The Problem of Knowing God
God is infinite, eternal, and utterly beyond human comprehension by nature. How, then, can finite, fallen creatures know Him? The answer of the Orthodox faith is: only because God has chosen to reveal Himself. Divine Revelation is not a human achievement — it is a divine gift. God speaks, and we listen.
Orthodox Christianity recognizes two inseparable forms of divine revelation: General Revelation (what God reveals through creation and the human conscience) and Special Revelation (what God reveals specifically through Scripture, the Prophets, and above all through Jesus Christ, "the Word made flesh").
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1) — Creation itself speaks of its Creator, but only Revelation tells us His name.
What Is Holy Tradition?
When Orthodox Christians speak of "Holy Tradition," they do not mean merely old customs or cultural habits. Holy Tradition is the continuous, living transmission of the faith — the very life of the Holy Spirit in the Church. It includes the Holy Scriptures, the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, the writings of the Holy Fathers, the canons of the Church, the Divine Services, the Creed, the icons, and the entire inherited experience of life in Christ.
The Apostle Paul writes: "Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Notice that he says both oral tradition and written Scripture are to be held. In Orthodoxy, the Bible is not separate from Tradition — it is the supreme written expression of Tradition, born from within the Church and properly understood only within her life.
Scripture Within Tradition
The Orthodox Church treasures Holy Scripture as the inspired Word of God. She reads, chants, and meditates on Scripture throughout every Divine Service. But she insists that Scripture must be read within the community of the Church, guided by the Holy Fathers, not privately interpreted as if each reader were the first to open the pages. The ancient principle holds: the Church does not derive her authority from Scripture; Scripture derives its authority from the Church that preserved, canonized, and transmits it.
This is not a diminishment of Scripture — it is a recognition of what Scripture actually is: the written record of the Church's experience of God, alive in the living Body of Christ, generation after generation.
Holy Scripture is part of Holy Tradition. The Church existed before the New Testament was written. The Apostles preached before they wrote, and the Church preserved both their preaching and their writings.
— St. Hilarion (Troitsky)