noble man or a member of one's family. Would you kiss those in your family? If the answer is yes, then why shouldn't we venerate the saints? And wouldn't you see role models in other people - pastors, parents, etc.? If yes, then why shouldn't we see role models in holy people, inspired by God? Having role models is unavoidable, so what better way to have role models than to look to the saints? Icon veneration is Biblical, regardless of what you heretics claim. The Ark of Covenant had images and was venerated. Our saints, all of whom were filled with the Holy Spirit, unlike the Protestants who call themselves "born again believers," all venerated icons, starting from those Early Christians in the Catacombs. Indeed, icons have been found in those Catacombs, dating to the earliest days of Christianity. And per Nicaea II, we venerate icons and saints - we do not worship them. Come back, apostate. Protestantism is not what the Fathers taught. Orthodoxy is. The Bible you read was compiled by men who believed different things than those you believe. Stop spouting your heretical nonsense and return to the One True Church of Christ - the Orthodox Church.

@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09

4 ай бұрын

You speak the truth that is Christ, child of God.

@SmileyCy

4 ай бұрын

Thank you. I speak truth as I’m led by the Spirit of truth.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

Uh huh. Who are the elders John refers to in Revelation offering the prayers of the living as incense to God's throne? Why are the souls of the martyrs under the altars he mentions? The only church I know that has the relics of martyrs in their altars is the Orthodox Church.

@SmileyCy

4 ай бұрын

The first believes, walked and followed Christ. They never focused on any past men of God that lost their life for the God of Isreal.

The Lord Jesus is the word of God.. The word of God cannot be represented by a painting any more than a Pope or a Bishop be a real life representation of Jesus. The Pope cannot be infallible because only Jesus the Christ is infallible. Veneration is restricted to the word of God. Clergy cannot be the vicars of Christ because Christ is unequaled. Its ALL Jesus or its nothing but falsehoods. if it is not of Jesus Christ it is of Satan.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

Orthodox don't follow the Pope or believe bishops are infallible, what is your point? And the Word of God also isn't the book, it's the Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity.

When an Orthodox Priest takes vows to a wife, then takes vows to God to serve the flock, how does he honor his vows to both? Who comes first the Priest's wife or God's flock? If God's laws don't conform to culture, then why would a Priest need to be married to give council to married individuals of the flock? Yes sinners have entered the Holy Roman Catholic Apostilic Church and caused great scandals, but we know that Satan is ever vigilant in his efforts to destroy the Church that proclaims the word of God to people all over the world. I pray that God strengthen his servants of the Universal Church, who are battling against evil, for the salvation of souls. Division doesn't serve God...

@johnnyd2383

4 ай бұрын

Apostles were married and that did not stop the Lord from selecting them. Celibacy is for the monks and they live in a seclusion within monasteries, away from the other gender. Otherwise it is road to disaster as witnessed in the fallen Roman church.

@steelfalconx2000

4 ай бұрын

​@@johnnyd2383 Yes well said, I was just about to reply this same thing. The priests are not above the apostles.

@steelfalconx2000

4 ай бұрын

And the Lord comes first in every marriage whether priest or laety.

@barkobunga2276

4 ай бұрын

Sir, we Orthodox didn't conform to anything societal. Celibate priests is a western innovation that was dogmatized in the west around 1070 AD. We're not the ones who changed anything, y'all did. Also, literally no one Orthodox complains about a priest being unavailable because of his family. If anything, his family and wife support him, allowing him to operate on the parish level even more effectively.

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

Many priests and bishops in the Early Church were married. Only bishops later became celibate. The Roman Church forced presbyters to take up celibacy. Interestingly enough though, Eastern Catholics (Uniates) still have married priests. The fact is, there is no reason why a priest's vows to his wife and God's flock should come into conflict. Of course, if the wife's interests come into conflict with the Glory of God, then naturally the priest should choose the Glory of God.

the traditions of men such huge expenses even greater tho, DESTRACTIONS Plus, TIME wasted go into your prayer CLOSET and close the door closet=close-it go there ALL ALONE then, venerate SCRIPTURE the holy spirit will be with you, then Be with God and God will be with you

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

As if all of what you wrote isn't a personal opinion of a human person. Also, venerating the holy icons IS venerating Scripture, as their function and role is to spread and tell the Gospel in a visual form.

@HellenicLegend7

4 ай бұрын

So you yourself are the Church…🙄. We pray alone at home, but we worship God as a community at church. It’s not only me and Jesus.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

so when God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle with gold and images and ornaments and to offer incense, are those also wastes of money and distracting?

