Knowra Sacred Tradition Sacred Tradition Sacred Tradition is the apostolic teaching and practice transmitted in the Catholic Church alongside Scripture as a source of divine revelation. It is understood as the living transmission of the faith through the Church.
Deposit of Faith : The body of divine revelation entrusted to the Church, comprising Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Catholic theology places Sacred Tradition within this shared deposit of revealed faith.
Oral Tradition : The transmission of teachings and practices through spoken communication across generations. Early Christian teaching was handed on orally before and alongside its written forms.
Sacred Scripture : The written word of God contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments. Catholic teaching distinguishes Scripture’s written form from Tradition’s transmission while affirming their close unity.
Trent's Decree on Scripture and Tradition : The Council of Trent’s 1546 decree affirming the reception of apostolic truth through written books and unwritten traditions. The decree gave a formal Catholic response to Reformation disputes over authority.
Divine Revelation : God’s self-disclosure, understood in Christianity as reaching its fullness in Jesus Christ. Sacred Tradition is one way the Church receives and transmits this revelation.
Liturgy : The public worship of a religious community, including its rites, prayers, and readings. Catholic liturgy embodies and transmits beliefs through repeated communal worship.
Ecclesiastical Tradition : Church customs and regulations established over time that can be changed by ecclesiastical authority. Unlike Sacred Tradition, these disciplinary customs are not themselves an unchanging source of divine revelation.
Second Vatican Council : The Catholic Church’s 1962–1965 ecumenical council, which addressed doctrine, worship, and relations with the modern world. Its constitution Dei Verbum explained the relationship between Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium.
Apostolic Succession : The transmission of ministerial authority from the apostles through successive generations of bishops. Catholic teaching connects the continuity of Tradition with the bishops’ succession from the apostles.
Church Fathers : Early Christian theologians and leaders whose writings shaped doctrine and practice. Their writings preserve early testimony to how apostolic teaching was received.
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