WORD STUDIES

The word of the day is “orthodox”

Why study the word “orthodox”?

Because the foundation of Christian faith is an orthodoxy settled at the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E.

Why study the word “orthodox”? Because the foundation of Christian faith is an orthodoxy settled at the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. How universally accepted is this “orthodoxy”?

Dictionary definitions: orthodox: conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved ( rthodox) heresy: belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine ( eresy)

At the Council of Nicaea that was attended by 318 bishops of Christian churches in 325 C.E., the orthodox perception of Jesus was hammered out through much debate:

Jesus as God Incarnate is a divine being who pre-existed time, who lived as a human, died, and rose from the dead, and who continues to live in judgment of the world.

The Nicene Creed, as amended in subsequent ecumenical councils to deny specific heretical notions, presents the view of the "Catholic and Apostolic Church" that is supposed to have descended in direct lineage from the apostles of Jesus: 1. Jesus, the Son of God, was begotten of God and is the same substance as God. 2. Because of our salvation, Jesus came down [from heaven] and became incarnate [i.e., God in the flesh, a human]. 3. Jesus suffered [death by crucifixion] and rose from the dead on the third day. 4. Jesus ascended to the heavens. 5. Jesus will come [again] to judge the living and the dead.

Today Catholics in good standing with the Roman Catholic Church are expected to "toe the line" specified by the Nicene Creed (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “What We Believe”, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198). (

Today Catholics in good standing with the Roman Catholic Church are expected to "toe the line" specified by the Nicene Creed (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “What We Believe”, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198). (

Today Catholics in good standing with the Roman Catholic Church are expected to "toe the line" specified by the Nicene Creed (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “What We Believe”, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198). ( Protestant churches and individual Protestants may accept all or only some of the tenets of the Nicene Creed.

After the Nicene Creed was accepted and amended in subsequent ecumenical councils, any views of Jesus that diverged from the Nicene Creed were rejected and regarded as heresy (heterodox views): The humanity of Jesus: 1. Jesus was fully human, a prophet commissioned by God to bring a message to humanity (followers). 2. Jesus was fully human, a potential apocalyptic messiah (zealot). 3. Jesus was a human who advocated following Mosaic Law to achieve salvation (Ebionite). 4. Jesus was a human who was exalted to divine status upon his resurrection (earliest believers). 5. Jesus was a human who was adopted by God at his baptism (Mark). continued...

Also rejected at the Council of Nicaea: The Divinity of Jesus: 6. Jesus was God (i.e., fully divine) who became human at his conception (Matthew, Luke). 7. Jesus did not always exist, but was begotten of God before or at the creation of the world. 8. Jesus had no beginning, but was always part of God (e.g., the Word or Wisdom of God) (John, Paul). 9. Jesus was a subordinate deity, the Angel of God, who appeared in several Old Testament stories (Paul). 10. Jesus was two entities, one divine and another temporarily human (Gnostic). 11. There are two separate divine entities, one of justice and the other of love; Jesus belongs to the God of Love (Marcionite). 12. God is one deity in three modes (Modalist).

Advocates of such heresies often have been vilified, attacked, and even excommunicated from the Church or from particular church congregations.

In the twelfth century, the Roman Catholic Church launched the "Inquisition" to root out heresies and heretical groups such as the Cathars in France, even executing people charged with heresy (often by burning them at the stake). The Inquisition was intensified and expanded in scope across Europe in response to the Protestant Reformation. The institution of the Inquisition has survived into the twenty-first century as part of the Roman Curia (the central government of the Catholic Church) but now is known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

How has Christian orthodoxy been transmitted through the ages? 1. Through the centuries since the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.) settled Christian orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church ensured the transmission of the orthodox ideology of Christianity with its system of priests and missionaries. 2. By the 16th century, the Jesuit Order of the Roman Church conducted the ideology through its many "colleges" dispersed throughout continental Europe to educate priests in orthodox doctrine. continued...

continuing The Catholic Church itself enforced the transmission process via the Inquisition to eliminate heresies. 4. The Protestant Reformation, ensuing in 1517 with Martin Luther's 95 "theses" nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, launched a process intended to avoid the perceived abuses of the Roman Church and transmit an ideology more authentic to the first century church. continued...

continuing Through subsequent centuries, Christian churches have employed bible stories, sermons, liturgies, rituals, hymns, and anthems to communicate, instill, and reinforce the complex of facts and myths that comprise orthodox Christian doctrine. 6. Belief in orthodox Christian doctrine may have persisted for nearly two thousand years because of the heavy investment in the idea by successive generations of Christian theologians, ministers of the Gospel trained by them, and the laity to which they preach.

More liberal Christian thinkers have had fewer qualms about questioning or even dispensing with various tenets of the orthodoxy. Some are quite willing to revert to one or another of the views of Jesus that have been regarded as heretical to the orthodox view.

This presentation may be viewed in essay form on-line at: Click on “Selected Essays” Click on “Orthodoxy and Heresy”