@elizabethharrison2947

4 ай бұрын

The Bible is to be read from the beginning to end of it, AND in context ALWAYS, as well. And so, this is the root cause of your not so subtle claims against my comments, which your confusions are made of - a simple but tragic lack of knowledge...I was raised in your religion, and was shocked to learn about Gods WORD, His TRUTH....and understanding well, the meaning of,.....'and the whole world wondered after the beast...' Its like the shocking children's story of 'The Emperors New Clothes', which from the age of 4 y/o was my favorite book, somehow knowing I was living in a world of great deceits, later, learning that i was born of Issac and not of Ishmael. I fully realize that studying holy scripture does not come eagerly to those caught up in false doctrines/religions, and many misunderstandings of scripture, too - just as the cause of this is seeking the safety of the world and other false comforts of men, primarily. I hope this final comment of mine here might help you in your seeking The Lord. As in, '...seek and you SHALL find...' Be with God and God will be with you!🙏💔🙏 @@fahn777

There is so much difference between the Christian Catholic Roman Church and Christian orthodox church. The Catholic Church have idols which is a big difference. And I see them even crying to the Statue of Mary like if she was real that's that shitt was real I feel the Christian orthodox yes they got icon images but I don't see them crying to the image

@j.knight9335

4 ай бұрын

The Catholic Church does not have idols. That's a lie. You break the commandment.

@progmanmike

4 ай бұрын

Both are old cults

@j.knight9335

4 ай бұрын

@@progmanmike You reject the promise of Christ to be with His Church all days. You believe that an "old cult" assembled the Bible. You're not a Christian, you're a guy who in his profound spiritual blindness believes that it is his prerogative to create his own mini-religion based upon his personal interpretation of Scripture. What folly.

@j.knight9335

4 ай бұрын

@progmanmike Where did the Bible come from? One of those "old cults."

@y.kaloian6324

4 ай бұрын

We don't have idols. The catholics have statues that represent Christ, the Virgin and the Saints. And the Orthodox have icons representing Christ, the Virgin and the Saints.

I don’t need any physical objects to get to, to be with, to talk to, my Lord and God. I don’t need a priest or pastor to get to my God. No priest can save me, nor Mary mother of Jesus, nor any saints.. I need The Bible and my relationship with my God. Kissing objects, bowing before objects, all will pass away. These are no different than the golden calf, we don’t want them and we don’t need them. I will read my Bible and pray to The Father, trust and believe Jesus died for me and know that I am saved.

@s.k.3891

4 ай бұрын

Your own personal Jesus, just how you like him, like a good friend! Wow!

@TheDirtyScrub

4 ай бұрын

“I’m assured of my salvation no matter what”, wow, the pride you must carry.

@3wL7

4 ай бұрын

You do need. Otherwise you get to, you are with and talk to your "personal Jesus", not the real Jesus.

@austinditullio6682

4 ай бұрын

So what you're so pridefully telling us is that you don't need the Church that Christ established, built by His Apostles. You're so so special to think you don't need Christ's body and all he has to offer for the salvation of your soul. How arrogant of you. You wouldn't have the scriptures if it wasn't for the Church. You wouldn't have the Christian faith if Christ didn't give us His Church, "that is the pillar and ground of truth." 1Tim3:15. You're no one special, and you most certainly don't know better than the body of Christ, aka The Orthodox Church. You're in delusion. Repent of your pride and arrogance. Come home to the true Church of Jesus Christ #EasternOrthodoxy

@stuntman083

4 ай бұрын

you sound like a muslim

Within moments, the priest seems very prickly. I noticed that with a lot of orthodox priests.

@matthewadamkeil

4 ай бұрын

How so? 🤔

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

First let me preface by saying that I have not known an overwhelming number of Orthodox priests. I feel as though some of them behave as though they're constantly persecuted, and behave defensively before anyone even has a chance to give offense. I'm not sure I'm communicating my point well, and this is only a personal observation.

@mmr1137

4 ай бұрын

That just means being Serbian. This Orthodox Priest was really calm comparing to many others Serbs. Trust me, as a Serbian myself I know what am I saying. Most of Orthodox Serbs who really believe would instantly jump on you in you deny our beliefs lol. This is how we are. You at least got the answers from this orthodox priest. If some Serbian go and ask Serbian Orthodox Priest for this are icons idol worshiping he would ask him do you go to divine liturgy? Do you go to Confessions? Do you follow Fasting according to Church calendar? If your answer is NO, you will get answer it is because your Faith is so weak and low, you ask me those questions. That answer you would get if you are Serbian. So trust me brother, this was kind answers he gave it to you. 😃But regardless all of that I think Serbian Orthodox Priests are definitely most calm Serbs, you can find. Most of us are not that much calm. If we don't like something we don't know to put that fake smile and pretend everything is fine. No brother that is instant anger and rage reaction. But we like you we would instant treat you like you are part of family by generations. I am writing you all of this to help you to understand. Because if you understand mentality of some people, you can understand his reactions as well.

