City of Bridges Podcast - season one – episode 2 – “Okay, So What?” Why Old Things Still Matter
Modern believers live in a world of reinvention—where new is often equated with better, and tradition can feel like the needless residue of another time. So it’s natural to ask, “What does any of this have to do with me?” 🤔
Rituals, icons, liturgy, sacraments—these ancient practices can seem distant or even burdensome to the contemporary mind. But what if they’re actually gifts? Not constraints, but doorways? 🚪
In this episode, we’re not just looking back—we’re looking deeper. Let’s try to rediscover a few things together. 👁️
"For Orthodox Christians, the Liturgy operates as a time machine, transcending the here and now. It’s as if the congregation steps back into the upper room with Christ’s apostles, re-living the Last Supper with a sense of immediacy that’s both solemn and exhilarating. This is not merely symbolic; it’s believed to be a real participation in the original event." - OrthodoxChristianity101.com
https://www.orthodoxchristianity101.com/post/understanding-the-divine-litergy-in-orthodox-christianity
https://www.patheos.com/library/eastern-orthodoxy/ritual-worship-devotion-symbolism/rites-and-ceremonies
The Church bears a living memory—Christ’s voice echoing through the ages— not only in Holy Scripture, but in the language of icons and incense, in the ancient rhythm of the liturgy, and in the faithful lives of those who have walked this road before us. 📜
This is not a museum of religion. It is the Body of Christ—alive and breathing. A faith handed down, not frozen. A faith that forms us, generation by generation, into the likeness of Jesus Christ. ✝️
To enter this way is to be joined to something older, deeper, and holier than ourselves—a sacred current that humbles the ego and awakens the soul. 🔆
The unified voice of the early Church is not just one voice among many. It is the Spirit-guided memory of a community still listening for the voice of Jesus. 👂
Some today may wonder, “Isn’t all this tradition too old?” But in Christ, nothing is ever old if it carries the pulse of the age to come. ❤️
When we forget the memory of the Church, we risk becoming spiritual wanderers— unmoored from communion, isolated in interpretation, susceptible to novelty and division. 😞
But when we anchor ourselves to the apostolic faith, when we take our place in the Great Tradition, we discover that every generation becomes a threshold of grace. ⚓️
Ancient practices are not ornamental. They are the language of heaven made tangible in time. ⏳
So come and see. Step into the liturgy—let the mystery shape you. Open the writings of the early Fathers—not to argue, but to listen. ⛪️
These are not burdens. They are bridges. Not nostalgia, but sacred memory. Not human invention, but Christ among His people. ☺️
This is the unbroken song that rises from the Upper Room, echoes through the catacombs, and still leads us toward the New Jerusalem. 🎶
📚Additional Resources:
1. Explicit Mentions of Tradition (Paradosis in Greek - “what is handed down”) in Scripture:
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15
“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions (paradoseis) that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”
(This is the clearest reference to Apostolic Tradition: both oral and written.) - 2 Thessalonians 3:6
“Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition (paradosin) that you received from us.” - 1 Corinthians 11:2
“Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions (paradoseis) even as I delivered them to you.”
(This includes liturgical tradition: head coverings, Eucharist, etc.)
2. Transmission Language (Handing Down, Receiving)
Even when the word “tradition” isn’t used, the concept of “handing on what was received” is central:
- 1 Corinthians 11:23
“For I received (parelabon) from the Lord what I also delivered (paredōka) to you…”
(Eucharistic institution – Paul explicitly frames it as tradition received and handed on.) - 1 Corinthians 15:1–3
“For I delivered (paredōka) to you as of first importance what I also received (parelabon): that Christ died for our sins…”
(The Apostles’ Creed-like early confession – an oral tradition handed on.) - Philippians 4:9
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things…”
(The Apostle’s life and teaching together form tradition.) - 2 Timothy 1:13–14
“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me… guard the good deposit entrusted to you, by the Holy Spirit…”
(Refers to safeguarding the oral deposit of faith.) - 2 Timothy 2:2
“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
(Four generations of tradition transmission.)
3. Scripture + Tradition Side by Side
- Acts 2:42
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
(Apostolic teaching included more than written Scripture – worship, liturgy, communal life.) - Acts 16:4
“As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.”
(Apostolic decrees passed on authoritatively, before NT canon existed.) - 1 Thessalonians 2:13
“When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God…”
(The oral preaching of the apostles was considered God’s word, not “just human opinion.”)
4. References to Guarding the Apostolic Deposit
- Romans 6:17
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed…”
(“Standard of teaching” = the handed-down form of Christian faith.) - 1 Timothy 6:20–21
“O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you…”
(The “deposit” is the apostolic tradition of faith.) - 2 Peter 1:12–15
“I intend always to remind you of these things… so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”
(Peter explicitly makes arrangements to ensure the tradition is remembered beyond his death.) - Jude 3
“Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered (paradotheisē) to the saints.”
(The whole faith as a tradition entrusted once-for-all.)
5. Implicit Connections to Living Tradition
- John 20:30; 21:25
(Jesus did and said many other things not written down – implies a broader apostolic memory/tradition.) - 2 John 12
“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face…”
(Preference for oral transmission of teaching.) - 3 John 13–14
“I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon…”
(Again emphasizes oral, embodied teaching.)
Apostolic Tradition in Scripture with Patristic Witnesses
1 Corinthians 11:2
Theme: Tradition | Greek: παραδόσεις (paradoseis) | Notes: Explicit mention of apostolic tradition.
