The term proto-orthodox Christianity or proto-orthodoxy describes the early Christian movement that was the precursor of Christian orthodoxy. It was coined by Bentley Layton (a major scholar of Gnosticism and Coptologist at Yale), but is often erroneously attributed to New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman.[2] Ehrman argues that this group from the moment it became prominent by the end of the third century, "stifled its opposition, it claimed that its views had always been the majority position