Block, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect
30,891
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Apostolic Tradition (view source)
Revision as of 12:31, September 6, 2019
, 12:31, September 6, 2019created article, with Bible links and External links - Quotations to follow, next edit, from different sources
'''Apostolic [[Tradition]]''', also called sacred tradition, or holy tradition, is a [[Theology|theological]] term used by major Christian traditions such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, and Anglican traditions, primarily those claiming [[apostolic succession]], in reference to the divinely revealed foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of [[Christianity]].
==Living Tradition==
Christians believe that the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles came from [[God]], who gave it to Jesus<ref>Revelation 1:1; Hebrews 1:1-2</ref> to pass on to his apostles and preserved by word of mouth and handed on by them to the whole church through their authorized successors as a single deposit of doctrine and practice, to be faithfully guarded by them under the guidance and help of the [[Holy Spirit]]<ref>John 14:15-17; 16:12-15; Acts 20:28; 2 Timothy 1:14; 1 Peter 1:10-12.</ref>. This perpetual handing on of the tradition received and passed down from the [[Twelve Apostles]] to be rightly understood, interpreted and applied by the leaders of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God is called the "Living Tradition", believed to be the faithful and constant transmission of the teachings of the Apostles from one generation to the next. The '''Deposit of Faith''' (Latin: ''fidei depositum'') refers to the entirety of divine revelation preserved by apostolic tradition.
In Eastern Orthodox theology, Holy Tradition is the inspired revelation of God and [[orthodox]] [[catholic]] teaching (Greek ''katholikos'', "according to the whole") of the Church, not an independent [[Contradiction|contradictory]] source of [[dogma]]tic authority to be regarded as a supplement to biblical revelation. Tradition is rather understood as the fullness of divine truth proclaimed in the scriptures, preserved by the apostolic bishops and expressed in the life of the Church through such things as the Divine Liturgy and the [[Orthodox Mysteries|Holy Mysteries]] (Eucharist, baptism, marriage, etc.), the [[Apostles' Creed]], the [[Nicene Creed]] and other doctrinal definitions of the First seven ecumenical councils, canonical Christian iconography, and the sanctified lives of godly men and women. The organic and seamless whole of this catholic and orthodox Christian [[culture]] of the living and breathing life of the church comprises the living expression of the unchanging essence of the apostolic tradition.
According to [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] theology, two accessible sources of divine revelation in Christ constitute a unified single "Deposit of Faith", meaning that the entirety of divine revelation and the Deposit of Faith is transmitted to successive generations in scripture and sacred tradition through the teaching authority and authentic interpretation of the Church's [[Magisterium]], which consists of the Church's bishops, in union with the [[Pope]], the Patriarch of the West, typically proceeding from the doctrinal decisions and definitions of [[synod]]s of [[bishops]] and [[ecumenical council]]s, preserved from error by the [[discernment]] of the Holy Spirit.
According to the Christian [[Theology|theological]] understanding of these Churches, scripture is the written part of this larger tradition, recording (sometimes through the work of the individual authors) the community's experience and understanding of God and more specifically of Jesus as the Living Word of God. Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred tradition and within the community of the church.
This is rejected by many Protestant traditions based on the principles set forth by the leaders of the [[Protestant Reformation]], which teach against the centuries-old tradition of the Church that the Bible alone is a sufficient basis for all Christian teaching (a position known as ''[[sola scriptura]]'').
==Oral tradition==
===Judaism===
The idea of a Judeo-Christian oral tradition as part of the divine revelation of [[truth]] finds its origin in the Jewish doctrine of the Oral Law transmitted to [[Moses]] and the elders at Mount Sinai. With the rise of the Christian Church in the first century, rabbinical authorities began to be concerned with what they saw as corrupt and deviant interpretations of the sacred scriptures of Israel as illicit attempts to support the claims of the Christian sect that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah. To safeguard the traditions of the fathers handed down orally over the centuries, these traditions were carefully collected and eventually codified in the [[Talmud]], in two recensions: the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.
