Pope Shenouda III
Pictures and Icons
Our brethren the Protestants do not believe in the pictures and icons in the Orthodox Church or in the statues in the Catholic Church. They consider them against the second commandment, in which the Lord says: “You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex.20: 4,5); (Deut.5: 8,9).
There was a war waged against icons in the 8th century in 726 A. D. during the time of Emperor Leo III. It continued for a few centuries then calmed down. It was revived in Protestantism since the 15th and 16th centuries and has remained among their beliefs till this day. Some of our Protestant brethren consider icons as remnants of paganism. They reproach Orthodoxy and Catholicism
for venerating icons, kissing them, lighting candles in front of them and kneeling before them.