The word “Orthodox” comes from two Greek words: ortho (meaning “right” or “straight”) and doxa (meaning both “belief” and “glory”). So when we say “Orthodox Church,” we’re saying something about right belief and right worship at the same time.
That double meaning isn’t an accident. It’s the whole point.
More Than Just “Correct”
If you grew up Baptist or non-denominational here in Southeast Texas, you probably think of “orthodox” as just meaning “correct” or “traditional”, like when someone says “orthodox economics” or “orthodox medicine.” And sure, that’s part of it. But in the Church’s understanding, doxa carries weight that the English word “belief” can’t quite capture. It also means “glory” and “worship.” The Orthodox Church claims to preserve both right belief (the faith handed down from the Apostles) and right worship (the liturgical life that expresses and guards that faith).
You can’t separate the two. What we believe shapes how we worship. How we worship protects what we believe.
When the early Christians gathered around bishops in cities like Antioch, they didn’t just agree on a list of doctrines. They celebrated the Eucharist together. They baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They prayed the same prayers, kept the same fasts, venerated the same martyrs. Belief and worship were woven together from the beginning.
Why “The” Orthodox Church?
This is where it gets uncomfortable for some folks. We don’t say we’re “an” orthodox church among many. We say we’re the Orthodox Church, the continuation of the Church Christ founded, the same Church described in the Book of Acts, the Church of the Apostles and the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
That sounds arrogant until you understand what we mean by it. We’re not claiming we’re better people or that God doesn’t work outside our walls. We’re making a historical and theological claim: this is the same Church, with the same bishops in unbroken succession, the same faith, the same sacraments, the same worship. Nothing’s been added. Nothing’s been subtracted. The Church that baptized your ancestors fifteen centuries ago in Antioch would recognize what happens at St. Michael’s on Sunday morning.
Other Christian bodies have either broken away (like Rome in 1054 when they added the filioque to the Creed and claimed the Pope had universal authority) or formed new communities based on new interpretations of Scripture (like the Protestant Reformation). We’re not saying those folks aren’t Christians or that God’s abandoned them. We’re saying the Orthodox Church is where the fullness of the faith remains intact.
When Did This Name Start?
The term “Orthodox” became especially important in the fourth and fifth centuries when the Church faced major heresies. Arius said Christ wasn’t fully God. Nestorius divided Christ into two persons. Councils gathered, Nicaea in 325, Chalcedon in 451, and bishops who held to the apostolic faith were called “orthodox” to distinguish them from heretics.
But the idea goes back further. St. Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the late second century, already connected right teaching with apostolic succession through bishops. The Church knew from early on that preserving the faith meant preserving both the content of that faith and the structures (bishops, liturgy, councils) that guarded it.
What This Means for You
If you’re exploring Orthodoxy, this name matters because it tells you what we think we are. Not a denomination. Not one option among many equally valid choices. The Church.
That’s a big claim. It should make you ask questions. Good. Ask them. Read Fr. Thomas Hopko’s The Orthodox Faith series (available free on oca.org). Come to Vespers on Saturday evening and see if the worship feels like it’s pointing to something beyond itself. Talk to Fr. Michael after Liturgy.
But don’t expect us to soften the claim. We believe the Orthodox Church is the Church Christ founded, and we believe that because we can trace our bishops back to the Apostles, our worship back to the earliest Christians, and our faith back to what was “once for all delivered to the saints.” Right belief and right worship, preserved together, handed down through the centuries.
That’s what “Orthodox” means. That’s why we use the name.
