Skip to content

Course 4 · Lesson 6.3

Orthodox and Catholic approaches: Scripture within Tradition

12 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 4 outline

Module 1: How the Canon Formed

  1. What a canon is, and what canonical means
  2. The Old Testament canon: Law, Prophets and Writings
  3. The New Testament canon: from gospels and letters to a list
  4. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant canons compared

Module 2: The Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint

  1. The Hebrew Bible and the work of the Masoretes
  2. Origin and character of the Septuagint
  3. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the state of the Old Testament text
  4. How New Testament writers quote the Old Testament

Module 3: Transmission of the New Testament Text

  1. Copying by hand: papyri, codices and scribes
  2. Manuscript traditions: Alexandrian, Western and Byzantine texts
  3. Kinds of variants and how they arise
  4. The principles of textual criticism
  5. Reading a critical apparatus and a translation footnote

Module 4: Reading Responsibly: Exegesis and Method

  1. Exegesis and eisegesis with worked examples
  2. Source, form and redaction criticism: what each asks
  3. Strengths and limits of the historical method
  4. Literary and canonical reading

Module 5: Meaning Beyond the Surface: Typology, Allegory and Genre

  1. Typology in the New Testament and the fathers
  2. Allegory and its critics: Alexandria and Antioch
  3. Reading by genre: narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, gospel and letter
  4. Setting, authorship and audience as questions to ask of any passage

Module 6: Christian Approaches to Interpretation

  1. The fourfold sense of Scripture in the medieval church
  2. Reformation principles: Scripture, clarity and the grammatical and historical sense
  3. Orthodox and Catholic approaches: Scripture within Tradition
  4. Historical scholarship and theological interpretation in conversation

Module 7: Writing an Exegesis

  1. Choosing a passage and framing a question
  2. Observation and context: what the text says and where it stands
  3. Using commentaries and reference works without being led by them
  4. Writing up, checking conclusions and revising

All courses

Program / Course 4: Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics / Lesson 6.3

What you will learn

  • Explain what Catholics and Orthodox mean by Tradition and how they relate it to Scripture.
  • State the three principles of interpretation given in the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on revelation.
  • Describe the Orthodox idea of reading Scripture with the fathers and in the liturgy.
  • Identify where the two traditions agree and where they differ, and where both differ from Protestant views.

The big idea

For both Catholic and Orthodox Christians, Scripture is not read alone. It is read within Tradition, meaning the faith and life handed down in the church from the apostles. The Catholic Church teaches that Scripture and Tradition flow from one source and that the teaching office of the church interprets authentically. The Orthodox Church speaks of one Holy Tradition lived in worship and expressed in the fathers and the councils. Both hold that the Bible is the church’s book, and both differ from the Protestant principle of Scripture alone.

Key terms

Tradition (with a capital T)
The living transmission of the gospel in the church, in teaching, worship and life. It is distinct from customs or local traditions of lesser weight.
Magisterium
In Catholic teaching, the teaching authority of the pope and the bishops in communion with him.
Analogy of faith
The coherence of the truths of faith with each other and within the whole plan of revelation.
Consensus of the fathers
The agreement of the early church writers on a point of faith or interpretation, treated as a guide by Catholics and Orthodox.
Dei Verbum
The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation of the Second Vatican Council, promulgated in 1965. The title means word of God.
Holy Tradition
The Orthodox term for the whole life of the church in the Spirit, including Scripture, the creeds, the councils, the fathers, worship and holy images.
Liturgy
The public worship of the church. For the Orthodox, it is the main place where Scripture is heard and understood.

Background

The early Christians did not have a printed Bible, and most could not read. They received the faith in worship, in teaching and in the common life of the church, and they heard Scripture read aloud. Irenaeus, writing in the second century, spoke of a rule of truth received at baptism and argued that the churches that had preserved the teaching of the apostles could show the right meaning of the books. Tertullian similarly argued that the Scriptures belong to the church and not to those who read them outside her teaching.

From these roots, Catholic and Orthodox Christians draw the conviction that Scripture and the church belong together. Scripture came from the apostolic church, it was recognized by the church, and it is read in the church. Interpreting it apart from the church’s life is, on this view, like interpreting a letter without knowing the family to which it was sent.

