Olketa Lotu Piksa—Hao Olketa Start Bifor
“Olketa lotu piksa hem wanfala wei for joinim iumi witim gudfala fasin and holy fasin bilong God and olketa Saint bilong Hem.”—GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA.
LONG wanfala hot day long month bilong August, sun shaen strong long olketa cement step wea lead go ap long monastery bilong “Most Holy Mother of God,” long island bilong Tínos, long Aegean Sea. Wei wea sun hot tumas hem nating katem daon feeling wea muvim 25,000 pipol bilong Greek Orthodox religion wea wakabaot isisi go ap for kasem datfala lotu piksa bilong mami bilong Jesus wea olketa decoratem.
Wanfala young girl wea cripple, wea feelim barava bigfala pain and feis bilong hem showaot hem klosap for lus hope, krol go ap nomata olketa knee bilong hem garekil. No farawe from hem, wanfala olo woman wea barava taed fogud from hem travel kam from nara saed long kantri hem stragol for go ahed wakabaot. Wanfala man wea olo lelebet bat wea laekem tumas for kasem there, swet fogud taem hem trae hard for go thru staka pipol hia wea pushpush. Goal bilong olketa hia hem for kissim piksa bilong Mary and bow daon front long hem.
Olketa hia wea strong for religion bilong olketa barava laek for worshipim God. Bat, haomas long olketa nao minim hao wei for tinghae tumas long olketa lotu piksa hem start kam planti handred year bifor taem bilong olketa Christian?
Olketa Lotu Piksa Stap Evriwea
Long olketa ples wea olketa Orthodox religion stap, olketa lotu piksa stap evriwea. Long olketa main ples insaed church, olketa lotu piksa bilong Jesus, Mary, and planti “saint” stap. Pipol wea lotu planti taem honorim olketa lotu piksa hia long wei for kissim, mekem incense, and bonem olketa kandol. And tu, klosap evri haos bilong olketa bilong Orthodox religion garem ples for putim lotu piksa, for olketa prea long hem. Planti taem olketa Christian wea bilong Orthodox religion sei taem olketa worshipim lotu piksa, hem mekem olketa feel klosap long God. Planti bilivim hao olketa lotu piksa fulap witim help from God and garem paoa for duim mirakol.
Olketa wea bilivim kaen samting olsem maet sapraes for savve hao olketa Christian long first-century no appruvim wei for iusim olketa lotu piksa insaed worship. Datfala buk Byzantium sei: “From olketa firstfala Christian followim Jew religion bifor, olketa garem yet wei for heitim idol, so olketa barava no laekem wei for mekhae long olketa piksa bilong holy pipol.” Sem buk hia sei moa: “Start from Mek-faev Century, olketa lotu piksa or image . . . kamap staka evriwea insaed pablik worship and insaed worship bilong man wanwan.” Sapos diswan no start kam from olketa Christian long first-century, wea nao disfala wei for iusim olketa lotu piksa start kam from?
Faendem wea Nao Hem Start
Man for duim research Vitalij Ivanovich Petrenko raet olsem: “Wei for iusim image and kastom wea join witim datwan start longtaem bifor taem bilong olketa Christian and hem ‘garem start insaed heathen religion.’ ” Planti pipol for raetem history agree hao wei for worshipim olketa lotu piksa hem start long Babylon, Egypt, and Greece bifor. Olsem example, long Greece bifor, olketa image bilong religion olketa olsem statue. Olketa biliv hao olketa image hia garem paoa olsem god. Pipol tingse samfala image foldaon kam from heven and no man nao wakem. Taem olketa garem spesol festival, olketa savve tekem kaen image olsem wea olketa worshipim and tekem raon long taon, and offerim olketa sakrifaes long olketa. Petrenko sei: “Nomata samfala trae . . . for showimaot hao datfala image hem difren from datfala god, pipol go ahed for tingse disfala image wea olketa worshipim hem wanfala god.”
Hao nao gogo olketa kaen idea and wei olsem kam insaed Christian Wei? Datfala sem man for duim research lukim hao, insaed olketa handred year bihaen olketa aposol bilong Christ dae, especially long Egypt, “olketa Christian biliv feisim ‘olketa heathen biliv’—wea kamaot from olketa biliv and kastom bilong Egypt, Greece, Jew, olketa bilong East and Rome, wea olketa followim long semtaem olketa followim biliv bilong olketa Christian.” From diswan, “olketa Christian savveman followim wei for [joinim olketa difren religion] taem olketa mekius long olketa heathen saen, and mekem olketa kamap olketa niu saen bilong Christian Wei. Bat, olketa no mekem olketa saen hia kamap klin evribit from heathen wei.”
Gogo olketa lotu piksa kamap main samting insaed religion bilong pipol. Long datfala buk The Age of Faith, man for raetem history Will Durant storyim hao diswan hem happen, hem sei: “From namba bilong olketa saint wea olketa worshipim hem kakamap moa big, need hem kamap for luksavve and rememberim olketa; olketa wakem planti piksa bilong olketa and bilong Mary; and olketa mekem no just piksa bilong Christ, bat cross bilong hem tu kamap olsem samting wea olketa honorim—hem kamap samting wea pipol tingim olsem magic samting. From man born kam witim wei for formimap samting long mind, pipol gogo start for iusim olketa holy samting, piksa, and image for kamap samting wea olketa barava lovem; bow daon long olketa, kissim olketa, bonem kandol and incense front long olketa, putim flaoa long olketa, askem mirakol from secret paoa bilong olketa. . . . Olketa Father and council bilong Church talem olowe hao olketa image hia olketa no god bat hem samting for remindim olketa abaotem olketa god; bat pipol no laek for ting olsem.”
Olsem tu, distaem planti wea iusim olketa lotu piksa bae sei hao olketa image hem samting for respectim nomoa—no for worshipim. Olketa maet sei olketa lotu piksa hem samting wea fitim man iusim and barava important for helpem olketa worshipim God. Maet iu feel olsem tu. Bat kwestin nao hem, Wanem nao feeling bilong God abaotem diswan? Waswe, wei for mekhae long wanfala lotu piksa hem semsem witim wei for worshipim hem? Waswe, kaen wei olsem garem eni danger wea haed insaed?
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Wanem Nao Wanfala Lotu Piksa?
Long wei wea difren from olketa image wea planti pipol long Roman Catholic religion iusim taem olketa worship, olketa lotu piksa garem piksa bilong Christ, Mary, “olketa saint,” olketa angel, pipol and samting wea happen insaed Bible, or olketa samting wea happen insaed history bilong Orthodox Church. Planti taem olketa paintim diswan long olketa timba board wea man savve karem.
Orthodox Church talem hao, “insaed lotu piksa abaotem olketa Saint, olketa piksa hia no luk olsem piksa bilong really man.” And tu, “wei wea olketa drawim hem difren from olketa normal piksa.” Planti taem lotu piksa hia bae “no garem eni shadow, or eniting wea bae showimaot sapos hem naet or day.” Olketa biliv tu hao “God savve stap insaed” timba and paint bilong wanfala lotu piksa.
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Wei for iusim olketa image hem start kam from olketa heathen
[Piksa Credit Line long page 3]
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