I am not sure if this has been covered in another thread. I was just looking at the ACNA website just to check it out and I came across a statement of beliefs. Here is the part I have questions on: Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures. What parts of the 5-7th councils are not agreeable to Holy Scripture? Obviously there are canons that deal with discipline and not doctrine and therefore can be adjusted or repealed but is there some doctrine that is expressed by these councils that Anglicans feel don't agree with Holy Scripture?
Interesting. Because I could have sworn I saw some icons in a Anglican Church somewhere online. I definitely saw statues in Anglican churches. And I have seen Icons sold at a major Anglican Bookstore in my area. I will continue to venerate icons until I can understand that there is something wrong with doing so.
And that is a beautiful church. I would not feel the need to add anything eastern to it. I understand if icons are not part of the Anglican idenity or patrimony. I guess my question is what is wrong with veneration of icons? I noticed on other threads members has talked about superstitions. Who decides what is a superstition and are icons considered to be superstitions?
Exactly. The Roman Catholic argument in favor of icons is that it will be bare and plain, like the Puritans had. In short, that it'd impossible for a church to be beautiful on its own. The Anglican tradition have sought to find a way to do that. Right, that's a big question, probably for a whole big thread of its own. I understand our Anglo-Catholic friends will disagree, but the traditional Anglican argument has been that icons are idolatry. In the Roman churches, people to bow and pray directly to the objects. I know that abstractly they're supposed to be praying to God, but in practice, they're praying to those statues. The Old Testament was clear about that. In the Anglican church, you have no choice but to pray to God. Note, Anglicans have not denied iconography; i.e. images which are not prayed to; thus, secular art, sometimes maybe even stained-glass windows. It's specifically icons as objects of veneration that they objected to.
Interesting enough...this just showed up in my news feed. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/lectionary/herman-alaska-missionary-1837
Personally, I have experienced some important spiritual moments during contemplative prayer with the use of icons. Here is a book on the topic by Roman Catholic priest, educator, writer, and chaplain Henri Nouwen. ...Scottish Monk Nouwen, H. J. (2007). Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. [Originally published in 1987.].