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The word '''orthodox''', from [[Greek]] orthodoxos "having the right [[opinion]]", from orthos ("right", "true", "straight") + doxa ("opinion" or "praise", related to dokein, "to [[think]]"), is typically used to mean the [[adherence]] to well-[[research]]ed and well-thought-out accepted norms, especially in [[religion]].

The word '''orthodox''', from [[Greek]] orthodoxos "having the right [[opinion]]", from orthos ("right", "true", "straight") + doxa ("opinion" or "praise", related to dokein, "to [[think]]"), is typically used to mean the [[adherence]] to well-[[research]]ed and well-thought-out accepted norms, especially in [[religion]].

The term did not [[conventional]]ly exist with any [[degree]] of [[formal]ity (in the sense in which it is now used) prior to the [[advent]] of [[Christianity]] in the [[Greek]]-speaking world, though the word does occasionally show up in [[ancient]] [[literature]] in other, somewhat similar [[contexts]]. Orthodoxy is opposed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodoxy heterodoxy] ("other teaching"), [[heresy]] and [[schism]]. People who deviate from orthodoxy by professing a [[doctrine]] considered to be false are most often called heretics or [[radical]]s, while those who deviate from orthodoxy by removing themselves from the perceived [[body]] of believers are called schismatics. The distinction in [[terminology]] pertains to the subject matter; if one is addressing corporate [[unity]], the emphasis may be on schism; if one is addressing doctrinal [[coherence]], the emphasis may be on heresy.

The term did not [[conventional]]ly exist with any [[degree]] of [[formal]]ity (in the sense in which it is now used) prior to the [[advent]] of [[Christianity]] in the [[Greek]]-speaking world, though the word does occasionally show up in [[ancient]] [[literature]] in other, somewhat similar [[contexts]]. Orthodoxy is opposed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodoxy heterodoxy] ("other teaching"), [[heresy]] and [[schism]]. People who deviate from orthodoxy by professing a [[doctrine]] considered to be false are most often called heretics or [[radical]]s, while those who deviate from orthodoxy by removing themselves from the perceived [[body]] of believers are called schismatics. The distinction in [[terminology]] pertains to the subject matter; if one is addressing corporate [[unity]], the emphasis may be on schism; if one is addressing doctrinal [[coherence]], the emphasis may be on heresy.

[[Apostasy]], for example, is a violation of orthodoxy that takes the form of abandonment of the [[faith]], a concept largely unknown before the [[adoption]] of [[Christianity]] as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion state religion] of [[Rome]] on February 27, 380 by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I Theodosius I], see also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_seven_Ecumenical_Councils First seven Ecumenical Councils]. A lighter deviation from orthodoxy than [[heresy]] is commonly called [[error]], in the sense of not being grave enough to cause total estrangement, while yet seriously affecting [[communion]]. Sometimes error is also used to cover both full heresies and minor errors.

[[Apostasy]], for example, is a violation of orthodoxy that takes the form of abandonment of the [[faith]], a concept largely unknown before the [[adoption]] of [[Christianity]] as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion state religion] of [[Rome]] on February 27, 380 by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I Theodosius I], see also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_seven_Ecumenical_Councils First seven Ecumenical Councils]. A lighter deviation from orthodoxy than [[heresy]] is commonly called [[error]], in the sense of not being grave enough to cause total estrangement, while yet seriously affecting [[communion]]. Sometimes error is also used to cover both full heresies and minor errors.