Frank Schaeffer, son of the late renowned Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer, holds a photo of his son, John, a Marine.
I would say the larger barriers are western "Augustinian" issues which we Orthodox reject.
The particular icon you find offense with was in place at the dome of the Hagia Sophia in 537 AD. Still a favorite of mine, I think it has probably been around long enough to influence more people than simple humans such as you and I.
Editor’s Note: John Whiteford is a former Nazarene Associate Pastor who converted to the Orthodox Faith soon after completing his B.A. in Religion at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. He first encountered Orthodoxy as a result of his involvement in the local Pro-Life (Rescue) movement together with Diaspora Ministry International, which also included Father Anthony Nelson and several of his parishioners. After over a year of searching the Scriptures and the writings of the early Church; and through the love, prayers and patience of Father Anthony and the Parishioners of St. Benedict’s, John Whiteford was received into the Holy Orthodox Church.When he wrote this article he was serving as a Reader at St. Vladimir’s in Houston, Texas and is continuing his studies. He has since been ordained a Deacon.
Frank Schaeffer, son of the late renowned Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer, holds a photo of his son, John, a Marine.
What is amusing is that you impute this to Catholicism also, even though the Catholic Church does not follow St. Augustine on some of the very points you adamantly think we do, such as original sin and free will and the necessity of faith to perform good works.
Even more amusing, is that the Church's failure to follow St. Augustine on these issues is one of the major causes of the Reformation, in that men like Luther and Calvin returned to St. Augustine to purify the Church of what they viewed as the detritus of the Scholastics, especially St. Thomas Aquinas.