The Records of Tradition: How we know our beliefs go back to Christ

The following text is the transcript of our Youtube video How We KNOW Our Beliefs Go Back to Christ.

This video is part of a series on “The Sources of Faith”. You can find all the videos in the series here.

Welcome to Catholic Hub. I’m David, and in this video, I’m going to talk about where the Church’s Tradition is recorded.

As a reminder, Tradition is one of the two Sources of Faith, alongside Holy Scripture, and all the divinely revealed truths of the Catholic faith are contained in these two sources.

The reason why the records of Tradition are important is because these allow us to see how the truths taught by Christ and the Apostles have been passed down through the centuries and faithfully preserved by the Church.

Let’s start by looking at where these traditions have been recorded.

The teachings of Christ, which the Apostles initially handed down by word of mouth, were eventually committed to writing over time. These written records of Tradition are found in several key places.

The first place we find Tradition is in the decrees of Popes and Church councils. These official documents often clarify and define important aspects of the faith as received from the Apostles. I’ll give three examples of important councils.

1. The Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)

   This was an ecumenical council that produced the Nicene Creed, which clarified the doctrine of Christ’s divinity and condemned the heresy of Arianism, which denied that Jesus is truly God.

2. The Council of Trent (1545 - 1563)

   In response to the Protestant Reformation, this council issued critical decrees on doctrines such as the sacraments, justification, and the nature of the Eucharist. The Council of Trent played a major role in the Catholic Counter-Reformation and it reaffirmed essential teachings regarding the sources of Faith, which are Tradition and Scripture.

3. Pope Pius IX’s decree on the Immaculate Conception (1854)

   In this decree, which is titled Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which teaches that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin.

   It’s important to note that the consistent belief in Mary’s sinlessness had been implicitly held since the earliest times and the decree simply formalised and crystallised this belief as truly being part of the truths revealed by God and which must be believed by all members of the Church.

The second place we find Tradition is in the liturgical books of the Church. These books contains the prayers, rites, and ceremonies used in the Church’s liturgy, otherwise known as the public worship practiced by the Church.

An ancient Christian proverb is “lex orandi, lex credendi”, which can be translated as “the way we pray follows our beliefs” and this means that the beliefs of the Catholic faith are contained and represented in the different forms of liturgy.

So when we look at the liturgy practiced by the Church, we can find represented there the same beliefs held by the Church over time.

Here are the most notable examples of the Church’s liturgical books:

• The Roman Missal

  The Roman Missal contains the prayers, responses, and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Latin Rite. Its structure and content reflect centuries of Tradition, especially following the reforms of the Council of Trent in 1570 under Pope Pius V, which standardized the liturgy in the Western Church.

• The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours)

  The Divine Office, also known as the Liturgy of the Hours, is the official set of prayers recited at specific times of the day by clergy, religious, and laypeople around the world. It includes psalms, hymns, and readings from Scripture, as well as writings from the Church Fathers.

• The Sacramentary of Pope Gelasius (5th Century)

  One of the earliest known liturgical books is the Gelasian Sacramentary. It’s a collection of prayers for use in the Mass and the sacraments. It reveals the early forms of the Church’s rites and prayers.

Another fascinating source of Tradition is found in the inscriptions on ancient Christian tombs and public monuments.

These inscriptions serve as a testimony to the beliefs and practices of the early Christians, including the doctrines of the Resurrection, the sacraments, the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, and the primacy of the Apostolic See.

One of the most famous Christian inscriptions is the Epitaph of Abercius, who was Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia. Abercius had visited Rome around the middle of the second century before returning through through the lands of Syria. A mere glance at the text allows us to note:

1. The great spiritual importance and majesty of the Church of Rome
2. The evidence of baptism which marks the Christian people with its dazzling seal
3. The spread of Christianity, whose members Abercius meets with everywhere
4. The receiving of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the Eucharist under the species of Bread and Wine.

There are many other similar inscriptions which are still preserved and which prove that the beliefs held today by faithful Catholics are the same as those believed since the earliest times of the Church.

