Sacred Tradition

Authority level: Dogma
GuideSacred Tradition's apostolic origin, divine authority, unity with Scripture, and constitutive place in the Deposit of Faith belong to dogmatic doctrine; particular historical witnesses, customs, and theological accounts require differentiated evaluation.
Contents

Sacred Tradition is the living transmission in the Holy Spirit of the Word of God entrusted by Jesus Christ to the apostles and handed on through their successors in the Catholic Church's doctrine, life, worship, and sacramental communion.

Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one deposit, so sacred Tradition is a 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 vice versa) 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.[11][12] 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.[13] In Lutheranism, tradition is subordinate to Scripture and is cherished for its role in the proclamation of the Gospel.[14]

For many denominations of Christianity, the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Nicene Fathers and Post-Nicene Fathers are included in sacred Tradition.[15]

Apostolic origin

The Father revealed himself through the Son, and Christ commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel to every nation. They transmitted what they received from his words, deeds, way of life, Passion, Resurrection, and gift of the Holy Spirit. This transmission occurred through preaching, personal example, common worship, sacramental institutions, moral instruction, pastoral judgment, and inspired writing rather than through a book detached from apostolic communion.

The apostles appointed successors so that the Gospel would be preserved in the Church. Apostolic Succession is sacramental and doctrinal: bishops receive a ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and governing within the college united to Peter's successor. The unrepeatable foundation belongs to the apostles, while their successors guard and proclaim the Deposit of Faith rather than receiving a license to create a new revelation.[1]

Preaching before the completed canon

The Church preached, baptized, celebrated Eucharist, resolved disputes, and confessed Christ before the New Testament canon was complete or formally listed. This chronological fact does not diminish Scripture; it shows the apostolic life in which Scripture arose and was received. Inspired writings are a constitutive and uniquely authoritative form of the same apostolic Word, not an alien text later imposed upon an originally traditionless community.

What Tradition transmits

Through Sacred Tradition the Church perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she is and all that she believes. The content is not reducible to unwritten sentences stored beside biblical verses. It includes the apostolic Rule of Faith, sacramental constitution, canonical worship, moral life, ecclesial communion, and pattern of interpreting Scripture through which the mystery of Christ remains present and fruitful.

Particular witnesses to Tradition include creeds, liturgies, conciliar definitions, the Fathers, enduring sacramental practice, the consensus of bishops, the lives of saints, canonical structures, and the common faith of the people. No individual witness exhausts Tradition or is free from historical limitation. Their authority depends upon how they manifest the one apostolic inheritance and how the living Magisterium receives and judges them.

Reality, word, and ecclesial life

Revelation communicates realities as well as propositions: God gives himself, establishes covenant, acts in history, and draws persons into communion. Doctrinal words identify these realities truthfully and are indispensable, while liturgy and sacraments make the saving mystery present according to Christ's institution. Tradition therefore cannot be reduced either to mute practice without truth or to formulas detached from the Church's life.

Scripture and Tradition

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition arise from one divine source, form one Deposit of Faith, and tend toward the same end. Scripture is the speech of God consigned to writing under the Holy Spirit; Tradition transmits that Word in its entirety through the apostolic Church. They are closely connected and communicate with one another while remaining distinct in mode and function.

The Church does not derive certainty concerning all revealed truth from Scripture alone. Sacred Tradition identifies the Canon of Scripture and supplies the living ecclesial context in which its books are proclaimed and interpreted. Yet Tradition never authorizes contradiction of Scripture. A claimed inheritance that opposes the inspired Word, the apostolic faith, or definitive judgment is not Sacred Tradition merely because it is old or popular.[2]

Not two competing revelations

The older language of two sources can be used if it safeguards their one divine source and inseparable relation, but it can mislead when imagined as two independent bins of information. Catholic theology may debate material sufficiency and the manner in which particular doctrines are contained. The settled confession is one revelation transmitted in Scripture and Tradition, authentically interpreted within the Church.[3][4]

Tradition and the Magisterium

The Magisterium gives authentic interpretation to both the written and handed-down Word. It is not itself a third revelation and is not above either. Bishops in communion with the Roman Pontiff listen, guard, explain, define, and apply what has been received. Their office supplies a living judgment by which the Church distinguishes apostolic Tradition from plausible reconstructions, local customs, and private theological claims.[5][6]

Tradition is more than whatever church authorities currently prefer, and the Magisterium is more than an archaeological committee counting ancient quotations. The Holy Spirit preserves continuity through the Church's living communion. A definition can clarify implications not previously formulated; a disciplinary reform can change practice; neither act is authentic if it repudiates the Deposit of Faith or pretends that apostolic truth is created by present authority.