===Christianity===
Christian experience of [[schism]]s in the first century caused by the deviations of heretical innovations in doctrine by "false brethren", already seen in the warnings in the Letters of Saint Paul as threating the true faith of the community, prompted the writings of [[the Gospel]] by the [[Evangelist]]s, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and during the four successive centuries after them the [[Christian apologetics|apologetical writings]] of the [[Ante-Nicene Fathers]] in defense of the true faith. All of this was part of the apostolic tradition.
==Apostolic Tradition in the New Testament==
The New Testament contains several passages referring to the authority of doctrinal tradition corresponding to the established teaching and ''praxis'' (Greek "practice") of the church (assembly) of the apostles of the Lord as necessary for salvation.
Acts 15:2, 6 and Matthew 16:18-19; 18:15-20.
John 14:15-17; 16:12-15.
Acts 20:28.
1 Corinthians 11:2; 1:10-13; 4:15-15.
Galatians 1:6-9; 4:19.
2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6.
2 Timothy 1:14; 2:2.
Hebrews 1:1-2; 13:17
1 Peter 1:10-12.
2 Peter 1:19-21; 3:14-18.
2 John 4-12.
3 John 9, 13.
Jude 3, 16-20.
==Quotations about Apostolic Tradition both East and West==
==See also==
[[Sensus fidelium]]
[[Sensus plenior]]
[[Sensus Christianorum]]
[[Apostolic Fathers]]
[[Athanasian Creed]]
[[Council of Nicaea]]
[[Pentarchy]]
[[Apostolic Canons]]
[[Apostolic Constitutions]]
[[Petrine Primacy]]
[[Heresy]]
[[Five Solas]]
[[Great Apostasy]]
[[Traditionalism]]
[[Biblical Canon]]
[[Apocrypha]]
[[Hermeneutics]]
[[Historical-critical method (Higher criticism)]]
[[Cafeteria Christianity]]
[[Cafeteria Catholic]]
[[Invincible ignorance]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostolic-tradition-quotes.html Quotes About Apostolic Tradition - Christian History for Everyman (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostles-quotes.html Quotes About the Apostles - Christian History for Everyman (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostolic-tradition.html Apostolic Tradition: The Body of Apostolic Teaching (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.catholic.com/tract/apostolic-tradition Apostolic Tradition (catholic.com)]
[https://www.catholic.com/tract/fathers-of-the-church Fathers of the Church (catholic.com)]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Tradition - Wikipedia]
==Living Tradition==
Christians believe that the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles came from [[God]], who gave it to Jesus<ref>Revelation 1:1; Hebrews 1:1-2</ref> to pass on to his apostles and preserved by word of mouth and handed on by them to the whole church through their authorized successors as a single deposit of doctrine and practice, to be faithfully guarded by them under the guidance and help of the [[Holy Spirit]]<ref>John 14:15-17; 16:12-15; Acts 20:28; 2 Timothy 1:14; 1 Peter 1:10-12.</ref>. This perpetual handing on of the tradition received and passed down from the [[Twelve Apostles]] to be rightly understood, interpreted and applied by the leaders of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God is called the "Living Tradition", believed to be the faithful and constant transmission of the teachings of the Apostles from one generation to the next. The '''Deposit of Faith''' (Latin: ''fidei depositum'') refers to the entirety of divine revelation preserved by apostolic tradition.
In Eastern Orthodox theology, Holy Tradition is the inspired revelation of God and [[orthodox]] [[catholic]] teaching (Greek ''katholikos'', "according to the whole") of the Church, not an independent [[Contradiction|contradictory]] source of [[dogma]]tic authority to be regarded as a supplement to biblical revelation. Tradition is rather understood as the fullness of divine truth proclaimed in the scriptures, preserved by the apostolic bishops and expressed in the life of the Church through such things as the Divine Liturgy and the [[Orthodox Mysteries|Holy Mysteries]] (Eucharist, baptism, marriage, etc.), the [[Apostles' Creed]], the [[Nicene Creed]] and other doctrinal definitions of the First seven ecumenical councils, canonical Christian iconography, and the sanctified lives of godly men and women. The organic and seamless whole of this catholic and orthodox Christian [[culture]] of the living and breathing life of the church comprises the living expression of the unchanging essence of the apostolic tradition.