The fourth source of Tradition is the genuine Acts of the Martyrs, which were written during the early persecutions of Christians.

These documents recount the trials of the early Christians and provide insights into the truths that they professed and were willing to die for. A great example of this is:

• The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp in 155 A.D.

  This is one of the earliest and most well-preserved accounts of a Christian martyr. St. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of St. John the Apostle, refused to renounce his faith and was burned at the stake. The account of his death highlights his belief in the resurrection and the hope of eternal life.

The writings of the Fathers of the Church are another very important source of Tradition. They are also called patristic writings, from the Latin word “pater”, and the study of these texts is known as patrology.

The Fathers of the Church were Christian writers who helped to preserve and explain the teachings of the Apostles across the ages. Let’s take a look at three examples of Church Fathers:

St. Ignatius of Antioch, who lived in the 1st to 2nd Centuries, was one of the earliest Church Fathers and a disciple of St. John the Apostle. St. Ignatius wrote letters to various Christian communities while on his way to martyrdom in Rome. His letters contain clear teachings on the Eucharist, the hierarchy of the Church, and the unity of Christians with their bishops.

St. Augustine of Hippo, who lived in the 4th to 5th Centuries is considered one of the greatest Church fathers of all time. His theological writings, such as The Confessions and The City of God, have had a profound and immeasurable influence on Christian thought.

Amongst the Christian doctrines which Augustine taught are those of the authority of the Church in matters of faith, the nature of sanctifying grace, of evil, free will, the Trinity, and the Sacraments. In fact, there is practically no theological question which St Augustine has not illuminated.

Pope St. Gregory the Great, from the 6th century, was not only a holy and virtuous Pope but also a talented preacher and writer, whose many letters and homilies are rich with spiritual and pastoral teachings.

Many of St Gregory’s writings contain moral teachings and he frequently mentions the importance of self-denial and of spiritual contemplation as necessary parts of the Christian life. He was also instrumental in advancing the use of sacred music in the Church’s liturgy, leading to the development of Gregorian chant.

Finally, we find Tradition preserved in the Creeds. These are concise statements of the essential beliefs of the Christian faith. The four essential creeds of the Catholic Church are:

• The Apostles’ Creed

  Tracing back to the time of the Apostles, this creed is used in the Church’s Baptismal rite and as a daily prayer. It summarizes the core beliefs of the faith, including the life of Our Lord, the belief in the Trinity, the Resurrection, and the Church.

• The Nicene Creed

  Formulated at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and revised at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, this creed clarified the Church’s teaching on the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This creed is recited at Mass and is a clear expression of orthodox Christian belief.

• The Athanasian Creed

  Though not authored by St. Athanasius himself, this creed from the 5th century provides a detailed explanation of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. It is traditionally recited in the Divine Office on certain feast days.

• The Creed of Pius IV

  Also known as the “Profession of the Tridentine Faith”, this creed was formulated in 1564 in response to the Protestant Reformation. It reaffirms Catholic doctrines such as the seven Sacraments, the authority of the Church, and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

All of these records - whether they are papal decrees, ancient inscriptions, the acts of martyrs, or the writings of Church Fathers - serve as a record of the unbroken Tradition handed down from the Apostles. They provide evidence of the teachings and beliefs that have been consistently upheld by the Church.

These sources are essential for understanding how the Church interprets and preserves the Deposit of Faith.

While Sacred Scripture is crucial as a source of Faith, it’s only when combined with Tradition that we receive the fullness of the teachings of Jesus Christ, passed on from generation to generation, safeguarded by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

By looking at these historical records, we can see how Christ’s teachings have been faithfully handed down, unchanged in essence, but deepened in understanding.

It’s important to remember that Tradition is not simply a collection of old customs.

Rather, it’s a living transmission of the divine revelation received from God through Jesus Christ, that continues to guide the Church in every age.

Together with Sacred Scripture, Tradition forms the full deposit of faith, giving us the truths necessary for salvation.

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