At the same time, the two traditions are not identical. They differ about the role of the pope, the status of later councils and the way authority is exercised. This lesson focuses on what they share about reading and notes where they diverge.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The Catholic account in Dei Verbum

The Second Vatican Council taught that Scripture and Tradition flow from the same divine source, come together into one, and move toward the same end. It taught that the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, belongs to the teaching office of the church, but that this office is not above the word of God. It serves it, listening devoutly and guarding it faithfully.

The constitution also gave directions for interpreters. They must attend to the literary forms and the intention of the human authors, since God speaks through men in human fashion. And, since Scripture is written by the same Spirit by whom it is to be read, they must attend to three things: the content and unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the whole church, and the analogy of faith. These are sometimes called the three principles of theological interpretation. In 1993 the Pontifical Biblical Commission published a long document on the interpretation of the Bible in the church, which approved the historical method and set it within these principles.

Step 2: The Orthodox account of Holy Tradition

Orthodox writers speak of one Holy Tradition, of which Scripture is the highest written expression. Tradition includes the creeds, the decisions of the seven ecumenical councils, the writings of the fathers, the services of the church and the icons. The Orthodox do not usually set Scripture and Tradition side by side as two sources. They see Scripture as the central part of the Tradition and Tradition as the church’s living experience of the same Spirit.

The fathers are therefore not an outside authority but a guide to the mind of the church. Georges Florovsky, an influential twentieth-century Orthodox theologian, spoke of the mind of the fathers, a spirit of reading and a way of seeing, more than a series of quotations. Orthodox interpreters do not count heads. They look for the common faith to which the fathers bear witness.

Step 3: The role of worship

For the Orthodox, the liturgy is the first school of interpretation. The Psalms are sung daily, the Old Testament is read at feasts in the light of Christ, and the Gospel is proclaimed in the service with ceremony. Alexander Schmemann, in his book For the Life of the World, writes of the liturgy as the church’s way of seeing the world as God’s gift. Catholic worship similarly arranges readings so that the Old Testament speaks with the Gospel, in a lectionary that follows the church year. In both traditions, hearing Scripture in worship is part of the interpretation.

Step 4: Where they agree and where they differ

Both traditions hold that Scripture is inspired, that the church has a role in its right understanding, that the fathers are important guides, and that Scripture is read as a unity centered on Christ. They differ in how they see the place of authority. Catholics locate a final teaching authority in the magisterium, with the pope holding a special office, whose definitions in the First Vatican Council are considered binding in matters of faith and morals when the conditions are met. The Orthodox do not accept the claim of papal infallibility and look to the whole church, including councils received by the faithful.

Both also differ from the Protestant principle of Scripture alone, though in different ways. They agree that Scripture has a unique status, and they disagree with Protestants about whether Tradition is an additional source or the setting in which Scripture is rightly read. Protestants reply that this exalts human teaching. Catholics and Orthodox reply that the Protestant view has no safeguard against private opinion. A fair student states each reply.

  1. How has the church read this passage in its worship and teaching?
  2. What do the fathers say, and do they agree?
  3. How does the passage fit with the whole of Scripture and the faith of the church?
  4. Is the reading I am considering new, and if so, what is my reason?
  5. Where does the final authority lie in this tradition, and why?
  6. How would a Protestant answer, and how would the reply be received?

Examples

The Old Testament in the liturgy

On Holy Saturday, Orthodox services read a series of Old Testament passages, including the crossing of the sea in Exodus 14 and the three young men in the furnace in Daniel 3, and the Catholic Easter Vigil also reads Exodus 14, as pointing to the resurrection. Hearing them together in worship teaches how the church reads the Old Testament as speaking of Christ.

The three principles at work

A Catholic interpreter of Isaiah 7:14 would study the Hebrew and Greek words and the historical setting (the literary sense), place the verse in the book and the whole canon (unity of Scripture), look at how the fathers and the liturgy have read it (living tradition), and consider how it fits with the doctrine of the incarnation (analogy of faith).

