Fact of the Day

Orthodoxy (from Greek orthos ("right", "true", "straight") + doxa ("opinion" or "belief", related to dokein, "to think")) is adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion. In the narrow Christian sense the term means "conforming to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early Church".
The earliest recorded use of the term "orthodox" is in the Codex Iustinianus of 529-534, but "heterodoxy" was in use from the beginning of the first century of Christianity.
Orthodoxy is opposed to heterodoxy ("other teaching") or heresy. People who deviate from orthodoxy by professing a doctrine considered to be false are called heretics, while those who, perhaps without professing heretical beliefs, break from the perceived main body of believers are called schismatics. The term employed sometimes depends on the aspect most in view: 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 is a violation of orthodoxy that takes the form of complete abandonment of the faith. A deviation lighter 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.

The concept of orthodoxy is prevalent in many forms of organized monotheism, but orthodox belief is not usually overly emphasized in polytheistic or animist religions, in which there is often little or no concept of dogma, and varied interpretations of doctrine and theology are tolerated and sometimes even encouraged within certain contexts. Syncretism, for example, plays a much wider role in non-monotheistic (and particularly, non-scriptural) religion. The prevailing governing idea within polytheism is often orthopraxy ("right practice") rather than "right belief".