Apostolic Tradition and Ecumenical Tradition

I define Apostolic Tradition as, in the words of Vincent of Lérins, that “which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” Let’s look at each of these three aspects.

Apostolic Tradition

Apostolic Tradition has been believed “everywhere.” That is, it has been believed no matter which country we find it in Every place helps protect it from cultural bias and local origination.

Apostolic Tradition has been believed “always.” Innovation is a sure sign of the tradition not being Apostolic. He must Trace its roots back to the apostles, and the disciples of the apostles.

Apostolic Tradition has been believed “by all.” By all it is speaking of consensus, not absolute agreement. It’s general consensus, meaning that there will be some few who do not accept it.

The problem obviously comes from the reality of heresy and different religious groups in the early church. In order to narrow the focus, we need to limit tradition to those who follow Apostolic succession.

Apostolic Tradition has a limited shelf life. I would say that by about 400 CE. Apostolic Tradition has either been written down or died out.

Ecumenical Tradition

Now related to Apostolic tradition, is Ecumenical Tradition. Tradition refers to the development and interpretation of Apostolic Tradition and biblical interpretation, in order to address modern problems and understandings. Apostolic Tradition does not change, Ecumenical Tradition does.

Ecumenical Tradition holds the same authority as Apostolic Tradition, except that it is interpretive authority, not originating authority. It offers the best understanding of Apostolic Tradition and the Bible in light of Reason and Christian Experience within our current situation.

As I’ve explained before, the church is the ultimate authority on Earth. It is not the Bible, or Tradition. The church gave us the Bible, the Bible did not give us the church. The church is the arbitrator of doctrine.

It is consensus that determines Ecumenical Tradition. As Thomas C. Oden explains, “Consensus is a work of the Spirit who came to dwell in the disciples after the resurrection.”

So in order for a tradition to be a Ecumenical Tradition, it has to have the general consensus of the church. With the understanding that by church I’m referring to the whole body of Christ as represented by The Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, and other Protestant denominations.

Three Orders of Tradition

Tradition is usually limited to a particular denomination. And it is limited to the consensus of that denomination.

However, there are times when several denominations agree. Which means that Tradition has different levels of authority, based upon the different levels of consensus.

Now how to formulate this is difficult. We could say that there is first order Tradition, second order Tradition, and third order Tradition.

First order Tradition I call Ecumenical Tradition. Here the Tradition is accepted by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church Church, and many Protestant churches. They came out of councils. Would fall in this category. The authority is based upon ecumenical consensus. This is usually what I’m referring to when I say Tradition.

Second order Tradition would refer to when a few denominations agree. The Multi-Denominational Tradition only has authority in those denominations.

And third order Tradition would be limited to one denomination. These denominational traditions only hold authority in that denomination. But within that denomination there is a consensus. I never use Tradition to refer to this.

All of their teachings that do not reach the level of consensus, are not Tradition. That doesn’t mean that they’re wrong, it just means there’s no agreement on the teaching.

I offer this only as a suggestion, not as a dogma. It needs to be worked out and thought through. And I do not have the time or space to do it here.

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Jay N. Forrest

Dr. Jay N Forrest is a Spiritual Teacher of the Anglican Middle Way, writing on Prayer, Meditation, and Mysticism. Jay became a Christian in 1983, attended Bible school, and eventually earned his Doctorate in Ministry. Jay served as a Protestant minister for 27 years, took catechism classes with the Orthodox Church of America, and spent about a decade practicing Buddhism. In 2005, Jay was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church, but has since joined the Episcopal Church.

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