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Apostolic Tradition

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Apostolic Tradition C ommunity O f T he G ood S amaritan Study Publication Vol. 0012 in that chain of succession, recognized Apostolic Tradition the necessity of the traditions that had Sacred Tradition and The Scriptures been handed down from the apostles and guarded them scrupulously, as the Is Scripture the sole rule of faith for following quotations show. Christians? Not according to the Bible. While we must guard against merely Pope Clement I human tradition, the Bible contains "Then the reverence of the law is numerous references to the necessity of chanted, and the grace of the prophets is clinging to apostolic tradition. known, and the faith of the Gospels is Thus Paul tells the established, and the tradition Corinthians, I commend you of the apostles is preserved, because you remember me in and the grace of the Church everyt hing and maint ain t he exults" (Letter to the t radit ions even as I have Corinthians 11 [A.D. 80]). delivered t hem t o you" (1 Cor. 11:2), and he Papias commands the "Papias [A.D. 120], who is now mentioned by us, Thessalonians, "So t hen, affirms that he received the bret hren, st and f irm and sayings of the apostles from hold t o t he t radit ions which those who accompanied you were t aught by us, them, and he, moreover, eit her by word of mout h or asserts that he heard in person Aristion by let t er" (2 Thess. 2:15). He even goes and the presbyter John. Accordingly, he so far as to order, "Now we command you, mentions them frequently by name, and in bret hren, in t he name of our Lord Jesus his writings gives their traditions Christ , t hat you keep away f rom any [concerning Jesus]. [There are] other passages of his in which he relates some brot her who is living in idleness and not miraculous deeds, stating that he in accord wit h t he t radit ion t hat you acquired the knowledge of them from received f rom us" (2 Thess. 3:6). tradition" (fragment in Eusebius, Church To make sure that the apostolic tradition History 3:39 [A.D. 312]). would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "[W]hat Eusebius of Caesarea you have heard f rom me bef ore many "At that time [A.D. 150] there flourished in wit nesses ent rust t o f ait hf ul men who the Church Hegesippus, whom we know will be able t o t each ot hers also" (2 Tim. from what has gone before, and 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, and another four generations of apostolic bishop, Pinytus of Crete, and besides succession—his own generation, these, Philip, and Apollinarius, and Melito, Timothy’s generation, the generation and Musanus, and Modestus, and, finally, Timothy will teach, and the generation Irenaeus. From them has come down to they in turn will teach. us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith The early Church Fathers, who were links received from tradition" (Church History ¤2002 by CTGS 1 www.ctgs.org C ommunity O f T he G ood S amaritan Study Publication Vol. 0012 4:21). where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest Irenaeus and most ancient church known to all, "As I said before, the Church, having founded and organized at Rome by the received this preaching and this faith, two most glorious apostles, Peter and although she is disseminated throughout Paul, that church which has the tradition the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she and the faith which comes down to us occupied but one house. She likewise after having been announced to men by believes these things just as if she had the apostles. but one soul and one and the same heart; "With this church, because of its superior and harmoniously she proclaims them origin, all churches must agree—that is, and teaches them and hands them down, all the faithful in the whole world—and it is as if she possessed but one mouth. For, in her that the faithful everywhere have while the languages of the world are maintained the apostolic tradition" (ibid., diverse, nevertheless, the authority of the 3:3:1–2). tradition is one and the same" (Against Heresies 1:10:2 [A.D. 189]). Clement of Alexandria "That is why it is surely necessary to "Well, they preserving the tradition of the avoid them [heretics], while cherishing blessed doctrine derived directly from the with the utmost diligence the things holy apostles, Peter, James, John, and pertaining to the Church, and to lay hold Paul, the sons receiving it from the father of the tradition of truth. What if the (but few were like the fathers), came by apostles had not in fact left writings to us? God’s will to us also to deposit those Would it not be necessary to follow the ancestral and apostolic seeds. And well I order of tradition, which was handed know that they will exult; I do not mean down to those to whom they entrusted the delighted with this tribute, but solely on churches?" (ibid., 3:4:1). account of the preservation of the truth, ... according as they delivered it. For such a "It is possible, then, for everyone in every sketch as this, will, I think, be agreeable church, who may wish to know the truth, to a soul desirous of preserving from loss to contemplate the tradition of the the blessed tradition" (Miscellanies 1:1 apostles which has been made known [A.D. 208]). throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were Origen instituted bishops by the apostles and "Although there are many who believe their successors to our own times—men that they themselves hold to the teachings who neither knew nor taught anything like of Christ, there are yet some among them these heretics rave about. who think differently from their "But since it would be too long to predecessors. The teaching of the Church enumerate in such a volume as this the has indeed been handed down through successions of all the churches, we shall an order of succession from the apostles confound all those who, in whatever and remains in the churches even to the manner, whether through self-satisfaction present time. That alone is to be believed or vainglory, or through blindness and as the truth which is in no way at variance wicked opinion, assemble other than with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition" ¤2002 by CTGS 2 www.ctgs.org C ommunity O f T he G ood S amaritan Study Publication Vol. 0012 (The Fundamental Doctrines 1:2 [A.D. "Of the dogmas and messages preserved 225]). in the Church, some we possess from written teaching and others we receive Cyprian of Carthage from the tradition of the apostles, handed "[T]he Church is one, and as she is one, on to us in mystery. In respect to piety, cannot be both within and without. For if both are of the same force. No one will she is with Novatian, she was not with contradict any of these, no one, at any [Pope] Cornelius. But if she was with rate, who is even moderately versed in Cornelius, who succeeded the bishop matters ecclesiastical. Indeed, were we to Fabian by lawful ordination, and whom, try to reject unwritten customs as having beside the honor of the priesthood the no great authority, we would unwittingly Lord glorified also with martyrdom, injure the gospel in its vitals; or rather, we Novatian is not in the Church; nor can he would reduce [Christian] message to a be reckoned as a bishop, who, mere term" (The Holy Spirit 27:66 [A.D. succeeding to no one, and despising the 375]). evangelical and apostolic tradition, sprang from himself. For he who has not been Epiphanius of Salamis ordained in the Church can neither have "It is needful also to make use of tradition, nor hold to the Church in any way" for not everything can be gotten from (Letters 75:3 [A.D. 253]). sacred Scripture. The holy apostles handed down some things in the Athanasius scriptures, other things in tradition" "Again we write, again keeping to the (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 61:6 apostolic traditions, we remind each other [A.D. 375]). when we come together for prayer; and keeping the feast in common, with one Augustine mouth we truly give thanks to the Lord. "[T]he custom [of not rebaptizing Thus giving thanks unto him, and being converts] . may be supposed to have followers of the saints, ‘we shall make our had its origin in apostolic tradition, just as praise in the Lord all the day,’ as the there are many things which are observed psalmist says. So, when we rightly keep by the whole Church, and therefore are the feast, we shall be counted worthy of fairly held to have been enjoined by the that joy which is in heaven" (Festal Letters apostles, which yet are not mentioned in 2:7 [A.D. 330]). their writings" (On Baptism, Against the "But you are blessed, who by faith are in Donatists 5:23[31] [A.D. 400]). the Church, dwell upon the foundations of "But the admonition that he [Cyprian] the faith, and have full satisfaction, even gives us, ‘that we should go back to the the highest degree of faith which remains fountain, that is, to apostolic tradition, and among you unshaken.
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