The term "tradition"
comes from the Latin traditio,
but the Greek term is paradosis
and the verb is paradido.
It means giving, offering,
delivering, performing charity. In theological terms it means any
teaching or practice which has been transmitted from generation to
generation throughout the life of the Church. More exactly,
paradosis is the very life of the Holy Trinity as it has been
revealed by Christ Himself and testified by the Holy Spirit.
The roots and the
foundations of this sacred tradition can be found in the Scriptures. For
it is only in the Scriptures that we can see and live the presence of
the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. St. John the Evangelist speaks about the manifestation of the
Holy Trinity:
"For the Life was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us" (1 John 01:02).
The essence of
Christian tradition is described by St. Paul, who writes:
"But now
in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been
brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For He is peace between
us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which
used to keep them apart, actually destroying in His own person the
hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to
create one single man in Himself out of the two of them and by
restoring peace through the Cross, to unite them both in a single
body and reconcile them with God. In His own person He killed the
hostility... Through Him, both of us have in one Spirit our way to
come to the Father" (Ephesians 2:13-14).
He also makes
clear that this Trinitarian doctrine must be accepted by all Christians:
"If any
man preach any other gospel to you than you have received
(parelavete) let him be condemned" (Gal. 1:8-9).
Speaking about
the Holy Eucharist, which is a manifestation of the Holy Trinity, he
writes:
"For I
have received (parelavon) of the Lord that which I also delivered to
you" (paredoka) (1 Cor. 11:23).
Again speaking
about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, St. Paul
writes:
"For I
delivered to you (paredoka) first of all that which I also received"
(parelavon).
Finally he
admonishes:
"Brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions (tas paradoseis) which
you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle" (2
Thessalonica. 02:15).
The sole source
and cause and principle of the Trinitarian unity is the Father Himself
(Ephesians 04:04-06).
The Apostolic
Tradition.
Theologians call this
teaching of the Scriptures "the Apostolic Tradition." It
encompasses what the Apostles lived, saw, witnessed and later recorded
in the books of the new Testament. The bishops and presbyters, whom the
Apostles appointed as their successors, followed their teaching to the
letter. Those who deviated from this apostolic teaching were cut off
from the Church. They were considered heretics and schismatics, for they
believed differently from the Apostles and their successors, thus
separating themselves from the Church. This brings into focus the Church
as the center of unity of all Christians. This is the ecclesiastical or
ecclesiological characteristic of Tradition. The Church is the image and
reflection of the Holy Trinity since the three persons of the Holy
Trinity live, indwell, and act in the Church. The Father offers His
love, the Son offers His obedience, the Holy Spirit His comfort. Only in
the historical Church can we see, feel, and live the presence of the
Holy Trinity in the World. In describing this reality St. Paul writes:
"So he came and
proclaimed the good news: peace to you who were far off, and peace
to those who were near by; for through him we both alike have access
to the Father in the one Spirit. Thus you are no longer aliens in a
foreign land, but fellow-citizens with God's people, members of
God's household. You are built upon the foundation laid by the
Apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus Himself is the cornerstone.
In him the whole building is bonded together and grows into a holy
temple in the Lord. In him you too are being built with all the rest
into a spiritual dwelling of God" (Ephes. 2:17-22).
The unity of the Holy
Trinity, being the fundamental reality in the Church and of the Church,
also requires a real unity among all its members. All the members of the
Church live in the bond of love and unity through the Holy Trinity. This
truth is described by St. Peter:
"But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,
that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out
of the darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were no people,
but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2: 9-10).
This Church was established
as a historical reality on the day of Pentecost, with the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles:
"While the day of
Pentecost was running its course they were all together in one
place, when suddenly there came from the sky a noise like that of a
strong driving wind, which filled the whole house where they were
sitting. And there appeared to them tongues like flames of fire,
dispersed among them and resting on each one. And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them power of utterance" (Acts 2: 1-4).
Only in this
Church, where the Holy Trinity lives and acts constantly could the
teaching of Christ, the very revelation of truth, as received and
transmitted by the Apostles, abide and be sustained. Thus truth in its
fullness does not exist outside the Church, for there is neither
Scripture, nor Tradition. This is why St. Paul admonishes the Galatians
that even if an angel from heaven preaches another gospel to them, he
must be condemned:
"If any
man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received
(parelavete) let him be condemned" (1:8-9).
