Eastern Orthodox Church - Definition

Definition

Almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church". Today, in addition to the Orthodox Church, a number of other Christian churches lay claim to this title (including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church); however, the Orthodox Church considers these other churches to be schismatic and, in some cases, heretical. In the Orthodox view, the Assyrians and Orientals left the Orthodox Church in the first few centuries after Christ, and later the Western Catholics did the same, becoming the largest ever group to leave the communion of the imperial church at New Rome ]. This event is known as the East–West Schism, and it is traditionally dated to the year 1054, although it was more of a gradual process than a sudden break.

"Orthodox", from Greek orthos ("right", "true", "straight") + doxa ("opinion" or "belief", related to dokein, "to think") was adopted by the Church in order to distinguish itself from what was becoming a larger and larger body of non-orthodox Christian denominations.

The use of 'orthodox' as an officially sanctioned defining term for the right thinking doctrine of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church seems to date from the 9th century Synod of Constantinople, 842 Christian Era, to draw a line under the division of the imperial court on the use of images]. This distinction, therefore, is closely linked to the imperial rule of New Rome - Constantinople - and the wider set of churches linked to communion with Byzantine ruleorthodox history. However, as late as the 15th century - at the failed Council of Florence - the term orthodox belief referred still to the catholic church without any specific denominated division between East and West (even though Rome and New Rome had already experienced a long period of dispute and mutual excommunication)http://www.ewtn.com/library/councils/florence.htm.

Several other ancient churches in Eastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa also use Orthodox, but are distinct from the Orthodox Church as described in this article.