The word orthodox is from Greek ὀρθός ("right", "correct", "true", "straight") + δοξία (from "δόξα", meaning "glory"). In English, this term is often mistranslated to mean "right opinion", as "doxia" is mistaken to come from "dokein" (meaning "to think"). 'Orthodox', in the English sense, is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion.[2] It usually refers to "conventions". However, "orthodox", in its original sense, refers to those who keep the faith of the original church: the Orthodox Church. "Orthodox" then refers to the people of the first church, who "give correct (straight) glory to God." But though retaining the original faith, Orthodox worldly life differs in some aspects from the original customs of the Bible. Orthodox Churches in Slavic-language countries (Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, etc.) use a word derived from Old Church Slavonic, Правосла́виѥ (pravosláviye) to mean orthodoxy. The word derives from the Slavonic roots "право" (právo, true, right) and "славить" (slávit, to praise, to glorify), in effect meaning "the right way to praise God".

John Behr (born October 16, 1966) is a contemporary Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian, and Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he teaches Patristics . He was ordained to the diaconate on September 8, 2001 (the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos) and the priesthood on September 14, 2001 (the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross). Behr was previously the editor of the Popular Patristic Series released by St. Vladimir's Press. He was elected Dean of the seminary on November 18, 2006 and began his term as Dean on July 1, 2007.

Behr completed his undergraduate studies at Thames Polytechnic, London, in 1987. His Bachelor of Arts dissertation was entitled Of God, Man, and Creation: A Comparative Study of the Anthropology of the Greek Fathers and Emmanuel Levinas. Having studied under Bishop Kallistos (Ware), Behr earned his Master of Philosophy in 1991 and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Theology from Oxford University in 1995. Remnants of his master's thesis, Sexuality, Marriage, and Asceticism in Second-Century Christian Writings can be found in his doctoral dissertation published in 2000 by Oxford University Press under the title Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement. Behr completed a Master of Theology from St Vladimir's in 1997, where he had already been teaching on a full-time basis for two years. His thesis, a complete textual criticism of On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus of Lyons, was subsequently published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

Frank Schaeffer (born August 3, 1952) is an American author, film director, screenwriter and public speaker. He is the son of the late theologian and author Francis Schaeffer. He became a Hollywood film director and author, writing several internationally acclaimed novels depicting life in a strict fundamentalist household including Portofino, Zermatt, and Saving Grandma.

In 1990 Schaeffer became an Orthodox Christian as a member of the Orthodox Church, which he says "embraces paradox and mystery".^{[citation needed]} He converted in 1992 at a Greek Orthodox Church in Newburyport, MA.

In 2006 he published Baby Jack, a novel about a marine killed in Iraq. He is also known for his best-selling non-fiction books related to the United States Marine Corps, including Keeping Faith—A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps, co-written with his son John Schaeffer, and AWOL—The Unexcused Absence Of America's Upper Classes From Military Service and How It Hurts Our Country, co-authored with former Clinton presidential aide Kathy Roth-Douquet.