Orthodox
Why does the West use statues while the East uses icons only?
Both traditions affirm the same theological principle vindicated at the Second Council of Nicaea (787) — that images of Christ and the saints may be venerated because of the Incarnation — but developed distinct artistic customs, three-dimensional statuary in the Latin West and stylized two-dimensional icons in the Byzantine East.
Catholic teaching
The Catholic Church accepts the full teaching of Nicaea II defending sacred images against the iconoclasts, and considers the differing artistic forms — statues, stained glass, or icons — as legitimate cultural expressions of the same doctrine, not a doctrinal disagreement between East and West.
Biblical foundation
God himself commanded the crafting of cherubim images for the Ark of the Covenant (Exod 25:18-20) and bronze imagery in the Temple, showing that the Second Commandment forbids idolatry, not all religious representational art, since 'the Word became flesh' (John 1:14) making the invisible God visible in Christ's own human, paintable and sculptable, form.
Scripture references
Historical evidence
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787, accepted by both East and West as the seventh ecumenical council, formally defined that veneration of icons and images 'passes to the prototype,' ending decades of Byzantine iconoclastic destruction of sacred art.
The Church Fathers
“I do not worship matter, but I worship the Creator of matter, who became matter for my sake.”