Recognition and judgment

Historical and theological study examines antiquity, universality, liturgical use, patristic convergence, coherence, and prior teaching. These signs aid recognition but do not function as a mechanical algorithm. The Magisterium judges with divine assistance according to its proper mode, while the faithful receive the judgment in communion. Claims that bypass the bishops to appeal directly to a privately reconstructed primitive Church reproduce private judgment rather than Catholic Tradition.

Witness of liturgy and the Fathers

The ancient maxim lex orandi, lex credendi expresses the reciprocal relation of worship and faith. Baptismal formulas, Eucharistic prayers, doxologies, the veneration of saints, prayers for the dead, and the liturgical year can witness what the Church received. Liturgy is not an autonomous oracle: rites develop, local uses differ, and authentic interpretation belongs within the whole Tradition and Magisterium.

The Church Fathers are privileged witnesses because of their proximity to apostolic origins, pastoral responsibility, role in councils, and formative interpretation of Scripture. Individual Fathers can disagree, speculate, or use historically conditioned arguments. Patristic consensus on faith carries greater weight than an isolated sentence, and later development can state more precisely what an early writer confessed implicitly or expressed inadequately.

Lex orandi and patristic consensus

Neither liturgical archaeology nor quotation collecting replaces theological judgment. An ancient prayer may reveal belief without defining every scholastic explanation; a Father's silence may reflect the absence of controversy rather than denial. The strongest evidence converges across Scripture, worship, teaching, and ecclesial practice. Tradition is recognized through the Church's entire apostolic life, not a single maxim used as an automatic proof.

Living continuity and development

Tradition is called living because the Holy Spirit makes the apostolic Word present and leads the Church into deeper understanding. Living does not mean endlessly revisable. Growth occurs through contemplation, theology, saints, liturgy, mission, controversy, councils, and episcopal preaching. The later insight must be the same faith understood more explicitly, not a contradictory teaching legitimated by the passage of time.

Development of Doctrine explains how terms and definitions unknown to the earliest vocabulary can serve apostolic truth. Consubstantial, hypostatic union, transubstantiation, and Immaculate Conception are not biblical phrases, yet the realities they identify are judged within Scripture and Tradition. Historical novelty of expression is neither proof of corruption nor proof of authenticity; continuity of meaning and ecclesial judgment control.[7]

Preservation without fossilization

A static repetition can betray Tradition when changed questions cause old words to be misunderstood, while a new explanation can preserve it by recovering the original judgment. Translation, conceptual refinement, and pastoral application are therefore necessary. The standard remains identity in the revealed reality and judgment. A living body grows as the same body; replacement by a different organism is not development.

Sacred Tradition and ecclesial traditions

Sacred Tradition must be distinguished from theological, disciplinary, liturgical, devotional, and cultural traditions formed in particular places and periods. Lesser traditions can embody the apostolic faith beautifully and deserve reverence, yet competent authority can reform, translate, restrict, or abandon them. Latin, Byzantine, Alexandrian, Armenian, East Syriac, and West Syriac expressions can differ while transmitting one Catholic faith.

Age alone does not establish revelation. Some customs are ancient disciplines; some recent practices faithfully express perennial truth; some inherited habits require purification. Antiquarianism treats every former usage as apostolic and immutable, while presentism treats inheritance as an obstacle to self-invention. Catholic discernment honors continuity, legitimate diversity, authority, and the difference between divine constitution and ecclesiastical arrangement.

Traditions, rites, and legitimate diversity

A Rite is a liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary patrimony belonging to Churches; it is not another Deposit of Faith. Different rites articulate common dogma through distinct prayers, calendars, vesture, music, and canonical customs. Unity does not require Latinization, and diversity does not permit contradiction. Sacred Tradition contains the apostolic reality that these traditions receive and express.

Tradition, sensus fidei, and reception

The whole people of God participates in Tradition by believing, worshiping, witnessing, and living the faith. The Sensus Fidei enables formed believers to recognize the Gospel from within. Saints often disclose dimensions of doctrine through holiness before theologians formulate them. This participation remains inseparable from communion with pastors and cannot be identified with spontaneous preference or sociological majority.

