To understand our Greek-Catholic Church I am convinced that you have to understand the meaning of Sacred Tradition. I have been sharing thoughts about what Sacred Tradition is.

Tradition is certainly not something extra to the Bible’s message. On the contrary, Tradition preserves, clarifies and protects Biblical truth. To the Eastern Christian, Tradition is reflected in the Scriptures. Tradition holds sacred what all the Christians before us, especially those in the early Church – the Fathers and Mothers of the Church – understood not only about the New Testament writings but also about all the prayers that were formulated to enhance our worship of God. Tradition includes the entire library of liturgical literature which is ours. As you may know from experience, the liturgical life of our Church is rich with the Church’s understanding of the revelation of God to us about Himself and creation.

Each manifestation of Tradition stands as an intertwining link forged by the join-partnerships of Spirit and Church. It was in this manner that the books of the Bible were recognized, and it is in this manner that false traditions are even now being rejected. The apostles’ knew of faulty traditions which claimed faithfulness to the Tradition, and so warned the first Christians to “hold fast” to the valid traditions which the apostles had left them to follow.

Tradition is also more than just passed-on teaching: it is the Spirit’s operation in and among the Christian Church of the past, present and future. The Spirit is the fountain of Tradition; and in Tradition He is not just teaching but endeavors to reveal Himself. Tradition’s concern, then, is not merely to impart religious fact but to impart the sense and experience of Faith. Its goal is to bring one into a personal relationship with God and those likewise covenanted to Him. The fruit of such a union will not necessarily in-crease one’s academic knowledge of Christian doctrine, but this union will bring about doctrine’s true purpose within the believer: a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Tradition, for example, has keep sacred the idea that the Eucharist – Holy Communion – truly makes Christ present to us. As the Church prayed and struggled to clarify what that really means, She came to the understanding of the Real Presence. As a Traditional Church we hold this to be true. There are many Western denominations that don’t know it to be true in the way that we and Orthodox Christians do. We hold that Tradition and Scripture are the two rules of our Faith.