During the 8th century in the Eastern Empire, the influence of the philosophy of dualism guided the emperor to declare that the Divine cannot be pictured in anything material! This led to the banning of the veneration of religious images on the grounds that matter/materiality is to be despised as an obstacle to our relationship to God. Clearly, this contradicts our faith that the Divine Word assumed True Humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.
In defense of our Faith, the VII Council of Nicaea in 787 C.E. taught that “… the honor which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and anyone who shows reverence to the image shows reverence to the subject represented in it …” So, the iconostasis (icon screen) in our Cathedral at Canton, and in our parish churches, is not a barrier between us and God, but a magnificent statement that in our human flesh and history we know God, precisely because the Word became Flesh like our own.
Icon Screens in Romanian Greek-Catholic Churches in North America
St. George Cathedral (Canton, Ohio)
St. Helena Church (Cleveland, Ohio)
St. Theodore Church (Alliance, Ohio)
St. Mary Church (McKeesport, Pennsylvania)
St. Michael Church (Aurora, Illinois)
St. George Church (Aurora, Illinois)
Ss. Peter and Paul Church (Chicago, Illinois)
St. Nicholas Church (East Chicago, Illinois)
St. John the Baptist (Detroit, Michigan)
St. Basil Church (Trenton, New Jersey)
Nativity of the Mother of God Mission (Montreal, Canada)
Holy Theophany Monastery (Olympia, Washington)
Holy Resurrection Monastery (St. Nazianz, Wisconsin)