According to [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] theology, two accessible sources of divine revelation in Christ constitute a unified single "Deposit of Faith", meaning that the entirety of divine revelation and the Deposit of Faith is transmitted to successive generations in scripture and sacred tradition through the teaching authority and authentic interpretation of the Church's [[Magisterium]], which consists of the Church's bishops, in union with the [[Pope]], the Patriarch of the West, typically proceeding from the doctrinal decisions and definitions of [[synod]]s of [[bishops]] and [[ecumenical council]]s, preserved from error by the [[discernment]] of the Holy Spirit.
According to the Christian [[Theology|theological]] understanding of these Churches, scripture is the written part of this larger tradition, recording (sometimes through the work of the individual authors) the community's experience and understanding of God and more specifically of Jesus as the Living Word of God. Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred tradition and within the community of the church.
This is rejected by many Protestant traditions based on the principles set forth by the leaders of the [[Protestant Reformation]], which teach against the centuries-old tradition of the Church that the Bible alone is a sufficient basis for all Christian teaching (a position known as ''[[sola scriptura]]'').
==Oral tradition==
===Judaism===
The idea of a Judeo-Christian oral tradition as part of the divine revelation of [[truth]] finds its origin in the Jewish doctrine of the Oral Law transmitted to [[Moses]] and the elders at Mount Sinai. With the rise of the Christian Church in the first century, rabbinical authorities began to be concerned with what they saw as corrupt and deviant interpretations of the sacred scriptures of Israel as illicit attempts to support the claims of the Christian sect that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah. To safeguard the traditions of the fathers handed down orally over the centuries, these traditions were carefully collected and eventually codified in the [[Talmud]], in two recensions: the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.
===Christianity===
Christian experience of [[schism]]s in the first century caused by the deviations of heretical innovations in doctrine by "false brethren", already seen in the warnings in the Letters of Saint Paul as threating the true faith of the community, prompted the writings of [[the Gospel]] by the [[Evangelist]]s, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and during the four successive centuries after them the [[Christian apologetics|apologetical writings]] of the [[Ante-Nicene Fathers]] in defense of the true faith. All of this was part of the apostolic tradition.
==Apostolic Tradition in the New Testament==
The New Testament contains several passages referring to the authority of doctrinal tradition corresponding to the established teaching and ''praxis'' (Greek "practice") of the church (assembly) of the apostles of the Lord as necessary for salvation.
Acts 15:2, 6 and Matthew 16:18-19; 18:15-20.
John 14:15-17; 16:12-15.
Acts 20:28.
1 Corinthians 11:2; 1:10-13; 4:15-15.
Galatians 1:6-9; 4:19.
2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6.
2 Timothy 1:14; 2:2.
Hebrews 1:1-2; 13:17
1 Peter 1:10-12.
2 Peter 1:19-21; 3:14-18.
2 John 4-12.
3 John 9, 13.
Jude 3, 16-20.
==Quotations about Apostolic Tradition both East and West==
==See also==
[[Sensus fidelium]]
[[Sensus plenior]]
[[Sensus Christianorum]]
[[Apostolic Fathers]]
[[Athanasian Creed]]
[[Council of Nicaea]]
[[Pentarchy]]
[[Apostolic Canons]]
[[Apostolic Constitutions]]
[[Petrine Primacy]]
[[Heresy]]
[[Five Solas]]
[[Great Apostasy]]
[[Traditionalism]]
[[Biblical Canon]]
[[Apocrypha]]
[[Hermeneutics]]
[[Historical-critical method (Higher criticism)]]
[[Cafeteria Christianity]]
[[Cafeteria Catholic]]
[[Invincible ignorance]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostolic-tradition-quotes.html Quotes About Apostolic Tradition - Christian History for Everyman (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostles-quotes.html Quotes About the Apostles - Christian History for Everyman (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.christian-history.org/apostolic-tradition.html Apostolic Tradition: The Body of Apostolic Teaching (christian-history.org)]
[https://www.catholic.com/tract/apostolic-tradition Apostolic Tradition (catholic.com)]
[https://www.catholic.com/tract/fathers-of-the-church Fathers of the Church (catholic.com)]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Tradition - Wikipedia]