Orthodox Sunday was celebrated 24.03. in Kotor with a holy liturgy with the communion of the faithful and a procession with the carrying of icons around the Church of Saint Luke in the Old Town.

Reminding of the Church's victory over iconoclasm, one of the most serious and last heresies, as well as the centuries-old tradition in Orthodoxy that has been preserved until today, the archpriest of Kotor-Tivat, parish priest of Kotor, archpriest Nemanja Krivokapić addressed the faithful.

"The first Sunday of Holy Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Perhaps it would be fairer and more precise to be Orthodoxy Sunday, the Sunday of true confession of faith, because on this day we remember a historical event when the Church defeated one wrong teaching, the heresy of iconoclasm.

Namely, many heresies caused problems for the Church throughout its history. To the Church that fought to preserve the pure faith, first of all the kind left to us by the holy fathers, first of all the apostles.

When such a wrong teaching appeared, the Church fought and always gave birth to the true teaching from which the dogmas of the Church that we have today were born.

This heresy, which we are talking about, arose in the 8th and 9th centuries, when certain people believed that the veneration of icons was actually idolatry.

That the one who respects icons, in fact, violates the second commandment, which says: "Do not make for yourself an idol or an image of any kind, do not bow down to it or serve it."

Of course, this is not the case, but the problem of the Church was that the emperors got involved in those disputes, so Leo the Isaurian even issued a decree that icons should not be respected, because he thought so.

His successor, Emperor Constantine, even strictly forbade the veneration of icons, when a very difficult period for the Church began.

Then the icons and all those who respected and guarded them were persecuted, and even holy relics were destroyed," said Fr. Nemanja.

In a difficult period for the Church, Empress Irina convened the 7th Ecumenical Council in 787.

"At the Parliament, the Church will express its opinion on what is right and what is not. It makes canons and decisions that god-pleasing veneration of icons is the right teaching. However, the problems did not disappear then.

The heirs of Empress Irina, again the emperors, Armenians and others, again persecuted the Church and destroyed icons.

Empress Theodora put an end to that problem in 843, when she decided definitively that the decisions of the Ecumenical Council must be respected, that icons must be respected.

On that occasion, there was a great ceremony in the whole Church, especially in Constantinople.

"Litija went through the city, people triumphantly carried icons, sang church songs", said Fr. Nemanja.

Since it was on the First Sunday of Holy Lent, the Church celebrates this important event from then until today, which is also called the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

"That's why we still celebrate today, we remember that event and make litia, just as our forefathers, fathers did in the 4th century and throughout the entire history of the Church," said Fr. Nemanja.

He reminded that the Church then fought with one of the last heresies in the series, as well as that the Church's respect and teaching about the icon, the Theology of the Icon, is deeply connected with all its other dogmas.

"The teaching of the Church on respect for the icon is the most profound, the primordial, apostolic tradition and expression of the faith of the Church.

In particular, this teaching about icons concerns the dogma of the Incarnation. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, God, the God who exists in eternity, became incarnate and became a man. He came here to earth, became a man for our sake and for our salvation, and by remaining God brought us salvation.

In the Old Testament, there was indeed some rule that had logic that painting God was forbidden because no one had ever seen God. Completely logical. You haven't seen God, you don't know what He looks like, you can't even draw Him.

Whatever you do, you've already made a mistake.

However, the incarnation is precisely that crucial moment that happened.

St. Jovan Damaskin says: "The very prohibition of painting icons, God whom no one has ever seen, is automatically a permission to paint God." Then when God became visible, and the incarnation is precisely God, that God, the eternal God, who became visible and came here among men and showed himself to us as a man, because He was indeed a real man, but all the time a real, real God .

The Christ that people could see was really the real, direct God, visible to people.

By painting God as he was seen, it is actually a confession of our faith that indeed God became man for our salvation," said Fr. Nemanja.

As he indicated, the icon of Christ is not only a beautiful decoration that truly adorns our homes and churches, but, as the holy fathers say, they were created in prayer and for prayer.

"So, first of all, they have a prayer character and express our faith." By painting Christ we express our faith in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

By painting the Holy Mother of God, we express our faith in the One who gave birth to God and gave me a human body.

By painting saints, we express our faith in those people who are people like us, who were glorified by God because of their God-pleasing lives, who are skilled, created like us who were created, and became saints.

So, we express again our faith in salvation.

Veneration of icons is the deepest expression of the Church and our belief in general.

That is why today we solemnly celebrate the icons and this feast of icons, and that is why today we will also perform the liturgy and honor all those who then made the liturgy, who celebrate the icons, laid down their lives for the icons, who with their teaching contributed to the importance of the Church and the study of icons .

Together with them we will cheer, as they shout in the Synod of Orthodoxy, which was then read: "This is the faith of the apostles, this is the faith of the fathers, this is the faith of the Orthodox, this faith strengthens the universe, amen," said Fr. Nemanja.

Photo by Andrea Ševaljević