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Orthodox worship, in keeping with the earliest traditions of Christian worship, involves eating as part of services probably more than any other denomination. Besides the bread and wine in the Eucharist, bread, wine, wheat, fruits and other foods are eaten at a number of special services. The kinds of foods used vary widely from culture to culture.
The New Testament does contain the rudiments of an argument which provides a basis for religious images or icons. Jesus was visible, and orthodox Christian doctrine maintains that Jesus is YHWH incarnate. In the Gospel of John, Jesus stated that because his disciples had seen him, they had seen God the Father (Gospel of John 14:7-9 [20]).
[47] This is thus the approach to icons; to kiss an icon of Jesus, in the Eastern Orthodox view, is to show love towards Jesus himself, not mere wood and paint making up the physical substance of the icon. Worship of the icon as somehow entirely separate from its prototype is expressly forbidden by the Seventh Ecumenical Council. [42]
Icon in Greek simply denotes a picture but it has now come to be closely associated with religious art which is used by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Icons are used to assist in prayer and the worship of God by Orthodox Churches. Icon (image) is the same word used in the Bible in Genesis 1:27, Colossians 1:15.
Typically, to the right of the Beautiful Gate (as viewed from the nave) is the icon of Christ, then the icon of St. John the Baptist; to the left the icon of the Theotokos, always shown holding Christ; and then the icon of the saint to whom the church is dedicated (i.e., the patron). There are often other icons on the iconostasis, but these ...
Orthodox Christians do not pray "to" icons; rather, they pray "before" them. An icon is a medium of communication, rather than a medium of art. Gazing at, an icon is intended to help draw the worshipper into the heavenly kingdom. As with all of Orthodox theology, the purpose is theosis (mystical union with God). [citation needed]
This practice of administering ashes was gradually extended to all Christians. Orthodox churches, and other Eastern Christians, have never observed this rite.
Icons are considered by Orthodox Christians to have a sacramental character, making present to the believer the person or event depicted on them. However, the Orthodox always make a clear doctrinal distinction between the veneration ( proskynesis ) paid to icons and the worship ( latria ) which is due to God alone.