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Tradition in the Orthodox Church
George S. Bebis PH.D.  Terminology and Meaning.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:
The essence of Christian tradition is described by St. Paul, who writes:
He also makes clear that this Trinitarian doctrine must be accepted by all Christians:
Speaking about the Holy Eucharist, which is a manifestation of the Holy Trinity, he writes:
Again speaking about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, St. Paul writes:
Finally he admonishes:
The sole source and cause and principle of the Trinitarian unity is the Father Himself (Ephes. 4:4-6). 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:
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:
This Church was established as a historical reality on the day of Pentecost, with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles:
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:
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 Tim. 4: 4-7). He also admonishes the Colossians to avoid "merely human injunctions and teachings" (2: 22), and to follow Christ:
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:
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."
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.
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 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. 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 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).
In the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, it was stated that:
Sabas, the bishop of Paltus in Syria in the fifth century, speaking about the Council of Nicea said:
"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. 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:
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.
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.). SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
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