THE ORTHODOX SOURCES OF TEACHING ARE THE HOLY SCRIPTURE AND SACRED TRADITION

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE ORTHODOX SOURCES OF TEACHING ARE THE HOLY
SCRIPTURE AND SACRED TRADITION.

“It is sometimes thought that Orthodox attach less importance than Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians to the Holy Scripture. Yet in fact Holy Scripture is read constantly in Orthodox divine services; during the course of Matins and Vespers the entire Psalter is recited each week, and in Great and Holy Lent twice a week. The reading of the Holy Gospel forms the climax of Matins on Sundays and feasts; at the Divine Liturgy a special Epistle and Gospel are assigned for each day of the year, so that the whole New Testament (except Revelation of Saint John) is read at the Eucharist. The Divine Liturgy contains 98 quotations from the Old Testament and 114 from the New Testament.”

It was the Church which, on the basis of Sacred Tradition, DETERMINED WHICH BOOKS WERE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURE AND IN WHAT ORDER. “The Church has given us the Bible through tradition, and the Reformers themselves received the Bible from the Church and by the Church, that is to say, by tradition.”

As important as Sacred Tradition was in determining the content of the Bible, it is equally important for proper interpretation of the Bible. The Bible without the Church and Sacred Tradition is insufficient as a source of Christian teaching. “The Church of the New Testament, during the first flourishing days of its existence, lived entirely WITHOUT BOOKS, WITHOUT EVEN THE GOSPELS, these were produced only in the course of the First Century, and were made part of the Canon, together with the Epistles, much later, finally taking definite form at the beginning of the Fourth Century.”

Without denying or belittling the authority of the Holy Bible, one must, nevertheless, mention the authority of the Church and Sacred Tradition in this matter because the Church came into being FIRST, and only afterwards, little by little, did the books of the New Testament, the Gospels and Epistles appear. Moreover, when we take into account how few “books”, or manuscripts, there were in those days, and the fact that besides the genuine writings there were gospels and texts written under the names of the Apostles, it is easy to understand how important the living Tradition of the Church was in safeguarding the THE TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH. The prime importance of the Tradition is plainly shown by the fact that it was not until the Fifth Century that the Church established conclusively WHICH BOOKS IN CIRCULATION SHOULD BE REGARDED AS GENUINELY INSPIRED BY GOD’S REVELATION. Thus the Church itself DETERMINED THE COMPOSITION OF THE HOLY BIBLE.”

The sources of Sacred Tradition are the following:

1. The Books of the Holy Scripture;
2. Decrees and definitions which were formulated by the Seven Ecumenical Councils (325 A.D. in Nicaea; 381 A.D. in Constantinople; 431 A.D. in Ephesus; 451 A.D. in Chalcedon; 553 A.D. in Constantinople; 680 A.D. in Constantinople; and 787 A.D. in Nicaea). Definitions, Decrees, and formulation of the Council of Trulio, held in 691 A.D., are also a part of Sacred Tradition.
3. Universal Creeds: a) Nicene; b) Apostolic, and c) Athanasian;
4. Teachings of the Holy Fathers of the One and Undivided Christian Church. Both Eastern and Western Holy Fathers are represented, with Saint John of Damascus occupying the most prominent position. Only the teaching of the Fathers WHO DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THE OFFICIAL TEACHING AND POSITION OF THE CHURCH ARE ACCEPTED AS A SOURCE OF SACRED TRADITION.

According to Timothy (Kallistos) Ware:

“Christian tradition, in that case, is that faith which Jesus Christ imparted to the Apostles, and which since the Apostles’ time
has been handed down from generation to generation in the Church. (See Paul, I Corinthians 15:3). But to an Orthodox Christian
Tradition means something more concrete and specific. IT MEANS THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE; IT MEANS THE CREED; IT MEANS
THE DECREES OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS AND WRITING OF THE HOLY FATHERS; IT MEANS HOLY CANONS, THE SERVICE
BOOKS, THE HOLY ICONS – IN FACT, THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF DOCTRINE, CHURCH GOVERNMENT, WORSHIP, AND ART WHICH
ORTHODOXY HAS ARTICULATED OVER THE AGES. The Orthodox Christian today sees himself as HEIR AND GUARDIAN TO A
GREAT INHERITANCE RECEIVED FROM THE PAST, AND HE BELIEVES THAT IT IS HIS DUTY TO TRANSMIT THIS INHERITANCE TO
THE FUTURE.”

The Orthodox Church considers the Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition TO BE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER. They DO NOT, and must not, contradict one another. Until the time when the Holy Scripture became a written document, THEY EXISTED AS A PART OF THE ORAL TRADITION. ORAL instructions, rather than written books, were used to instruct catechumens. But for Sacred Tradition, WE WOULD NOT EVE HAVE THE BIBLE ITSELF. It may be also said that in the Orthodox Church the Holy Bible IS THE SUBSTANCE AND ESSENCE OF THE UNFORMULATED CHRISTIAN TEACHING, and that Sacred Tradition IS THE KEY TO ITS FORMULATION AND INTERPRETATION. INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE LEFT TO INDIVIDUALS, WHETHER COMPETENT OR INCOMPETENT, HAS LED TO THE FRAGMENTATION OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE MULTIPLICATION OF HERESIES. The Orthodox Church and her faithful believe that :

“No individual person has possessed complete purity of heart and hence complete
infallibility in interpreting the word of God. However, THIS GIFT HAS BEEN GRANTED
TO THE CHURCH AS A WHOLE THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH ACTING WITHIN IT.
In practice this means that when all or most of the Church Fathers known for their holy
lives have been consistent with one another in their explanation of some point of
Scripture has become truth to the members of the Church. It is our belief that the Bible
itself, WITHOUT TRADITION AS ITS LIVING INTERPRETER, IS INSUFFICIENT AS A SOURCE
OF FAITH.”

We, the Orthodox , do not believe in freedom without order, freedom without duties, nor freedom without responsibility. We do not believe IRRESPONSIBLE FREEDOM. Yet, exactly,this kind of freedom is practiced by Protestants. Such irresponsible freedom makes possible an absurdity whereby in the most important aspect of human life, in the spiritual and religious, freedom of teaching and interpretation is given to individuals. While in all else professionalism is required and responsibility is presupposed, interpretation of the Holy Scripture, the teaching about God, is granted to the qualified and unqualified. Whereas on one hand the authority of THE CHURCH IS REJECTED, the authority of an individual is recognized.

Orthodox teaching is based, already mentioned, on the Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition, which includes the decisions of the Ecumenical (General) Councils and the teaching of the Holy Fathers who distinguished themselves BY THE SANCTITY OF THEIR LIVES AND WHO WERE AMONG THE MOST LEARNED PERSONS OF THEIR TIME.

The Orthodox Church HAS PRESERVED THE TEACHING OF GOD BASED ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES AND SACRED TRADITION, INCLUDING THE DECISIONS OF THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS AND THE MEDITATION AND TEACHING OF THE WORTHIEST CHRISTIANS, THE HOLY FATHERS, THOSE WHO FIRST PREPARED THEMSELVES B FASTING AND PRAYERS AND ONLY DARED TO INTERPRET THE HOLY SCRIPTURE. [Resources:  ORTHODOXY: COURAGE TO BE DIFFERENT AND STRENGTH TO REMAIN THE SAME by 

Father Mateja Matejic]

____________
“Glory Be To GOD

For

All Things!”

– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

By Father George