Reception manifests how teaching enters the Church's common confession and can expose the need for explanation. It does not confer validity on a Dogma by referendum. Resistance may arise from misunderstanding, sin, poor communication, or a genuine question about a non-definitive formulation; each requires discernment. Appeals to reception that make current popularity the creator of truth reverse the Church's receptive identity.

Saints and the supernatural sense of faith

Holiness gives an experiential connaturality with divine things, not a private guarantee of correctness on every dispute. A saint's teaching can carry exceptional spiritual and theological weight while remaining subordinate to the Magisterium. The canonized witness of diverse vocations shows Tradition embodied across cultures and centuries and prevents doctrinal transmission from being reduced to bureaucracy or academic abstraction.

Errors concerning Tradition

Sola Scriptura denies Sacred Tradition's constitutive role by making Scripture the sole infallible rule, even when subordinate creeds and teachers are valued. Traditionalism can err in the opposite direction by treating selected customs, private revelations, or favored theological manuals as though they were the apostolic deposit and by setting private judgments of continuity against the living Magisterium.[8]

Modernism dissolves stable revealed meaning into changing religious consciousness; historicism can make truth merely a product of context; restorationism imagines a pure age recoverable by bypassing later councils; positivism treats whatever authority says today as true by sheer will. Catholic Tradition rejects all four reductions. God has truly revealed, the apostolic deposit remains identifiable, understanding genuinely develops, and authority serves rather than invents it.

Secret tradition and private certification

Sacred Tradition is publicly ecclesial, not a hidden chain of secret sayings accessible to an elite. Particular truths may have been handed on without explicit scriptural formulation, but their authority rests upon the Church's apostolic life and judgment, not unverifiable initiation. Likewise, no blogger, society, theologian, or traditionalist network possesses an independent charism to certify the true Church against the pope and bishops in communion with him.

Ecumenical dialogue and Christian unity

Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches share a strong account of Holy Tradition, Apostolic Succession, councils, Fathers, liturgy, and sacramental continuity, while differing with Rome about later definitions and universal primacy. Protestant communities range from confessional appeals to patristic consensus to forms of Sola Scriptura that assign no infallible authority outside the biblical text. Dialogue must identify these real differences rather than assume one word carries one meaning.

Catholic ecumenism can distinguish the substance of a dogma from one school's formulation, recognize complementary Eastern expressions, and retrieve common sources. It cannot trade away a truth of the Deposit of Faith. The purpose is restored communion in apostolic truth, sacraments, and governance, not a lowest-common-denominator agreement in which Scripture and Tradition are praised while contradictory rules of faith remain unresolved.[9]

Fullness and elements of sanctification and truth

Elements of sanctification and truth outside full Catholic communion—including Scripture, valid Baptism, creeds, prayer, and in true particular Churches apostolic succession and Eucharist—derive their efficacy from Christ and impel toward unity. Recognizing them does not make all communities equal embodiments of Sacred Tradition. Communion is graded according to the ecclesial gifts actually preserved and their relation to the Catholic Church.[10]

Origin of the term

The word tradition is taken from the Latin trado, tradere, meaning "to hand over".[16]

It is often treated as a proper noun and thus capitalized as "Sacred Tradition"[17][18] or "sacred Tradition".

History

Among the earliest examples of the theological invocation of Tradition is the response of early orthodox Christianity to Gnosticism, a movement that used some Christian scripture as the basis for its teachings.[19] Irenaeus of Lyons held that the 'rule of faith' ('κανών της πίστης') is preserved by a church through its historical continuity (of interpretation and teaching) with the Apostles.[20] Tertullian argued that although interpretations founded on a reading of all Holy Scripture are not prone to error, Tradition is the proper guide.

In the modern era, scholars such as Craig A. Evans, James A. Sanders,[21] and Stanley E. Porter[22] have studied how sacred Tradition in the Hebrew Bible was understood and used by New Testament writers to describe Jesus Christ.

