Pagan idol displayed inside a church

A Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in New York has garnered controversy for its decision to host a pagan sculpture on their property.

An artist's rendering of a sculpture of the Sviatovid idol, based off a Medieval pagan deity was put on display at the church in September 2019.

The idol was a local Slavic god of war, fertility, and abundance in the Baltic region.

Speaking on its erection, someone said:

“Admittedly, and thankfully, the purpose of Sviatovid in this festive context is not worship, but mere interest. Yet, there is something inside that recoils at erecting an ancient Slavic deity in a church chancel of the same God who commanded, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 20:3, ESV).

"To put a false god in the same spot as God’s communion table, regardless of the fact that it was not during a worship service, raises questions of prudential judgment and is possibly sacrilegious,” he added. 

On contacting the church, they said:

"If Sviatovid is apart from the grace of God, then it is purely secular, and there is no special significance to its appearing on the stage at the front of the room in which the congregation worships (not, as it happens, in the spot where the communion table can be found during worship).

“Or if Sviatovid is sacred, it is sacred through the grace of God, and the contemplation of this work of beauty is not idolatry, but a gift from God.”

CP