The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1755 page)

Orthodox Church
.

Major grouping of Christian churches, constituting, by full communion with each other, a single Church. The Orthodox Church claims direct descent from the Church of the
apostles
and of the seven ecumenical
councils
. The name ‘Eastern Orthodox’ (to be distinguished from
‘Oriental Orthodox’
) arose from accidents of history and geography which led to a separation from ‘the West’; but Orthodoxy has in fact spread throughout the world.
The Orthodox Church comprises a number of
autocephalous
bodies in communion with one another: the ancient
patriarchates
of
Constantinople
,
Alexandria
,
Antioch
, and
Jerusalem
, and the Orthodox Churches of
Russia
, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria,
Georgia
,
Greece
, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Cyprus, and Albania. In addition, there are autonomous churches (whose
primate
is under the aegis of one of the autocephalous churches) in Finland, Crete, Japan, and China, and missions yet to become autonomous in Korea and Africa. The oecumenical patriarch of Constantinople has a primacy of honour, but no universal jurisdiction to correspond to that of the
pope
.
The Orthodox Church traces its history back to the missionary work of
Paul
, and itself became missionary, achieving notably the conversion of the Slavs through the ‘apostles of the Slavs’,
Cyril
and Methodius. Russia became a Christian kingdom under
St Vladimir
in 988.
There was a progressive estrangement between Rome and Constantinople, partly on account of divergent liturgical usages and also because of the claims of the Roman
papacy
. There was a temporary schism under patriarch
Photius
, then a final one under Michael Cerularius in 1054. Attempts at reunion, notably at the Council of
Florence
(1439), have been ineffective.
After the fall of Constantinople (1453), the Church came under Muslim rule.
Orthodox doctrine proceeds from the Bible, the formulae of the seven
ecumenical councils
, and broadly from the writings of the Greek
fathers
. Many doctrines of more recent definition in the W., e.g. the nature of
sacraments
and the
Immaculate Conception
, are not laid down. On the other hand, constant and exclusive appeal to ancient authorities makes Orthodox theology inherently conservative.
The Orthodox liturgy (
eucharist
) is longer than the Western, and typically celebrated with greater ceremonial.
Baptism
is by immersion, and is followed by chrismation (see
CHRISM
).
Icons
are an essential part of the furnishing of a church building, and in houses are a focus of private prayers.
Parish priests are usually married, but may not marry after their ordination as
deacon
. Bishops, however, are always celibate, and therefore do not come from the parish clergy but from the ranks of monks. Besides providing bishops, monasticism has also provided the intellectual and spiritual centre of Orthodoxy, specifically in modern times at Mount
Athos
, but many theologians today are laypeople.

 
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Orthodox Judaism
.

Traditional Judaism. The term ‘Orthodoxy’ was first applied in Judaism in 1795 as a distinction between those who accepted the written and
oral law
as divinely inspired and those who identified with the
Reform
movement. The Orthodox believe that they are the sole practitioners of the Jewish religious tradition and regard non-Orthodox
rabbis
as laypeople and non-Orthodox
proselytes
as
gentiles
. Orthodoxy involves submission to the demands of
halakhah
as enshrined in the written and oral law and in the subsequent codes (see
CODIFICATIONS OF LAW
) and
responsa
. Notable institutions and organizations are or have been: Torah Umesorah, which organized schools and yeshivot from 1944 onward; the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (which certifies, internationally, reliable kosher
food
); Yeshiva University and the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago; the Union of Orthodox Rabbis and the Rabbinical Alliance.

 
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(Gk.,
orthos
, ‘correct’, +
praxis
, ‘action’). Right action, in addition to (or sometimes in contrast to) orthodoxy, ‘right belief’. Many religions are characterized by an emphasis on orthopraxy—e.g. ‘Hinduism’, whose concern is with
san
tana dharma
(everlasting dharma, with dharma meaning, roughly, appropriate ways to live) or Islam, where the account to be rendered on the day of judgement (
yaum al-Din
) is one of works.

 
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