Concept
Sacred tradition, also called Holy tradition or Apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of Christianity and of the Bible. Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred tradition and within the community of the denomination. The denominations that ascribe to this position are the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian churches (the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East). The Anglican and Methodist churches regard tradition, reason, and experience as sources of authority but as subordinate to scripture – a position known as prima scriptura. That is in contrast to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, which teach that the Bible alone is a sufficient/infallible basis for all Christian teaching – a position known as sola scriptura. For many denominations of Christianity, the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Nicene Fathers and Post-Nicene Fathers are included in sacred tradition. The word tradition is taken from the Latin trado, tradere, meaning "to hand over". Among the earliest examples of the theological appeal to tradition is the response of early orthodox Christianity to Gnosticism, a movement that used some Christian scripture as the basis for its teachings. Irenaeus of Lyons held that 'rule of faith' ('κανών της πίστης') is preserved by a church through its historical continuity (of interpretation and teaching) with the Apostles. Tertullian argued that although interpretations founded on a reading of all Holy Scripture are not prone to error, tradition is the proper guide. Athanasius held that Arianism fell into error primarily by not adhering to tradition. In the modern era, scholars such as Craig A. Evans, James A. Sanders, and Stanley E. Porter have studied how sacred tradition in the Hebrew Bible was understood and used by New Testament writers to describe Jesus Christ.