And he writes to
his disciple Timothy to follow strictly the "precepts of our faith" and
the "sound instructions" he received from him and avoid "godless myths"
(1 Timothy 04: 04-07). He also admonishes the Colossians to avoid
"merely human injunctions and teachings" (02: 22), and to follow
Christ:
"Therefore, since Jesus was delivered to you as Christ and Lord,
live your lives in union with Him. Be rooted in Him; be built in
Him; be consolidated in the faith you were taught; let your hearts
overflow with thankfulness. Be on your guard; do not let your minds
be captured by hollow and delusive speculations, based on traditions
of man-made teaching and centered on the elemental spirits of the
universe and not on Christ. For it is in Christ that the complete
being of the Godhead dwells embodied, and in Him you have been
brought to completion" (Col. 2: 6-8).
This teaching or
Apostolic Tradition was transmitted from the Apostles themselves to
their successors, the bishops and the presbyters. St. Clement, Bishop of
Rome (second century A.D.), and probably a disciple of the Apostles
himself, described this historical truth:
"The
Apostles preached to us the Gospel received from Jesus Christ, and
Jesus Christ was God's Ambassador. Christ, in other words, comes
with a message from God, and the Apostles with a message from
Christ. Both these orderly arrangements, therefore, originate from
the will of God. And so, after receiving their instructions and
being fully assured through the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ, as well as confirmed in faith by the word of God, they went
forth, equipped with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to preach the
good news that the Kingdom of God was close at hand. From land to
land, accordingly, and from city to city they preached; and from
among their earliest converts appointed men whom they had tested by
the Spirit to act as bishops and deacons for the future believers"
(Letter to the Corinthians, ch. 42).
One can clearly
see how the message of salvation originating from God the Father was
taught by Jesus Christ, witnessed to by the Holy Spirit, preached by the
Apostles and was transmitted by them to the Church through the clergy
they themselves appointed. This became the "unerring tradition of
the Apostolic preaching" as it was expressed by Eusebius of
Caesarea, bishop of the fourth century, who is considered the
"father" of Church History (Church History, IV, 8).
The Patristic Tradition.
From what has been said so
far, it can be seen that there is no theological distinctions or
differences or divisions within the Tradition of the Church. It could be
said that Tradition, as an historical event, begins with the Apostolic
preaching and is found in Scriptures, but it is kept, treasured,
interpreted, and explained to the Church by the Holy Fathers, the
successors of the Apostles. Using the Greek term Pateres tes Ecclesias,
the Fathers of the Church, this "interpretive" part of the Apostolic
preaching is called "Patristic Tradition."
The Fathers, men of
extraordinary holiness and trusted orthodoxy in doctrine, enjoyed the
acceptance and respect of the universal Church by witnessing the message
of the Gospel, living and explaining it to posterity. Thus, Apostolic
Preaching or Tradition is organically associated with the Patristic
Tradition and vice versa. This point must be stressed since many
theologians in the Western churches either distinguish between Apostolic
Tradition and Patristic Tradition, or completely reject Patristic
Tradition.
For the Orthodox Christian,
there is one Tradition, the Tradition of the Church, incorporating the
Scriptures and the teaching of the Fathers. This is "the preaching of
the truth handed down by the Church in the whole world to Her children"
(St. Irenaeus, Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, 98). St. Athanasius,
the Great "Pillar of Orthodoxy," who was bishop of Alexandria during the
fourth century, gives the most appropriate definition of the Church's
Tradition:
"Let us look at the
very tradition, teaching, and faith of the catholic Church from the
very beginning, which the Logos gave (edoken), the Apostles preached
(ekeryxan), and the Fathers preserved (ephylaxan). Upon this the
Church is founded (tethemeliotai)" (St. Athanasius, First
Letter to Serapion, 28).
In retrospect, Tradition is
founded upon the Holy Trinity, it constantly proclaims the Gospel of
Christ, it is found within the boundaries of the Christian Church, and
it is expounded by the Fathers.
Universality and
Timelessness of Tradition
Another characteristic
still needs to be added, namely that the Tradition of the Church is
universal in space and time. St. Vincent of Lerins, a bishop and writer
in France during the fifth century, writes that "we must hold what has
been believed everywhere, always, and by all" (Common, 2). Indeed, the
Church with all her members, always, from the time of her inception
until the end of time, accepts and teaches everywhere the redemptive
work of Christ. This does not mean that the Church and Her Tradition
move within numerical, geographical or chronological limits. The Church
and Her Tradition, although they live in history, are beyond history.
