And it's been absolutely clear to Non-Catholics that "Veneration" is nothing but a "Weasel word" to mask the FACT that the Catholic Mary thing (and to a lesser degree the Orthodox Theotokos) IS DEFINITLY WORSHIPPED - more prominently in the Roman system than Jesus is.
I can understand how the veneration of Mary and the Saints can seem to be "worship" to a non-Orthodox Christian. Worship of an icon is a grave sin in the Orthodox Church. When you walk into the narthex of my Orthodox Church you see an icon of Christ, the Theotokos, our patron saint, Saint George, and some others. The nave is full of icons of saints, we have a beautiful mosaic icon of Pentecost at the back of the nave. Christ Pantocrator looks down on you and then the
iconostasis, icon screen, separates the nave from the sanctuary. I'm know, as during our Greek festival I give tours of our Church (I have no Greek ancestry by the way), it can be an overwhelming experience for some.
I can assure you, that it definitely is not worship. I liken it to pictures of family and friends at ones house. We have pictures of loved ones as a reminder of memories we shared with them. It reminds us of the love we have for those who are not longer with use, either because of death or distance. This is what icons do. They remind us of those who have gone before us, fought the good fight, finished the race, and are now in Heaven with our God.
created their own phony "Rituals", "Sacraments", and "Salvation by WORKS" theology which makes Christ of NO EFFECT in their religious system.
We Orthodox share a close, spiritual history with our Catholic brethren. What "Rituals" do you speak of?
Orthodox as the Roman Catholic Church, share the same belief in the Sacraments, although we use the term Holy Mysteries. You do not see this as Scriptural or a part of Christian history?
And obviously Things that Catholics in GENERAL have adapted into their "Worship" from PAGANS.
So this is the root of my question, that what Orthodox believe in or practice, whether it be veneration of the Saints, the Sacraments or worship, is not Biblical?
Thanks,