purchasing icons, the good, the bad and the ugly

I called Monastery Icons, asked them which monastery they were affiliated with, didn't get much of an answer except a 'Father Seraphim' somewhere in New Mexico. I asked them if they were Catholic, and they said 'yes.' Makes me think they are self styled 'catholic.' Anyways, it seems the more legit sites actually are proud of their convent or monasteries. I am going to try to educate other Roman Catholics to avoid them, although I do not think their artwork is 'dangerous' as it is incomplete.

St Columkille

take it from someone [ not me ] who has really dug into Monastery Icons and they way that they metamorphosed into other sites by changing their name and address and personas - they are dangerous for your Spiritual health.

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The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried;
On the the third day, He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures ; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
He will come again in glory to judge the living and dead. And His kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, He has spoken through the prophets. I believe In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

If a thing ain't broke DON'T fix it !
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Well, I'll consider them more Protestants rather than Orthodox or Catholic. The artwork itself is not dangerous, but the supporting them by purchasing their work only damages them because they present themselves as something they are not. As such, people who buy their stuff should consider this carefully. Perhaps the Lutheran or Anglican might see more worth in them, due to their ideas closely resembling consubstantiation and a lack of Apostolic Succession; I'd think their ideas regarding icons and other sacramentals to be superstitous at worst and at best to be reminders to emulate those being depicted. There is probably one thing for certain, or fairly certain, is that I do not think an Eastern Orthodox priest will recieve their icons to be put on the altar for forty days because the prints from that Monastery Icons, such as St. Patrick or other shared saints with Catholics, demonstrates a Western style of Iconography rather than Eastern, even if their imitation is based on a historically similiar icon.
I have to wonder although, has anyone had one of their icons blessed by an Eastern Orthodox priest? Granted, I have to wonder how a lithograph icon is made different from a hand-painted one in terms of the prayers put into the making. Is the hand-painted icon more spiritual than a print? An icon is an icon-print, hand painted, or otherwise. If even such a print is made from a non-Orthodox source, but its style is the same in all points that a priest is unaware of the source... what is the real danger, besides what I have already mentioned?

Now if there is something in the artwork itself that is heretical, as though symbols of Hinduism are visibly present... then yes, there is some real danger within the artwork.

They have them blessed themselves in a very non-Christian ceremony...that's one big problem.

They're not even protestants, they're not CHRISTIANS. They're some weird religion stew group that has more in common with the hare krishnas than us.

__________________
O Kyriaki, God's chosen one, And for Christ, wonderful martyr,
With a sword from the earth you were driven, Wedded in glory, in heaven you were
Teach us the Faith to honor, Encourage us, our life to give for her,
By your prayers, help us - Wonderful candle, amidst the candles of Paradise.

Well said Kyriaki

We keep stating and re-stating that these are not icons - we can do no more. These paintings have fooled many people .

Please Please Please

Do NOT buy from the Group Monastery Icons or its phoenix offspring

Remember you have now been informed of this by not only Orthodox folk but Catholics as well.

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The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried;
On the the third day, He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures ; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
He will come again in glory to judge the living and dead. And His kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, He has spoken through the prophets. I believe In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

If a thing ain't broke DON'T fix it !
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I had a few questions in my post which were not addressed.

I am not encouraging Orthodox or Catholics to purchase the Monastic Icons.

The charge that they are dangerous, other than that they are blessed in an non-Christian form, which I find difficult to substantiate, is at worst hearsay and at best plausible. One could say it is blessed in a non-Orthodox form for certain, and if there are Catholic iconographers, the same applies that it is non-Catholic form. The main question is regarding them specifically is:

Is there anything within their "artwork" that is heretical?

They may be officially without valid sacraments, they may be doctrinally worse than Oriental Orthodox--being far worse than the charge of Nestorianism. The point in question is in terms of specific danger in the use of their artwork, or if the artwork is blessed by an unsuspecting Catholic elder or Priest (considering if you are a Catholic) or laid on the Altar for forty days by an Orthodox priest (which I doubt would be possible, but I am not ruling out its possibility considering perhaps other companies that make "icon" prints without official iconographers) what really is the danger?

Consider this for a moment... in a practical matter. I own three of their icons. Someone donated these icons to me. I have St. Patrick, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Joan of Arc. If they are dangerous, these specific "artworks," then I need to throw them away. Let's be very practical about this, since I have a real genuine concern owning three of them.

Did you read the information given in the very first post on this thread ?

I quote from it

They have one "iconographer" there who paints all their pictures (please, not icons). All are "blessed" with one of their occult rituals before being shipped, and they support themselves to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars per year selling the demonic things. Many Roman Catholic bookstores sell them but, happily, most Orthodox sellers of religious items have discovered who and what they are and no longer do business with them.

So after finding that out - they got into the phoenix situation and now we have their paintings offered by what appears to be a very respectable Site - BUT this is where we enter all sorts of paperchasing - which has been done and everything leads back to the original Monastery Icons .

Now if you are content to have thee paintings knowing that their provenance is doubtful - please ensure that you have them blessed .

Should you decide to dispose of them - please burn them so they cannot fall into other hands.

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The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried;
On the the third day, He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures ; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
He will come again in glory to judge the living and dead. And His kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, He has spoken through the prophets. I believe In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

If a thing ain't broke DON'T fix it !
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Restipulated the same questions and concerns from earlier post that was not answered, redundant on my part.

Another good place to buy icons is the St. Joseph School for Boys bookstore. They have a small family business that helps them to home-school their children.

__________________
CHRIST IS RISEN!
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. ~James 3:16-18
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Are there any European sources where to get icons ? I have also heard, that icons ought to be a gift, not a purchase ?