Sacred Tradition a Divine Guide
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June 11, 2022Sacred Tradition a Divine Guide
An excerpt from St. Basil the Great, Bishop and Doctor
Tradition as Guide to the right understanding of Holy Scripture. Of the beliefs and public doctrines entrusted to the care of the Church, there are some which are based on Scriptural teaching, others which we have received handed down in mystery by the tradition of the Apostles; and in relation to the true religion they both have the same force. Nor is there anyone will contradict them; no one certainly who has the least acquaintance with the established laws of the Church.
For were we to attempt to reject the unwritten practices of the Church, as being without great importance, we would unknowingly inflict mortal wounds on the Gospel, or rather, we would make of our public teaching a mere pretence and nothing more. For example, if I may cite in the first place what are the first and most common practices of Tradition, who is it has taught us in writing to sign with the sign of the Cross those who place their trust in Jesus Christ our Lord? What that is written has taught us to turn towards the East when we pray? The words of invocation at the consecration of the Eucharistic Bread and the Chalice of Blessing, which of the saints has left them to us in writing? For we are not content with the words both the Gospel and the Apostle have recorded, but have added some others, both before these and after them, as having great significance in relation to the mystery, and which have been received from unwritten tradition.
