Beliefs and Tradition
What does “Orthodox” mean?
Orthodox means right glory, right worship, and right belief. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the word means the Church seeks to preserve the apostolic faith as worship, doctrine, Holy Mysteries, repentance, and daily life.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Right Faith And Right Worship
The word Orthodox joins belief and worship. The Church does not treat doctrine as ideas separated from prayer. What the Church believes about the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Holy Spirit is confessed in the Creed, sung in hymns, prayed in the Liturgy, and lived through repentance.
That is why Orthodoxy cannot be reduced to being old or traditional. The question is whether the Church has received the apostolic faith and continues to worship God according to that faith.
The Apostolic Life Received By The Church
Orthodox Christianity includes Scripture read within the Church, Holy Tradition, the Creed, the Liturgy, the Holy Mysteries, the fathers, saints, martyrs, fasting, and spiritual fatherhood. These form one received life.
When the Coptic Church calls herself Orthodox, she is saying that her worship and teaching are accountable to what the Church has received from the apostles. The word should lead to humility, not pride: the Church guards the faith because the faithful need truth in order to worship Christ rightly.
How To Use The Word Well
A good way to test the word Orthodox is to ask what a teaching says about Christ. Does it confess the Holy Trinity, preserve the truth of the Incarnation, honor Scripture in the Church, and lead people toward repentance and communion with God? Used this way, Orthodox becomes a serious theological word rather than a vague label.
- The Coptic Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Diocesan overview of the Coptic Church, her apostolic roots, and life of faith.
- Holy Tradition, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Explanation of Holy Tradition as the received apostolic life of the Church.
- Doctrine and Theology Series, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Collection of catechetical articles on Orthodox doctrine, sacraments, Scripture, and spiritual life.
- Coptic Church and Greek Orthodox Churches, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer on the difference between Coptic and Greek Orthodox churches.
Orthodox: Right worship and right belief, naming the Church's received apostolic faith and the life of worship that preserves it.
Mysteries: The Orthodox name for the sacraments, calling attention to God's grace given through visible rites such as Baptism, Chrismation, Confession, and the Eucharist.
Holy Trinity: The one God confessed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one essence and three Persons, worshiped and glorified together.
Incarnation: The mystery that the eternal Word of God truly became man for our salvation while remaining fully divine.
Creed: The Church's shared confession of faith, proclaimed in the Liturgy before the Eucharistic prayer as the faithful stand together in apostolic belief.
Holy Tradition: The apostolic life of the Church handed down in Scripture, worship, doctrine, councils, saints, and sacramental practice.
Holy Communion: The faithful receiving the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, after baptismal life, repentance, confession, fasting, reconciliation, and pastoral preparation.