Since the Revisonists like using Orthodox statements to back their arguments, here are some to contemplate upon:


"The sacred Synods," writes St. Nectarios of Pentapolis, "in their deliberations, draw not only from the sacred Scriptures, but also from sacred Tradition as from a pure spring" He makes a similar observationabout the Fathers: "The holy Fathers," he says, "regard this sacred Tradition as a pure spring, as also they regard the spring of the Holy Scriptures, from which we draw the life-begetting and salvific streams that provide eternal life, and that is why they ascribe the same authority to both written and unwritten Tradition"


Of the dogmas and proclamations preserved in the Church, some we possess from written teaching, while others we have received in secret from the Tradition of the Apostles; these both have the same validity for true religion. And no one will gainsay these points, at least if he is even moderately versed in ecclesiastical institutions"
Sy Basil the Great
(Concerning the Holy Spirit 27; PG 32:188A)


"They (namely the Apostles) have not handed down everything in
writing, but have also delivered many things in unwritten form.
The former and the latter are equally trustworthy, and so we also
consider the [unwritten] Tradition of the Church to be
trustworthy. It is Tradition—seek no further"

St John Chrysostom
(On 2 Thessalonians,
Homily 4; PG 62:488).

Many passages of the Fathers inform us of the content of the
unwritten Apostolic Tradition. One of the most important is
found in St. Basil the Great's Concerning the Holy Spirit, chapter 27. Here he mentions the following, apart from other examples of this Tradition:
(1) that we make the sign of the Cross;
(2) that welook to the East when we pray;
(3) that we do not kneel in our prayers on Sunday and throughout Pentecost;
(4) that each personis baptized with three immersions and emersions;
(5) the renunciation of Satan and his angels in Baptism;
(6) the confession of faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, word for word in this way;
(7) the words which the priest utters at the change of the bread
and the wine of the Divine Eucharist (PG 32:188-189, 192-193).

And speaking of silent vs spoken Anaphora, I observe that St. Dionysios the Areopagite in his book Concerning the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy also stresses that the secret prayers, which sanctify and accomplish the Divine Mysteries, are part of the unwritten Tradition. "It is not permitted to interpret in writing the consecrating invocations or their mystical meaning, or to bring out from secrecy to the public the powers worked by God in them; but as our Sacred Tradition holds, when you have learned them thoroughly by secret instructions…you will be uplifted by the illumination which is originative of perfection toward the highest knowledge of them"
(7; PG 3:565C)


Would any of you nice Revisionists care to provide refuting comments by equally eminent sources?

Alexandr

The Living Tradition of the Eucharist.

It is interesting to emphasize another form of the Synodical system, which accentuates the importance of Tradition: the Eucharist itself. In the Eucharist, all Orthodox Christians meet together and in absolute agreement, in doctrine and practice witness the presence of the Holy Trinity on the altar of the Church. The bishop and the priest pray to God the Father to send the Holy Spirit and transform the bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ. All the faithful present are called to receive Communion and become active members of the Body of Christ. In the liturgy, as it was instituted by the Lord Himself, the whole Church meets every day to proclaim and live the oneness and the unity of faith in Jesus Christ. In the Orthodox liturgy, we see all the history of Tradition embodied in the body and blood of Christ. St. Gregory Palamas writes the following in connection with the Holy Eucharist:

"We hold fast to all the Traditions of the Church, written and unwritten, and above all to the most mystical and sacred celebration and communion and assembly (synaxis), whereby all other rites are made perfect..." (Letter to Dionysius, 7).

This emphasis on the Eucharist shows that Tradition is a dynamic way of life unfolding continuously in the liturgical framework of the Church. By participating in the Eucharist, we proclaim our Tradition as living and active members of the Church.

Of course, to live according to the Traditions of the Orthodox Church, to participate, fully, in the life of Tradition is not an easy task. We need the imparting of the Holy Spirit, in order to live in a mystical and mysterious way the life of Christ. As St. Gregory Palamas wrote:

"All those dogmas which are now openly proclaimed in the Church and made known to all alike, were previously mysteries foreseen only by the prophets through the Spirit. In the same way the blessings promised to the saints in the age to come are at the present stage of the Gospel dispensation still mysteries, imparted to and foreseen by those whom the Spirit counts worthy, yet only in a partial way and in the form of a pledge" (Tomos of the Holy Mountain, Preface).

Thus, the Tradition of the Church is a living reality, which the Orthodox Christian must live daily in a mystical way. By adhering to the teaching of the Scriptures, the Ecumenical Councils, and the Patristic writings, by observing the canons of the Church, by frequently participating in the Eucharist, where Tradition becomes an empirical reality, we are members of the Body of Christ and are led to the "contemplation of God" to repeat a beautiful expression of St. Neilos (fifth century). St. Gregory Palamas, in summing up the Patristic doctrine of Christian life, suggests that the ultimate purpose of man's life is theoptia, that is, seeing God. (In Defense of the Hesychasts, 1, 3, 42) or to use St. Gregory of Nyssa's words, man's life is a strenuous and endless ascent towards God, that is, deification (theosis). (On the Life of Moses, ed. by W. Jaeger, 112ff.).

Orthodox Tradition, therefore, is not a dead letter, a collection of dogmas and practices of the past. It is the history of salvation. It is the life of the Holy Spirit, who constantly illuminates us in order for all Orthodox Christians to become sons and daughters of God, living in the Divine light of the All-blessed Trinity.

http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7116.asp

Alexandr

The Apostolic Letter, Orientale Lumen, particularly emphasizes the irreplaceable role of the Catholic Eastern faithful, living bearers, together with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, of the venerable and ancient tradition of the Eastern Churches. p. 12

The Council [Vatican II] specifies that changes in the rites and disciplines of these Churches are not admitted except by reason of their own organic progress and adds that whenever they have fallen short, due to circumstances of time and persons, they are to strive to return to their ancestral traditions. The Holy Father John Paul II sees in this a symbol of the firm attitude held by the Apostolic See, that the Council so efficiently expressed by asking the Eastern Churches in full communion with it to have the courage to rediscover the authentic traditions of their own identity, restoring the original purity where necessary.
http://www.byzantines.net/epiphany/instruction.htm

Yo, you revisionists out there! What part do you not understand?

It is interesting to emphasize another form of the Synodical system, which accentuates the importance of Tradition: the Eucharist itself. In the Eucharist, all Orthodox Christians meet together and in absolute agreement, in doctrine and practice witness the presence of the Holy Trinity on the altar of the Church. The bishop and the priest pray to God the Father to send the Holy Spirit and transform the bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ. All the faithful present are called to receive Communion and become active members of the Body of Christ. In the liturgy, as it was instituted by the Lord Himself, the whole Church meets every day to proclaim and live the oneness and the unity of faith in Jesus Christ. In the Orthodox liturgy, we see all the history of Tradition embodied in the body and blood of Christ. St. Gregory Palamas writes the following in connection with the Holy Eucharist: "We hold fast to all the Traditions of the Church, written and unwritten, and aboveall to the most mystical and sacred celebration and communion and assembly (synaxis), whereby all other rites are made perfect . . . " (Letter to Dionysius, 7). This emphasis on the Eucharist shows that Tradition is a dynamic way of life unfolding continuously in the liturgical framework of the Church. By participating in the Eucharist, we proclaim our Tradition as living and active members of the Church.

George S. Bebis Ph.D.
Holy Cross School of Theology

Alexandr

I find it odd that the VII council suggests a organic process and to return their ancestral traditions...Rome can't follow their own advice...amazing

james