Translation from the article:

Στεργίου Ν. Σάκκου, Τί σημαίνει Ὀρθοδοξία, περιοδ. "Ἀπολύτρωσις" 50 (1996) 56-57.

(Stergios N. Sakkos, University Professor [Read CV])

   Many people talk about Orthodoxy these days. We hear them on TV channels, we read them in newspaper columns, we see them as authors of various publications and books. According to their words, Orthodoxy is a type of culture or a type of folklore, depending on the guiding preference of each relevant thinker. It is a form of civilization - always exceptional and unique - or a characteristic of the people of Romiosini (Helenism)- in any case special and worthy of attention. This makes Orthodoxy seem more like an ideology, a philosophy or a worldview, a popular religion, than the revelation of God that it really is.
   The Orthodox Church of Christ also speaks of Orthodoxy. And it speaks not only now, when it is fashionable to speak about Orthodoxy and to be in the light of publicity, but it has been speaking  for at least twenty centuries, from the moment it was born and it speaks in the low tones of humble speech in the devout atmosphere of the meek spirit. For those of us who are genuinely interested in Orthodoxy, I think it is worth paying attention to it, because it is the only one that deserves our attention, because the Orthodox Church is the only expert on the subject.
   We could say - with a very general simplification, of course, for practical reasons - that Orthodoxy is identified with the Church, the one, holy, Eastern Church. Its characteristics are the characteristics of the Church and they are none other than the characteristics of the God-man person of Jesus Christ, since the Church is the mystical Christ, which extends throughout the ages, according to the expression of Saint Augustine. This is revealed by the teachings of the Fathers, who have been the pillars of the Church, it is demonstrated by the lives of the saints who martyred for Orthodoxy, it is testified by the common conscience of the Orthodox faithful. Thus, we have immediately and surely a specific and clear view of Orthodoxy, which the history of the Church irrefutably testifies to.  
   First of all and above all, Orthodoxy is a way of life based on divine truth. It certainly creates culture, shapes ethos, but these are results, not its essence. Orthodoxy is the path of God, which requires that it be walked in obedience to the revealed truth and with discipline in the divine commandment. The combination of the right faith (orthodoxy) with the holy living (orthopraxis) is a characteristic of Orthodoxy “of those things which are not without.” The apostle Paul formulates this verbatim for the umpteenth time when, at the end of his life he confesses to his disciple Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).
   The Church delivers the doctrine and the commandment, holding in one hand the inspired Scripture and in the other the sacred Tradition. Doctrines are the revealed truths of the divine word as formulated by enlightened saints after the Church’s struggles and battles with evil and deceitful spirits. Commandments are the ethical exhortations of the divine word, as lived by the saints of every age, who were not conformed to any scheme of their time, but were transformed into vessels of the Holy Spirit. But all this could never be accepted by human beings if they tried to follow it on their own - individually or in groups, but autonomously - by their own reason and personal efforts.
   Those who have tried have either given up or erred and have not remained Orthodox. One must hear the doctrine- in order to be able to interpret it - and obey the command to be able to carry it out - united in one body and tuned to one frequency in the body whose head is Christ and whose members are the saints of all ages, and to the frequency that the Holy Spirit emits within this divine-human community.
   The means of participation in the Church of Christ are the Holy Mysteries and spiritual worship. Through the grace of the mysteries, the Orthodox person is united with the Triune God, receives the forgiveness of sins and, in spite of all his finitude and imperfection, lives the infinity and perfection of eternity. In divine worship, moreover, through prayer and hymnody, he has the blessing of expressing himself before the Lord, praising His greatness, thanking him for His love and praying with contrition of his weakness. Together with the angels and the simple saints of Orthodoxy, who signify their presence with the holy icons all around, all the faithful “with one accord and in the same spirit” invoke and receive divine grace in the Church. Everything there is a sacred symbol, expressing in its own language, so evocative and profound, the doctrine and ethos of the Church, which teaches in silence. For this reason, all the elements of worship are considered genuine expressions of Orthodoxy: the icons, the hymns and the ritual.
   But Orthodox life is not limited to the temple, nor does it stop at worship. It spreads out and covers every moment of the Christian’s life, continuing and permeating his every movement. In the temple of the believer’s body, there is a constant logical worship and a constant mystical communion with all the faithful of the Church. This is achieved through the Holy Spirit and is expressed by the sign of the cross, which literally marks every Orthodox. The shape of the Holy Cross is not only mentally traced on occasions with the three fingers of the right hand united in the name of the Holy Trinity, but it also constantly traces the life of the Christian who, for love of God, constantly contrasts his will with the will of the world and of his former unredeemed self, patiently endures pain and voluntarily suffers for the good, denies himself and gives himself to others, in a word, practises asceticism. Indeed, the ascetic element is a trademark of Orthodoxy. It takes many forms in Orthodox life: fasting, vigil, poverty, purity, sacrifice; but it is always a cross that imitates the Cross of Christ, and therefore bears His glory.
   How many of the Orthodox speakers of our time can really identify themselves with these qualities? Every year the Church dedicates a Sunday to the name of Orthodoxy. On this Sunday, it emphasizes above all the mission of evangelization that it has towards the world, the task of proclaiming the Orthodox faith and life throughout the world. Perhaps it is time to let its voice to be heard louder and clearer today, amidst the clamor of so many, so that we may finally learn what Orthodoxy means.