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

@@mmr1137 Thank you for taking the time to explain all of that to me. I don't think I've ever actually met a Serbian Orthodox priest. Mostly Antiochian, I believe.

@mmr1137

4 ай бұрын

@@FeedLips You are welcome! And sorry if my english was not good enough. I am happy I was able to explain this to you even with my "broken" english.

The early Church Fathers say he is wrong about who left who. In 251, St. Cyprian of Carthage, writes: ‘If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?’ (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).

@triggered8556

4 ай бұрын

All orthodox Bishops are successors of Peter, and sit in his chair. Out of the three historic Petrine Sees, why should Rome alone hold that status?

@sptomase

4 ай бұрын

@@triggered8556 because that’s the way it’s been from the start. We have to have someone in charge on earth like Christ said or we get 33,000 denominations. St Paul, and Ignatius (I’m sure others too) warned very strongly against any division. The Orthodox are our sister Church and get most of it right and have valid sacraments. We don’t differ that much. I hope we can become one Church again. Edit: I would also add your Bishops didn’t hold the chair of Peter. They do however have apostolic succession. That’s very different than what Jesus Christ gave to Peter.

@triggered8556

4 ай бұрын

@@sptomase saying that’s the way it’s been isn’t an argument. Christ is the leader and head of the Orthodox Church, not one Bishop. I have yet to see the Vatican I claims anywhere in the first millennium. Pope John Paul admitted that the Orthodox has maintained the faith without corruption. The Vatican has admitted the Orthodox have valid sacraments and apostolic succession. The orthodox were able to come to theological truth in the second ecumenical council where Rome and the Pope were not present or in communion. So if the orthodox can come to truth and maintain the faith without the Pope, then why do we need one?

@johnnyd2383

4 ай бұрын

St. Peter established Patriarchate of Antioch in the year 34 AD, prior to establishing church in Rome. Yet... Patriarchate of Antioch never claimed stupidities Rome so dearly cherish until our times... Papal claims are just as laughable as 1000 years ago.

@sptomase

4 ай бұрын

@@johnnyd2383 if it’s so laughable then why did Jesus set it up that way. We don’t see Jesus telling the other apostles specifically to feed, and tend his sheep, nor do we see him telling any other apostle he will build his church on them. Sure he made the church of Antioch but then moved on to Rome. If he would have stayed in Antioch it would have been the same thing only in Antioch. All the early Christians believed and accepted Peter as the Bishop of Rome as the leader of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I’ll trust them. Also why did so many churches come back after the schism if we weren’t the original?

As a Protestant, I don't think I'll be taking the definition of what idolatry is from an idolater. Sorry be blunt.

@austinditullio6682

4 ай бұрын

So you're just intellectually dishonest and completely bad faith. You're so arrogant and prideful while being absolutely ignorant that you can't even listen to the other sides position and actually give an honest intellectual rebuttal to the matter, no instead you make snarky comments that doesn't justify your ill-informed position. You're a 🤡🤡🤡🤡

@mmr1137

4 ай бұрын

Stay delusional and look how only Orthodox Church is the only Church that grows in USA, while all others abandon their old religions. Or they do not care about religion of their own parents.

Exodus 20:4-6 KJV 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. One should not defend what the Father said not to do. Read the Bible FROM THE BEGINING and do what the Father said to do! 1John 5:3 KJV For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. May Jesus bless you with wisdom and understanding!

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

Cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant, detailed images and ornaments in the Temple, ornaments on the priestly robes. God commanded for all of those to be created and put there, so obviously not every image is graven and there has been holy iconography dating as early as the times of Moses. Commanded by God.

@sptomase

4 ай бұрын

@@Hoi4o The second I see KJV I automatically roll my eyes. You just know it’s some Baptist or non denominational that doesn’t know anything.

@johnnyd2383

4 ай бұрын

Negating images is to negate Lord's incarnation. Read (Col 1, 15) "He is the image of the invisible God..." and tell me why are you so delusional.?

@elenalugos4477

4 ай бұрын

Honesty I newer seen icon of God the Father ,just Jesus as incarnated our humanity .

@sptomase

4 ай бұрын

@@nikusja5864 only the Catholic Church gave us the Bible (when the Orthodox Church was till in unity with us) and that’s a historical fact.

"Your ridiculous English not very good for talk about God."