Teaching by Christian denomination

Catholic Church

According to Catholic theology, Paul the Apostle exhorted the faithful to "stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The Pauline epistles form part of sacred scripture; what he passed on by "word of mouth" is part of sacred Tradition, handed down from the apostles. Both are the inspired word of God; the latter helps to inform understanding of the former. Sacred Tradition can never be in conflict with sacred scripture.[23]

Those in the Catholic faith believe that the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles were preserved in the scriptures as well as by word of mouth. This perpetual handing on of the tradition is called the "Living Tradition"; it is believed to be the faithful and constant transmission of the teachings of the Apostles from one generation to the next. That "includes everything which contributes towards the sanctity of life and increase in faith of the People of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship [the Creeds, the Sacraments, the Magisterium, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass], perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes."[24] The Deposit of Faith (Latin: fidei depositum) refers to the entirety of divine revelation. According to Roman Catholic theology, two sources of revelation constitute a single "Deposit of Faith", meaning that the entirety of divine revelation and the Deposit of Faith is transmitted to successive generations in Scripture and sacred Tradition through the teaching authority and interpretation of the church's Magisterium, which consists of the church's bishops, in union with the Pope, typically proceeding synods and ecumenical councils.

Thus sacred Tradition should be distinguished from general tradition, folklore, traditionalism or conservatism which do not have an apostolic, patristic or universal pedigree.

The Catholic Church views Tradition in much the same terms, as a passing down of that same apostolic faith, but, in a critical difference from the Eastern Orthodox position, Catholicism holds that the faith once delivered, the understanding of it continues to deepen and mature over time through the action of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church and in the understanding of that faith by Christians, all the while staying identical in essence and substance:[24] the development of doctrine.

In the area of moral theology, Mark D. Jordan said that medieval texts appeared to be inconsistent. According to Giovanni Cappelli, prior to the sixth century, the church's teachings on morality were incoherent.[25] According to John T. Noonan, "history cannot leave a principle or a teaching untouched; every application to a situation affects our understanding of the principle itself".[25]

Dei Verbum

Chapter 2 of the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, "Dei verbum" sets out the Catholic Church's teaching on sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church (the "magisterium"):

Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2:42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort.

But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.

It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, sacred scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.[24]: Paragraph 10

Thus, all of the teachings of the Catholic Church come from either Tradition or Scripture, or from the Magisterium interpreting Tradition and Scripture. These two sources, Tradition and Scripture, are viewed and treated as one source of Divine Revelation, which includes both the deeds of God and the words of God:

This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having in inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them.[24]: Paragraph 2

The Magisterium has a role in deciding authoritatively which truths are a part of sacred Tradition.

Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, there is one Tradition, the tradition of the church, incorporating the scriptures and the teaching of the Church Fathers. As explained by Athanasius of Alexandria (First Letter to Serapion, 28): "Let us look at the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the catholic Church from the very beginning, which the Logos gave (edoken), the Apostles preached (ekeryxan), and the Fathers preserved (ephylaxan). Upon this the Church is founded (tethemeliotai)".[26]

Sacred Tradition for the Eastern Orthodox Church is the deposit of faith given by Jesus to the Apostles and passed on in the Church from one generation to the next without addition, alteration, or subtraction. Vladimir Lossky described tradition as "the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church".[27]

Georges Florovsky wrote:[26]

Tradition is not a principle striving to restore the past, using the past as a criterion for the present. Such a conception of Tradition is rejected by history itself and by the consciousness of the Orthodox Church. Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not only the memory of words. Tradition is a charismatic, not a historical event.

