Somebody needs to tell this to my church's missionary to Russia. Our missionary has been to those Orthodox churches and according to him, the people there worship the statues of the saints. Somebody needs to tell Putin that he should not put people in jail for not agreeing with him. He won't even allow dissenting news media there. The media is purely state run. He has taken over the deciding of the governors. The people cannot even vote for their own governors anymore. I am not going to question his faith, but if he is a christian, he should live it more.
I have been very involved in Russian Orthodoxy, to the point of learning the Old Slavonic language that the liturgical music is sung in. I can assure you that the orthodox do not worship statues. They venerate, or hold sacred, icons which are paintings of Christ, Mary or various saints. The image (not the wood or paint) is considered to be the actual presence of the person depicted. In a way it is like looking at a loved one through a window. It is the person in the icon is worshiped, or communicated with, the painting itself is venerated as something holy. The Greek Eastern Orthodox is very similar in their beliefs, just different ethnically. I have not heard of Putin putting people in jail for disagreeing with him
I have been very involved in Russian Orthodoxy, to the point of learning the Old Slavonic language that the liturgical music is sung in. I can assure you that the orthodox do not worship statues. They venerate, or hold sacred, icons which are paintings of Christ, Mary or various saints. The image (not the wood or paint) is considered to be the actual presence of the person depicted. In a way it is like looking at a loved one through a window. It is the person in the icon is worshiped, or communicated with, the painting itself is venerated as something holy. The Greek Eastern Orthodox is very similar in their beliefs, just different ethnically. I have not heard of Putin putting people in jail for disagreeing with him