Introduction to Scripture and Tradition
by Archimandrite [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos and Hieromonk [now Bishop] Auxentios
There are, in the Orthodox Church, two ways of
theology; two levels, as it were, at which the divine truth might
be approached. The first of these, essential theology, proceeds
out of the spirit of the Church, from the very experience of the
God-bearing Fathers, who, in their theological writings and
expressions, bring to full bloom the sweet-scented flower of
their spiritual vision. And this flower is nourished by the very
Vine of the Faith, rooted in the same vineyard where Saints,
Martyrs, and Confessors have toiled for centuries untold, and
planted in the sure foundation of the truth itself. Such theology
is not the domain of the scholar, nor is it ultimately the
concern of the intellect. It cannot be separated from the
spiritual life itself. (So it is, for example, that the great
luminary of Orthodoxy, St. Gregory Palamas, is characterized by
the Church as "the perfection of monks," the
"wonder working Gregory," a "preacher of
Grace," and, in consequence of this, "theologian
invincible among theologians.") In bestowing the title
"theologian" on so few of the Fathers (and only on
several, formally), the Orthodox Church pays great homage to the
truth which She embodies, which is inextricably bound to the
spiritual life which She directs, guides, and imparts to the
humble and Faithful: a truth which is the highest form of
theology, a "spiritual knowledge'' of God. It is precisely
this changeless, revealed theology which we dare not claim to
capture in the pages of this small book.
The second form of theology, which the Church
allows us, is secondary theology, primarily entailing the
explication of the spiritual life, according to, and consistent
with, the divine revelation of essential theology. This theology
encompasses the process by which we lift up our intellects to the
mental contemplation of the divine truth, by which we attempt to
approach God in a form of mental discipline, the ultimate
experience of truth being fulfilled only by the enlightenment of
His Grace. Thus we have, today, "theologians," students
of this secondary way of theology, who can help us in our
strivings to elevate the mere intellect to the understanding of
what is "incomprehensible." To the extent that such
efforts recognize the greater worth and importance of essential
theology, they remain true to Patristic tradition. While not
proceeding from the mystical mind of the Fathers, they at least
faithfully express it. To the extent, too, that these efforts are
fixed on divine truth, they of necessity inspire humility in the
student. And where humility is, the Fathers teach us, God dwells.
And where God dwells, there truth is to be found. It is with a
fervent desire for truth, and in the context of this secondary
theological way, that we humbly offer our book.
The relationship between Scripture and
Tradition is not, in the history of Orthodox theological thought,
of little moment. From the time of the Apostles, the proper
understanding of Scripture and Tradition was of crucial
importance to the Christian Church. In fact, many of the early
heretics, including Arius, began their precipitous moves toward
error by the misuse of Scripture and by an unwise rupture with
Tradition. The theme upon which this book focuses, therefore, is
not a novel one, and it certainly does not propose some new
relationship between Scripture and Tradition. It simply
recognizes the importance of a proper understanding of Scripture
and Tradition in spiritual life, as witnessed by the attention of
the Fathers to this serious matter, and attempts to present a
readable account of what the Fathers have said about the
reception of Holy Writ and the customs, practices, and doctrines
passed down to us from the Apostles themselves.
Our book is also a timely one. Having lost the
distinction which we make between essential and secondary
theology, heterodox writers (and, alas, many Orthodox writers)
have come to an independent style of writing and research.
Failing to acknowledge the revealed truth of essential theology,
they likewise fail to use it as the criterion of truth, by which
to guide their research and form their expressions. Having no
criterion of truth, they often (and sometimes rather arrogantly)
endow their own opinions with a supposedly self-evident aura of
"truth." And the more that their opinions deviate from
the truth of the Fathers, the more this aura becomes a blinding
barrier of dark rays, hiding the light of truth. Secondary
theology holds forth, in darkness, while the light of essential
truth dims and fades into the recesses of the mind. In this way,
sadly enough, all too many Orthodox Christians have come to
misunderstand completely the meaning of Scripture and to distort
and debase the Patristic witness. They have come to share the
views of the heterodox and to lose sight of the Orthodox notion
of truth.
It is imperative that we understand, then, the
singular attitude of the Orthodox Church toward Scripture and
Tradition. To do so is to understand the correct, true attitude
of the Church. After all, it was out of the Orthodox Church
Herself that Scripture arose. It was in the bosom of the Church
that Scripture and Tradition matured. They are her domain and She
alone fully and correctly understands them. If the Orthodox
Church is the historical Church, then She embodies the historical
Truth of Christianity. Understanding this, we can dispense with
the dangerous trend, among some Orthodox, to understand Scripture
and Tradition in non-Orthodox ways, to distort the image and icon
of Truth contained in Holy Scripture and expressed in all
Tradition. Those who advocate current Western-style "Bible
studies," concentrating on a spiritually dangerous
dissection of Scripture (as though it were human poetry or a
literary text, the truth of which is open to textual analysis),
are obviously motivated by an improper understanding of
Orthodoxy. We offer this book with the hope that, despite its
inadequacies, it will lead a few to the higher spiritual life.
From Scripture and Tradition (Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1994), pp. 1-4
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