or•tho•dox adj.
1. Adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.
2. Adhering to the Christian faith as expressed in the early Christian ecumenical creeds.
3. Orthodox
a. Of or relating to any of the churches or rites of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
b. Of or relating to Orthodox Judaism.
4. Adhering to what is commonly accepted, customary, or traditional: an orthodox view of world affairs.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=orthodox)
Christianity is the belief and practices taught by Jesus Christ. "Orthodox Christianity” is above all "adhering to what is commonly accepted, customary, or traditional" in the Christian world. In the two thousand years since Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, the Christian community has been divided and subdivided into thousands of pieces. Among these thousands of communities or denominations is a wide range of belief and practice. Basic questions such as "Who was Jesus of Nazareth?" or "Did Jesus truly rise from the dead?" are answered in different ways by different groups.
"Orthodox" Christianity and the "Orthodox" Church have as their standard "what is commonly accepted, customary, or traditional" in Christianity in two dimensions- over time and over space. Orthodox Christian beliefs and practices are those which have been believed and practiced over the centuries (over time) and which have had broad acceptance by the entire Christian community (over space).
Modern American society values what is new, original, “bold,” etc. In some fields, this is a good thing. The progress made in modern science, technology, medicine and other fields is mind-boggling. No one wants to return to the “good old days” of medicine before penicillin, for example. But the search for God is as old as humanity, and Orthodox Christianity holds that “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
The purpose of life is to search for God, St. Paul once preached (Acts 17:27). Orthodox Christianity is a method of searching for God that understands God as He has always been understood in mainstream Christian thought and uses traditional practices to find Him. These practices include prayer, worship, fasting, Bible study, philanthropy, internal struggle against sin, and more.
Historically, the Orthodox Church is strongest in the Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe. It has churches throughout the world and is open to all who are seeking to find God.