Beliefs and Tradition
What is the difference between an icon and an idol?
Icons are holy images, not idols. The Coptic Orthodox Church venerates icons because God truly became man in Jesus Christ, and because His saints reveal His grace. Worship belongs to God alone.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
Idol Worship And Christian Veneration
An idol is treated as a god or as a rival to God. Christian veneration gives reverent honor to Christ, St. Mary, angels, and saints while worship remains for the Holy Trinity alone. The difference is the difference between adoration and honor.
The Church also knows the commandment against idols. Icons are received through the confession of the Incarnation. Since the Son of God truly became visible, the Church can depict Christ according to His humanity. The icon does not contain God; it bears witness to the God who entered history.
Why Icons Point Beyond Themselves
When the faithful kiss or bow before an icon, the honor passes to the person represented. A person may kiss a Gospel book, Cross, icon, or priest's hand as an act of reverence. The material thing is honored because of what God has done through it or whom it shows.
How Icons Form The Heart
Icons teach the faithful to remember Christ and His saints. They train attention, repentance, and hope. Instead of filling the church with entertainment, icons fill the church with witnesses who call the faithful toward holiness.
- Venerating Icons, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer on venerating icons and how kissing an icon relates to honoring the person represented.
- Art in the Coptic Church, Mighty Arrows Magazine, SUSCopts. Introductory teaching on Coptic iconography and art in church life.
- Icons and Vestments, Coptic Education. Introductory lesson on icons and vestments as visible teaching in Coptic worship.
- Holy Tradition, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Explanation of Holy Tradition as the received apostolic life of the Church.
Icon: A sacred image of Christ, St. Mary, an angel, a saint, or a holy event. In Coptic practice, church icons are consecrated with Holy Myron and are venerated, not worshiped.
Orthodox: Right worship and right belief, naming the Church's received apostolic faith and the life of worship that preserves it.
Veneration: Reverent honor shown to icons, saints, relics, and holy things. Worship belongs to God alone.
Holy Trinity: The one God confessed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one essence and three Persons, worshiped and glorified together.
Confession: The sacrament of repentance in which a person confesses sins before God in the presence of the priest and receives absolution and guidance.
Incarnation: The mystery that the eternal Word of God truly became man for our salvation while remaining fully divine.