Sunday of Orthodoxy 2019

On the first Sunday in Lent, we commemorate the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 A.D. upholding the use of holy icons in Orthodox worship. We also commemorate today the unity of Orthodox belief and the oneness of our Faith—across languages, continents, and centuries.

Venerating icons, having them in churches and homes, is what the Church teaches. They are “open books to remind us of God.” Those who lack the time or learning to study theology need only to enter a church to see the mysteries of the Christian religion unfolded before them.

I do not worship matter, but the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation… —St. John of Damascus