They have eternal value, because Christ, the Founder of the Church, has
no beginning and no end. In other words, when the universality of the
Church Tradition is mentioned, it refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit,
which enables the Church to preserve until the end of time the Apostolic
truth unadulterated, unbroken, and unaltered. This is true because
Tradition expresses the common Orthodox mind (phronema) of the
whole Church against all heresies and schisms of all times.
It is important to
emphasize both the temporality as well as the timelessness, two
fundamental aspects of Holy Tradition. The late Fr. Georges Florovsky
wrote that:
"Tradition is not a
principle striving to restore the past, using the past as a
criterion for the present. Such a conception of tradition is
rejected by history itself and by the consciousness of the Orthodox
Church... Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not
only the memory of words. Tradition is a charismatic, not a
historical event" ("The Catholicity of the Church" in Bible,
Church, Tradition, p. 47).
In other words, Tradition
is a gift of the Holy Spirit, a living experience, which is relived and
renewed through time. It is the true faith, which is revealed by the
Holy Spirit to the true people of God.
Tradition, therefore,
cannot be reduced to a mere enumeration of quotations from the
Scriptures or from the Fathers. It is the fruit of the incarnation of
the Word of God, His crucifixion and resurrection as well as His
ascension, all of which took place in space and time. Tradition is an
extension of the life of Christ into the life of the Church. According
to St. Basil, it is the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit:
"Through the Holy
Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the
kingdom of heaven, our return as adopted sons, our liberty to call
God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our
being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and,
in a word, our being brought into a state of a 'fullness of
blessing' (Rom. 15: 29), both in this world and in the world to
come..." (St. Basil of Caesaria, On the Holy Spirit, XV.).
Tradition and
traditions.
This description by St.
Basil gives the true "existential" dimensions of the Holy Tradition of
the Church. For the Orthodox, therefore, Tradition is not a static set
of dogmatic precepts, or the uniform practices of the liturgical ritual
of the Church. Although Church Tradition includes both doctrinal and
liturgical formulas and practices, it is more properly the
metamorphosis, the continuous transfiguration of the people of God,
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father
and the communion of the Holy Spirit, as experienced in the daily life
of the Church. This does not mean that Tradition is something abstract
and theoretical or that it ignores the daily needs of human nature. On
the contrary, the "rule of faith" becomes every day the "rule of
worship." Doctrine, prayer, moral guidance, and liturgical practices are
indispensable parts of Holy Tradition. Some theologians speak about
traditions with a small "t," as being the written or unwritten practices
of the daily Christian life, in contrast with Tradition with capital
"T," which encompasses the basic doctrines of revelation and our
salvation in Christ.
This type of distinction is
rather misleading. Tradition and traditions are the integral parts of
the life of the Church and they express the totality of the Christian
way of life which leads to salvation. The doctrine of incarnation, the
historical truth of the crucifixion and resurrection, the Eucharist, the
sign of the cross, the threefold immersion in the baptismal font, the
honor and respect due to the Virgin Mary and to the saints of the
Church, are all important for the Christian, who wants to find himself
in the "perimeter" of salvation in Christ. This is what the Church has
taught through the centuries. "Therefore we must consider the Tradition
of the Church trustworthy," St. John Chrysostom writes, "it is
Tradition, seek no more" (Second Letter to Thessal.: Homily).
The Ecumenical Councils.
As has already been noted,
the authority, the power, and the impact of Tradition are found in the
Scriptures and the Patristic teaching as a total and unified expression
of the revelation of the Holy Trinity in the world. Christ, as the
ultimate and supreme Teacher, Shepherd and King, exercises His authority
in the Holy Spirit through the Apostles and their successors. The
Apostles, their successors and the whole people of God are the Body of
Christ extending throughout the ages. "There is no private teaching save
the common doctrine of the Catholic Church," wrote St. Maximos the
Confessor (seventh century; Migne PG, 90, 120C). In the reply to Pope
Pius IX in 1848, the Eastern Patriarchs wrote that "the Defender of the
faith is the very Body of the Church, that is the people, who want their
faith kept constantly unvarying and in agreement with the Fathers." Thus
the clergy and the laity are both responsible for the preservation of
the authentic and genuine Holy Tradition in and through the life of the
Church. In this context, particularly, the Ecumenical Councils of the
Church, and more generally, the Local Councils of the Church are of
great importance. The first Council Synod of the Church was the
Apostolic Synod, which took place in Jerusalem in 51 A.D. Later, bishops
used to meet either locally, or on the "ecumenical" or universal, the
all-encompassing level of the universal Christian empire, the
oikoumene, in order to discuss and solve serious dogmatic and
canonical issues which had arisen.
