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Heresy

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==Etymology==
The word "heresy" comes from the Greek αἵρεσις, ''hairesis'' (from αιρεομαι, ''haireomai'', "choose"), which means either a ''choice'' of beliefs or a ''faction'' of dissident believers. It was given wide currency by [[Irenaeus of Lyons]] in his tract ''The Detection and Refutation of False Knowledge'' (commonly known by the title of the Latin translation, ''Contra Haereses'' (''Against Heresies'') to describe and discredit his opponents in the early Christian Church. He described his own position as orthodox (from ''ortho-'' "straightright" + ''doxa'' "thinkingglory" or "belief") and his position eventually evolved into the position of the early Christian Church.
==Early Christian heresies==
*[[Bogomilism]]
*[[Bosnian Church]]
*[[Caesaro-papismCaesaropapism]]
*[[Docetism]]
*[[Donatism]]
*[[Gnosticism]]
*[[Luciferians]]
*[[Macedonian HeresyMacedonianism]]
*[[Manichaeism]]
*[[Marcionism]]
While the term is often used to indicate any nonorthodox belief such as [[Paganism]], by definition heresy can only be committed by a person who considers himself a Christian, but rejects the teachings of the Christian Church. A person who completely renounces [[Introduction to Orthodox Christianity|Christianity]] is not considered a heretic, but an [[apostasy|apostate]]; a person who renounces the authority of the Church, but not its teachings, is a [[schism|schismatic]], while an individual outside of the Orthodox Church who considers himself to be Christian might be called [[Heterodox]].
Heretics usually do not define their own beliefs as heretical. Heresy is a value-judgment and the expression of a view from within an established belief system. For instance, Roman Catholics held Protestantism as a heresy while some non-Catholics considered Catholicism the "Great Apostasy."
==See also==
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