References

  1. 1.Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the Professio Fidei — The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's explanation of the three doctrinal categories, the assent proper to each, infallible modes of proposal, examples, and the relation of connected truths to revelation
  2. 2.Verbum Domini, 6–19 and 29–50 — Benedict XVI on Christ as the definitive Word, the several analogous senses of Word of God, public revelation, Scripture in living Tradition, ecclesial interpretation, and the hermeneutic of faith
  3. 3.Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria — The International Theological Commission on theology within the apostolic faith, Scripture and Tradition, fidelity to the Magisterium, rational inquiry, plural theological schools, and the sensus fidelium
  4. 4.Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church — The International Theological Commission on the believer's sensus fidei and the Church's sensus fidelium, their dispositions, relation to pastors and theology, and distinction from opinion polls
  5. 5.Dei Verbum, 1–26 — Vatican II's dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, its completion in Christ, apostolic transmission, Scripture, Tradition, faith, inspiration, interpretation, and the Magisterium's serving office
  6. 6.Lumen Gentium, 25 — Vatican II's dogmatic teaching on bishops and the Roman Pontiff as authentic teachers, religious submission, the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium, and solemn papal and conciliar infallibility
  7. 7.Mysterium Ecclesiae — The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Church's indefectibility and infallibility, the historical conditioning of dogmatic formulas, development, reformulation, and permanence of defined truth
  8. 8.Fidei Depositum — Saint John Paul II on guarding and presenting the Deposit of Faith and on the Catechism as a sure norm and ordered statement drawn from Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and the Magisterium
  9. 9.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 50–141 — The Church's authoritative synthesis of divine revelation, its stages and completion, Apostolic Tradition, Scripture, the Deposit of Faith, dogma, the sensus fidei, inspiration, and interpretation
  10. 10.Unitatis Redintegratio, 11 — Vatican II on presenting Catholic doctrine fully and accurately in ecumenical dialogue, the order or hierarchy among truths according to their relation to the foundation of Christian faith, and truthful charity
  11. 11."Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Tradition". Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2021. In the Free Methodist Church, we believe all truth is God's truth. If something is true, we embrace it as from the Lord. First and foremost, we hold scripture up to be the primary source of God's inspired revealed truth to us. And, we also embrace truth that is found in three other places: reason, tradition, and experience. Along with scripture, this has come to be called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and we believe it informs our theology.
  12. 12.Winright, Tobias (10 December 2020). T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Ethics. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-567-67718-1. Both the Anglican and United Methodist Churches affirm tradition as a "source of authority." The Anglican Church incorporates it as part of its "three-legged stool," and Methodists as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of scripture, reason, tradition and experience.
  13. 13."Methodist Beliefs: In what ways are Lutherans different from United Methodists?". Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. 2014. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014. The United Methodists see Scripture as the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. They emphasize the importance of tradition, experience, and reason for Christian doctrine. Lutherans teach that the Bible is the sole source for Christian doctrine. The truths of Scripture do not need to be authenticated by tradition, human experience, or reason. Scripture is self authenticating and is true in and of itself.
  14. 14.Jahn, Curtis A. (1 January 2014). A Lutheran Looks At Catholics. Northwestern Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-8100-2613-1. Examples that Chemnitz cites include making the sign of the cross, turning to the east in prayer, the renunciation of Satan in Baptism, and others. Other ancient customs and practices clearly do have their origins already in the New Testament, such as replacing the Jewish Sabbath with Sunday as the regular weekly day for worship, also the laying on of hands when ordaining, installing and commissioning a minister of the gospel for public service in the church (1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 1:6). In Christian freedom, we may observe such ceremonies as they serve the preaching of the gospel. The only traditions Lutherans object to are those that pertain to doctrine and Christian life, have no foundation in Scripture, and are used as sources of doctrines—placed on the same level as the doctrines clearly taught in Scripture.
  15. 15.Plekon, Michael (2003). Tradition Alive: On the Church and the Christian Life in Our Time : Readings from the Eastern Church. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7425-3163-5.
  16. 16."Definition of TRADITION". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  17. 17.University, Calvin. Marketing and Communications: Religious Terms. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  18. 18.Catholic Style Guide (PDF). Perpetual Light Publishing. 2020.
  19. 19.McGrath, Alister. 1998. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Chapter 1 'The Patristic Period, c. 100–451.'
  20. 20.McGrath, Alister E. (1998). Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. pp. 29–30.
  21. 21.Evans, Craig A.; Sanders, James A. (4 May 2001). Luke and Scripture: The Function of Sacred Tradition in Luke-Acts. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781579106072. Retrieved 5 January 2021 – via Google Books.
  22. 22.Porter, Stanley. Sacred Tradition in the New Testament, Baker Publishing Group, ISBN 9780801030772
  23. 23.Hardon, John A. (1981). The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism. Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. ISBN 9780385136648. Retrieved 5 January 2021 – via Google Books.
  24. 24.[24.2][24.3][24.4]Pope Paul VI. "Dei verbum". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  25. 25.[25.2]Keenan, James F (17 January 2010). A History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century: From Confessing Sins to Liberating Consciences. A&C Black. p. 45. ISBN 9780826429292.
  26. 26.[26.2]"Tradition in the Orthodox Church - Theology - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  27. 27."Tradition and Traditions", in Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky, The Meaning of Icons, (Olten, Switzerland: Urs Graf-Verlag, 1952), 17, in the revised edition (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982), 15.