The Orthodox Church accepts
the following seven Ecumenical Councils:
- The Council of Nicea in 325, which
discussed and condemned Arianism.
- The Council of Constantinople in 381 which
principally condemned Apollinarianism.
- The Council of Ephesus in 431, which
condemned Nestorianism.
- The Council of Chalcedon in 451, which
condemned Monophysitism.
- The Second Council of Constantinople, in
553, which condemned Origen and other heretics.
- The Third Council of Constantinople in
680-81, which condemned Monothelitism.
- The Second Council of Nicea, in 787, which
condemned Iconoclasm.
The Orthodox Church also assigns ecumenical
status to The Council in Trullo in 692, which took place in
Constantinople. Eastern bishops took part in it, and they passed
disciplinary canons to complete the work of the Fifth and the Sixth
Ecumenical Councils and, thus, it is known as the Fifth-Sixth (Quinisext
or Penthekti).
These Ecumenical Councils became instruments
for formulating the dogmatic teachings of the Church, for fighting
against heresies and schisms and promoting the common and unifying
Tradition of the Church which secures her unity in the bond of love and
faith. Although convened by the emperors, the Church Fathers who
participated came from almost all the local dioceses of the Roman
Empire, thus expressing the faith and practice of the Universal Church.
Their decisions have been accepted by the clergy and the laity of all
times, making their validity indisputable. The Fathers followed the
Scriptures as well as the Apostolic and Patristic Tradition in general,
meeting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. St. Constantine the
Great, who convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, wrote that:
"... the resolution of the three
hundred holy bishops is nothing else than that the determination of
the Son of God, especially of the Holy Spirit, pressing upon the
minds of such great men brought to light the divine purpose."
(Socrates, Church History, 1:9).
In the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon,
it was stated that:
"The Fathers defined everything
perfectly; he who goes against this is anathema; no one adds, no one
takes away" (Acta Concil. II, 1).
Sabas, the bishop of Paltus in Syria in the
fifth century, speaking about the Council of Nicea said:
"Our Fathers who met at
Nicea did not make
their declarations of themselves but spoke
as the Holy Spirit dictated."
"Following the Fathers" becomes a
fixed expression in the minutes and the declarations of the Ecumenical
Councils as well as of the local ones. Thus, the Ecumenical Councils and
also some local councils, which later received universal acceptance,
express the infallible teaching of the Church, a teaching which is
irrevocable.
Are the Ecumenical Councils of the Church the
only infallible and correct instruments in proclaiming and implementing
the faith of the Church? Certainly, no bishops by themselves, no local
churches, no theologians can teach the faith by themselves alone. The
Ecumenical Councils are among the most important means which inscribe,
proclaim, and implement the faith of the Church, but only in conjunction
with Scripture, and the Tradition. The Ecumenical Councils are an
integral part of the ongoing Tradition of the Church. Thus, the Orthodox
Church claims that she has kept intact the faith of the first seven
Ecumenical Councils.
Other Councils and Confessions of Faith.
There are also other means of
re-affirming the universality of the Orthodox faith. There are, for
instance, Councils which were convened during the fourteenth century in
Constantinople dealing with the Palamite controversy, that is, the
teaching of Gregory Palamas concerning the distinction between divine
essence and divine energy. These councils are accepted as having
ecumenical status. There are the writings and Confessions of Faith
written by great teachers of the Church during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. Examples might include the letter of Mark of
Ephesus (1440-1441) to all Orthodox Christians; the correspondence of
Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople with the German Reformers
(1573-1581); the council of Jerusalem (1672) and the Confession of Faith
by Patriarch Dositheos of Jerusalem (1672), and the writings of St.
Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, who published the Rudder, a
book of great canonical and theological importance (1800). Also to be
included are the encyclical letters of the Ecumenical patriarchate and
the other Orthodox patriarchates dealing with important and significant
issues of the Church. A collection of most of these Orthodox documents
with ecumenical importance has been made and published by Professor John
Karmires, a distinguished Orthodox theologian in Greece. There is still
no English translation of this important collection.
