An Apologetical Explanation of

Apostolic Tradition

What is apostolic Tradition?

Brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.  (2 Thes 2:15)

I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you.  (1 Cor 11:2)

Sacred Tradition, or apostolic Tradition (from the Latin traditio, meaning “to hand on”), refers to the Church’s teachings that have been passed down by the successors of the Apostles.  “Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God” (DV 10)—a single gift of God to the Church.

The Apostles, eyewitnesses to the teachings and events of Christ’s public ministry, were charged with faithfully preserving and handing on what they had received.  “The Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes” (DV 8).  This Tradition was at first transmitted by word of mouth and only later in written form, as in the books of the New Testament.  The written text was just one way that the Word of God lived in the Church (cf. 2 Thes 2:15).  Sacred Tradition actually preceded and gave rise to the writing of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.  (Cf. CCC 81, 83, 120)

For St. Paul, the Tradition that had been passed on by “word of mouth” was as authoritative as the Gospels and letters that had already been put in written form.  The faith of the Church was not only a book but also a living faith that Christ had given to the Apostles.  (Cf. CCC 77-79, 82)

The New Testament itself shows that the Apostles gave the faithful more than texts.  They passed on rituals, like the rites to celebrate the Sacraments (cf. 1 Cor 11:23); they pronounced blessings (cf. Acts 6:6); they conveyed authority to others (cf. Acts 13:3); and they healed the sick (cf. Acts 28:8).  “The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the practice and life of the believing and praying Church” (DV 8).  (Cf. CCC 84)

The Second Vatican Council spoke of the fullness of Christian Tradition: “What was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the people of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes” (DV 8).

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraphs 78 and 97.

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