@matthewadamkeil

4 ай бұрын

He did not say this.

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

@@matthewadamkeil You are correct. I use American tool called "irony".

@matthewadamkeil

4 ай бұрын

@@FeedLips And you called him prickly. 🙄

@matthewadamkeil

4 ай бұрын

"Every man judges his neighbor as he is himself." -St. Isaac the Syrian

@FeedLips

4 ай бұрын

@@matthewadamkeil Indeed. 😀

False teachings. We are not to make any image of anything on earth or in heaven. This is idolatry. Whether you venerate it or kiss it. Take heed. God will not be mocked with lies. He scattered the Israelites throughout the nations for doing the same. God is a jealous God. Throw all of your trinkets in the bin and love God only.

@Hoi4o

4 ай бұрын

Cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant, detailed images and ornaments in the Temple, ornaments on the priestly robes. God commanded for all of those to be created and put there, so obviously not every image is graven and there has been holy iconography dating as early as the times of Moses. Commanded by God.

Definition of veneration = to worship Case closed 😅

@masteryodapresidentofiraq

4 ай бұрын

Protestantism is the first step towards atheism

@sptomase

4 ай бұрын

Please delete and throw away all pictures you own, and never read a magazine, or McDonalds menu again. You don’t get to pick and choose when an icon and or statue is idolatry.

@mmr1137

4 ай бұрын

Veneration or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Source: Lindsay Jones, ed. (2005). Thomson Gale Encyclopedia of Religion. Conclusion: Honoring a Saints: ✅ Worship a Saints: ❌ Case opened and closed 😊

@joannemcnamara4346

4 ай бұрын

Jesus hated legalism like that of the pharises. He knows each one's heart.

@OrthobroMan

4 ай бұрын

Did you listen to Father explain the Greek terminology behind those terms?

The bible is a man-made book with man-made wisdom (Kain and Abel) and man-made errors (nothing inspired by any god): + the Earth wasn't there before the sun + Adam and Eve didn't exist + there was no global flood + homosexuality is not a seduction by a satan, but a natural born healthy sexual orientation with an evolutionary meaning + the sky is no dome /vault over the Earth + the sun can’t be stopped for having longer light in a battle, it already stands still + etc etc. If the bible would be the word of god or inspired by god it would be without errors, but it isn't.

@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09

4 ай бұрын

Child of God. I would support you to have your opinion, even if I consider it to be wrong. Bless you.

@user-vm5yk2js6w

4 ай бұрын

@@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09 Well its not an opinion, all the points I listed here are de facto errors in the bible. And I asure you , I tread you as a friend , even though your version of a god is not real :)

@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09

4 ай бұрын

@@user-vm5yk2js6w Dear Friend, we can agree to disagree and that is completely fine. May He bless you abundantly and give you the peace and oil of gladness that is the Christ.

@user-vm5yk2js6w

4 ай бұрын

@@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09 May religious darkness not block your real spirituality my friend :)

@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09

4 ай бұрын

@@user-vm5yk2js6w Bless you. I have half an eye on the adversary and his plans and one and a half eyes on Jesus and his coming Kingdom. May He keep you safe my friend.

Jesus said in the Scriptures making the word of God of none effect through yer trsditions. Its traditions giving a high position. Take all the relics and the tatt away and bin it , and woeahip Hod in spirit and truth, without all this stuff. And that is what the Lord seeks. This is just a form of Religion. Real men look at this and go what in the world this is mad and that is a sign you have gone to far. Its about a relationship with God. And the last thing you need to have that relathionship is a saint john the baptist painting with wings added on because you know he was like an angel. Sheer slop that makes me turn off. Give me scripture and and a good bible study im interested. But thisbmakes ne wanna puke.

@Cteabis

4 ай бұрын

Relics healing people is in scripture

@Shaleqa_Adenan

4 ай бұрын

Ignorant! It took 1500 years to spilt the early Christian into Orthodox & Roman Catholic Christians but Protestant Christians in less than 400 years it spilt into 100 thousands. Today in Europe & Americans 70% Protestant churches are closing because of you.

@Leftcatholicsatanchurch09

4 ай бұрын

@christophermccall. Well said, Child of God. Soon-to-be Son of God.

@fahn777

4 ай бұрын

The bones of Elijah raised a dead man and the relics of Sirach prophesied after his death and are stated to have performed greater deeds in death than when he was alive. Both of these accounts are in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we see the scraps of Paul's clothing healing the sick and casting out demons. God can sanctify matter and use it for good, Protestants are just Gnostics who think flesh and matter is evil and only spirit is good, but don't want to admit it.