In sum, the Ecumenical Councils, together with the Scriptures and the
Patristic writings, are the universal voice of the Church. The position
of the Ecumenical Councils in the Church and their universal authority
is enhanced by the fact that they issued not only dogmatic definitions
of faith, but also formulated important canons of the Church which
concern Orthodox spiritual life and help the individual in the growth of
his life in Christ. Not all these canons have the same value today as
they had when first written; still, they are like compasses which direct
our lives toward a Christian lifestyle and orient us towards a high
spiritual level. Canons which concern our moral life, fasting, and Holy
Communion are indeed important for our daily life as good Orthodox
Christians.
The Living
Tradition of the Eucharist.
It is interesting to emphasize another form of
the Synodical system, which accentuates the importance of Tradition: the
Eucharist itself. In the Eucharist, all Orthodox Christians meet
together and in absolute agreement, in doctrine and practice witness the
presence of the Holy Trinity on the altar of the Church. The bishop and
the priest pray to God the Father to send the Holy Spirit and transform
the bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ. All the
faithful present are called to receive Communion and become active
members of the Body of Christ. In the liturgy, as it was instituted by
the Lord Himself, the whole Church meets every day to proclaim and live
the oneness and the unity of faith in Jesus Christ. In the Orthodox
liturgy, we see all the history of Tradition embodied in the body and
blood of Christ. St. Gregory Palamas writes the following in connection
with the Holy Eucharist:
"We hold fast to all the Traditions of
the Church, written and unwritten, and above all to the most
mystical and sacred celebration and communion and assembly
(synaxis), whereby all other rites are made perfect..." (Letter
to Dionysius, 7).
This emphasis on the Eucharist shows that
Tradition is a dynamic way of life unfolding continuously in the
liturgical framework of the Church. By participating in the Eucharist,
we proclaim our Tradition as living and active members of the Church.
Of course, to live according to the Traditions of the Orthodox Church,
to participate, fully, in the life of Tradition is not an easy task. We
need the imparting of the Holy Spirit, in order to live in a mystical
and mysterious way the life of Christ. As St. Gregory Palamas wrote:
"All those dogmas which are now openly
proclaimed in the Church and made known to all alike, were
previously mysteries foreseen only by the prophets through the
Spirit. In the same way the blessings promised to the saints in the
age to come are at the present stage of the Gospel dispensation
still mysteries, imparted to and foreseen by those whom the Spirit
counts worthy, yet only in a partial way and in the form of a
pledge" (Tomos of the Holy Mountain, Preface).
Thus, the Tradition of the Church is
a living reality, which the Orthodox Christian must live daily in a
mystical way. By adhering to the teaching of the Scriptures, the
Ecumenical Councils, and the Patristic writings, by observing the canons
of the Church, by frequently participating in the Eucharist, where
Tradition becomes an empirical reality, we are members of the Body of
Christ and are led to the "contemplation of God" to repeat a beautiful
expression of St. Neilos (fifth century). St. Gregory Palamas, in
summing up the Patristic doctrine of Christian life, suggests that the
ultimate purpose of man's life is theoptia, that is, seeing
God. (In Defense of the Hesychasts, 1, 3, 42) or to use St. Gregory of
Nyssa's words, man's life is a strenuous and endless ascent towards God,
that is, deification (theosis). (On the Life of Moses, ed. by
W. Jaeger, 112ff.).
Orthodox Tradition, therefore, is not a dead letter, a collection of
dogmas and practices of the past. It is the history of salvation. It is
the life of the Holy Spirit, who constantly illuminates us in order for
all Orthodox Christians to become sons and daughters of God, living in
the Divine light of the All-blessed Trinity.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
G. Florovsky, Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View,Belmont,
Mass., 1972.
V. Lossky, "Tradition and Traditions", in In The Image and Likeness of
God, ed. J.H. Erickson and T.E. Bird, Crestwood, N.Y., 1974, pp.
141-168.
J. Meyendorff, "The Meaning of Tradition," in Living Tradition, pp.
13-26.
G.S. Bebis, "The Concept of Tradition in the Fathers of the Church,"
Greek Orthodox Theological Review, Spring 1970, Vol. XV, No. 1, pp.
22-55.
C. Scouteris, "Paradosis: The Orthodox Understanding of Tradition,"
Sobornost-Eastern Churches Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 30-37.
George S. Bebis PH.D.