Reading with the fathers

An Orthodox reader of the Psalms may use Chrysostom’s or Athanasius’s comments and the church’s hymns. The fathers read the Psalms in the voice of Christ and in the voice of the church. Such readings may go beyond what a modern historian would find, and Orthodox writers regard them as a gift from the church’s experience.

Different perspectives

Catholic

The Catholic view, expressed in Dei Verbum and the Catechism, is that Scripture and Tradition together form the single deposit of the word of God, and that the magisterium authentically interprets it. The Catholic Church also encourages the use of historical and literary methods, and holds that these serve the same end.

Orthodox

The Orthodox view holds that Scripture is read within the Holy Tradition, in the church, with the fathers and in worship. The Orthodox emphasize the consensus of the fathers and the reception of the councils by the whole church, and they distinguish the Tradition from changeable customs.

Protestant

Protestants respect the fathers and the creeds but hold that Scripture is the only infallible rule, and that tradition, however valuable, is subordinate. They worry that appeal to tradition has been used to support teaching they judge not found in Scripture, and they appeal to the example of Jesus’ criticism of human traditions in Mark 7.

Historians

Historians point out that the idea of a rule of faith guiding the reading of Scripture is old, found in Irenaeus and Tertullian, and that the debates over its nature began long before the Reformation. Many stress that both Scripture and tradition have shaped each other from the beginning.

Why it matters

Catholic and Orthodox Christians form a large part of the world’s Christians, and their approaches are not marginal. If you want to understand why they read as they do, and why they differ from Protestants and from each other, you need to know their principles in their own terms. And if you are Protestant, understanding them sharpens your own account of why you read as you do.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Catholics and Orthodox put tradition above the Bible.

Correction: Both give Scripture a unique and supreme place. Dei Verbum states that the magisterium is not above the word of God but serves it, and Orthodox writers treat Scripture as the heart of the Tradition.

Misunderstanding: Catholic and Orthodox views of authority are the same.

Correction: They share much but differ on the role of the pope and on how doctrines are defined. The Orthodox do not recognize papal infallibility.

Misunderstanding: Appeal to the fathers means counting quotations.

Correction: In both traditions, the aim is the common mind of the fathers, not a mechanical tally. Fathers can differ, and their authority is weighed.

Misunderstanding: These traditions do not read the Bible critically.

Correction: Catholic scholars use the historical method widely, and Orthodox scholars take part in critical study with attention to the church’s reading.

Knowledge check

What three principles does Dei Verbum give for interpreting Scripture in the Spirit?

Attend to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture, to the living tradition of the whole church, and to the analogy of faith. Interpreters must also attend to the literary forms and the intention of the human authors.

How do Orthodox Christians describe the relation of Scripture and Tradition?

They speak of one Holy Tradition, in which Scripture is the highest written expression, along with the creeds, councils, fathers, worship and icons. They do not usually set Scripture and Tradition as two separate sources.

Name one difference between Catholic and Orthodox views of authority.

Catholics hold that the pope and the bishops in communion with him exercise a teaching authority, with defined papal infallibility under certain conditions. The Orthodox do not accept papal infallibility and look to the whole church and the councils received by the faithful.

How would a Protestant respond to the appeal to Tradition?

A Protestant would say that Scripture alone is the infallible rule, that tradition is valuable but subordinate and can err, and that human traditions can obscure the word of God, as Jesus warned in Mark 7. Protestants answer that the church should be tested by Scripture.

Think it through

  1. What would be lost if Scripture were read entirely apart from the church’s worship and teaching?
  2. What would be lost if the church’s teaching could not be questioned by Scripture?
  3. Why might an Orthodox Christian find the question of who has final authority a Western question?
  4. How might you explain the difference between Tradition and tradition to a friend?

Independent assignment

A passage in the liturgy

Find the readings for one Sunday or feast in a Catholic or Orthodox lectionary (many are available in books or in church bulletins). In your notebook, list the Old Testament, psalm and gospel readings and write 250 to 400 words on how the church seems to be putting them together. Compare with how you would read each alone. Note any way the arrangement helps or limits understanding. Keep your work in your notebook.

Further study