Eastern Orthodoxy: Tradition, Icons, and Division. The Eastern Orthodox Church presents itself as the purest and most faithful expression of the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” It claims to preserve the unbroken tradition of the apostles. But just like Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy is not the one true faith. While Orthodoxy preserves valuable aspects of early Christianity, it also layers human traditions, Byzantine culture, and iconography onto the gospel.