The Bible is the book
of the Church. We therefore read Holy Scripture, not as isolated individuals,
but as members of the Church. In order to keep Holy Scripture in the mind of
the Church, we observe how Scripture is used in worship, and how it is
interpreted by the Holy Fathers. Our approach then to the Bible is both
Liturgical and Patristic.
The Eastern Orthodox
Church belief about Holy Scripture that is the Bible of the Old Testament and
the New Testament we must be fully aware from within Holy Tradition. Tradition,
is a life, a personal encounter with Christ our Lord in the Holy Spirit.
Tradition then not only is kept by the Church - it lives in the Church, it is
the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The Bible is then the supreme
expression of God's revelation to man.
Let me humbly now
give you a clearer understanding of Holy Tradition in the Eastern Orthodox
Church:
The Tradition was
called "Apostolic" because it was delivered by the Apostles to the
Churches which they founded. It was later also called "ecclesiastic"
because it was delivered again in each generation by the Church"s teachers
to their people. Its substance was considered to consist of the central facts and
beliefs crystallized in the Creeds of the great orthodox bishoprics. In the
early Christian literature, there are references to an "unwritten
tradition" left by the Apostles. This, however, does not appear to refer
to any body of information independent of Scripture but rather to the evidence
of primitive Christian institutions and customs which confirm Biblical
teachings.
Then, by Holy
Tradition (with capital T) the aggregate of truths of the faith is signified;
these were originally orally transmitted by Christ and the Apostles to the
members of the Church and, after that, taught in their entirety by the Church.
These truths have been partially formulated and stated by the Ecumenical
Councils, and by minor synods validated by the former; they have also been
circulating in the common faith and conscience of the Church and have been
included in later dogmatic and symbolic texts, in the writings of the Fathers
and in the liturgical books of the Church. Holy Tradition also contains all
ecclesiastical traditions (with small t) referring to worship, polity, and,
generally, the customs connected with the life of the Church. These traditions
deserve respect on the part of the congregation but should be distinguished
from the dogmatic Tradition referring to the truths of the Orthodox Faith. Holy
Tradition is considered to be a source of Christian faith of the same authority
and standing as that of the Bible.
The event was also
Divine proclamation of Christ's Sonship and a foreshadowing of his future
glory. The feast of the Transfiguration originated in the Eastern Church. It
was first a local and unofficial feasts, but it became widely adopted before
the year 1000. From there it was introduced to the West, but it did not become
a general observance until the middle of the 15th century. Feast day, August 6.
- Source: A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy, by Rev. Nicon D. Patriancos,
Hellenic Heritage Publications., Pleanstville, N.Y., 1984., pp. 356-357
The soul of Holy
Orthodoxy is prayer, and it is also Holy Scripture since the Christian Church
is a Scriptural Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church follows the beliefs of the
Old Testament, the New Testament and including several books of the Apocrypha.
Since the Eastern Orthodox Church therefore looks to Holy Scripture the Bible
as the supreme expression of God"s revelation to man, and it must not be
regarded as something set up over the Church, but as something that lives and
is understood within the Church (that is why one should not separate Holy
Scripture and Holy Tradition). It is from the Church that Holy Scripture ultimately
derives its authority, for it was the Church, which originally decided which
books form a part of Holy Scripture; and it is the Church alone which can
interpret Holy Scripture with authority.
Glory Be To Thee, O
God, Glory Be To Thee!
Humbly In Christ Our
True God,
Father Demetrios
Serfes
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