HOLY TRADITION OF THE TRUE CHURCH

  HOLY TRADITION 

OF THE TRUE CHURCH

“Therefore brethren, stand firmly, and hold the traditions which you have been taught whether by word or by an epistle”

(2 Thess. 2:15)

     The monks once asked Paisus the Great: “Speak to us Father, a word for salvation, and tell us how we must live to please God.” The elder replied: “Go and keep the commandments of God and hold firmly to the tradition of the Fathers.”  “the tradition of the Fathers” are the experiences of the saints, in the spiritual sphere, an experience grown immense in close to two-thousand years. The experience of thousands and thousands of holy men and women– an incredibly large storehouse, of wisdom and heap of proofs of every truth of Holy Scripture. And all this good, all this wisdom, all these proofs, have been cast aside by the Protestants!  O what unspeakable stupidity!  O, what an extreme poverty.   (The above verse is from Prologue of Ochrid 2 Page 334,335) 

    They have no communication with the Logos because they started additional churches to replace corrupt Rome, whom they erroneously thought was the true church which had become corrupted.

   The word used in the Holy Bible and translated as “tradition”, indicated that it has been “handed down to us”, to be preserved and handed to others by us. Everything is not found in written text, as the Protestant reformers assert claiming Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. But they distort   and oppose Scripture, doing great harm to the truth which commands us to Hold firmly the traditions, both oral and written, which we have received.

 The great wealth of Holy Orthodoxy is not to be found  in the Scripture alone., and neither the Papacy nor Protestants have access to this infinite wealth. Here is the infinite wealth before their eyes which fail to see. 

1. Jesus Christ being the Logos of the Father has in himself all that the Father has.                         

2. Jesus never uttered a single word in vain . Now hear the ending of the Gospel of St. John.

     “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should all be written, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. ” (John 21:25).  

The Evangelist is referring to oral speech and not scripture. The phrase “even the world itself could not contain” demonstrates the enormity and infinitude of all that Christ said, and this if to be found only in Orthodox Tradition

      Herein is the extreme wealth of Orthodoxy which exposes the poverty of papacy and the  myriads of denominations. Holy minds of holy Fathers have passed down to us immense and beautiful knowledge which fill our minds with pure doctrine and our hearts with pure joy. Another example is that St. Paul remarks that Jesus said: “It is better to give than to receive.”  He is not quoting written Scripture. But what Christ said, nor are these words found in writing elsewhere.  

     During His holy Passion our Lord promised that we would not leave us orphans. For He will send the Comforter  and Spirit of Truth who would remind us of everything. Herein is the basis for out Ora Tradition which also does not change in time . This Tradition is the witness of the Holy Spirit, who tells us all that Jesus said and did, for Tradition is the constant abiding of the Holy Spirit and not simply the memory of words.    

     Whoever takes part in an Orthodox Divine Liturgy and its accompanying Orthos,  receives from the spirit contained therein, a sacred part of Orthodoxy’s infinite Tradition. There are many traditions such as the covering of women’s heads, the making of the sign of the Cross, the method of reception of Holy Communion are as few.  There are some traditions which both clergy and laity follow without knowing why, but these will be corrected in their time.

     God spoke through the Prophets, Christ spoke directly and through His Apostles.  Peter says, we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son in whom I approve. And this voice came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him on the Holy Mount” (2 Pet. 1:16-18).

     What then is Holy Tradition?  It is thunder and lightning, earth shaking and divine. Holy Tradition is the voice of the Divine Logos, keeping His two-fold promise.  First, lo, I am with you unto the close of the age. And second, I will not leave you  orphans but will send you the Spirit of Truth who will remind you of all things.  Holy Tradition is Christ speaking through/His Apostles , through the Apostolic Fathers, the Seven Ecumenical Synods and the Fathers of these Synods. Also the huge cloud of faithful witnesses who pounce on  every lie and defend every truth, Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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