• [Nicene Fathers] Basil, *On the Holy Spirit* 27.66: 'Τῶν γὰρ δογμάτων... τὰ μὲν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ παραδέδοται, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων παραδόσει.' ('Of the dogmas... some we have from written teaching, others we have received from the tradition of the apostles.')
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Chrysostom, *Hom. on 1 Cor.* 26: commends them for holding to both written and unwritten traditions.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
Theme: Tradition | Greek: παραδόσεις (paradoseis) | Notes: Key text showing oral and written tradition.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Chrysostom, *Hom. on 2 Thess.*: 'ἄρα καὶ ἄγραφα τὰ πολλὰ τῶν δογμάτων· καὶ ταῦτα τῆς παραδόσεως ἐστὶν ἰσχὺν ἔχοντα.' ('Therefore many of the dogmas are unwritten; these have the same force from tradition.')
• [Nicene Fathers] Athanasius, *Four Letters to Serapion* 1.28: appeals to apostolic traditions handed down outside Scripture.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
Theme: Tradition | Greek: παράδοσιν (paradosin) | Notes: Tradition as authoritative rule of life.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Chrysostom: Tradition here includes apostolic lifestyle, not only doctrine.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Theodoret of Cyrrhus, *Commentary on 2 Thess.*: the apostolic tradition is binding for all believers.
1 Corinthians 11:23
Theme: Receive/Deliver | Greek: παρέλαβον / παρέδωκα | Notes: Paul frames Eucharist as received tradition.
• [Other/Unclassified] Ambrose, *De Sacramentis* 4.4.14: 'Accepi a Domino quod et tradidi vobis.' (I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you.)
• [Nicene Fathers] Cyril of Jerusalem, *Mystagogical Catecheses* 5.7: the Eucharistic words are transmitted from the Apostles.
1 Corinthians 15:3
Theme: Receive/Deliver | Greek: παρέδωκα / παρέλαβον | Notes: Early creed-like tradition transmitted.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Irenaeus, *Against Heresies* 3.3.1: apostolic preaching preserved in succession of bishops.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Origen, *De Principiis* Pref.2: the Church guards the faith handed down from the Apostles in unbroken succession.
Philippians 4:9
Theme: Receive/Practice | Greek: παρέλαβετε | Notes: Paul’s life and teaching as tradition.
• [Apostolic Fathers] Clement of Rome, *1 Clem.* 44: the apostles appointed successors to preserve teaching.
• [Apostolic Fathers] Polycarp, *Philippians* 7: exhorts them to hold fast to apostolic tradition received.
2 Timothy 1:13–14
Theme: Deposit | Greek: ὑποτύπωσιν / παραθήκην | Notes: Faith as a deposit of tradition.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Tertullian, *De Praescriptione* 21: 'Depositum custodi'—guard the apostolic deposit.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Cyprian, *Epistle 66*: bishops are guardians of the deposit of faith.
2 Timothy 2:2
Theme: Transmission | Greek: ἃ ἤκουσας / παράθου | Notes: Four generations of transmission.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Irenaeus, *AH* 3.3.3: succession preserves apostolic tradition.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Hippolytus, *Apostolic Tradition* 1: describes ordination as continuation of apostolic handover.
Acts 2:42
Theme: Apostolic Teaching | Greek: | Notes: Liturgy + life as tradition.
• [Other/Unclassified] Justin Martyr, *Apology I* 65–67: describes apostolic liturgy as received practice.
• [Nicene Fathers] Cyril of Jerusalem, *Catechetical Lectures* 23.5: Christian worship comes from apostolic tradition.
Acts 16:4
Theme: Apostolic Decrees | Greek: | Notes: Binding apostolic rulings transmitted.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Augustine, *Against Cresconius* 2.33: the Council’s decrees bind the whole Church.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Bede, *Commentary on Acts*: notes the authority of apostolic decrees as tradition.
1 Thessalonians 2:13
Theme: Word of God | Greek: | Notes: Oral apostolic preaching = divine word.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Chrysostom, *Hom. on 1 Thess.*: praises them for receiving preaching as God’s word.
• [Other/Unclassified] Clement of Alexandria, *Stromata* 1.1: apostolic preaching itself is divine tradition.
Romans 6:17
Theme: Form of Teaching | Greek: τύπον διδαχῆς | Notes: Faith handed down as form/template.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Chrysostom, *Hom. on Romans* 11: the 'form of teaching' is the rule of faith.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Origen, *Commentary on Romans* 5.9: stresses the fixed form of apostolic teaching.
1 Timothy 6:20
Theme: Deposit | Greek: παραθήκην | Notes: Tradition as entrusted deposit.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Vincent of Lérins, *Commonitorium* 22: guard the deposit universally received.
• [Nicene Fathers] Cyril of Jerusalem, *Catechetical Lectures* 5.12: catechesis is the sacred deposit to be guarded.
2 Peter 1:12–15
Theme: Remembrance | Greek: | Notes: Provision for post-apostolic tradition.
• [Other/Unclassified] Eusebius, *HE* 2.15: Peter ensured remembrance; Mark wrote what Peter preached.
• [Other/Unclassified] Clement of Alexandria, *Hypotyposes* (fragments): Mark preserved Peter’s teaching orally and in writing.
Jude 3
Theme: Faith Delivered | Greek: παραδοθείσῃ | Notes: Faith as a definitive tradition.
• [Post-Nicene Fathers] Vincent of Lérins, *Commonitorium* 2: the faith once delivered must be kept universally.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Irenaeus, *AH* 1.10.1: the Church guards the faith, received once and everywhere the same.
John 20:30; 21:25
Theme: Beyond Writing | Greek: | Notes: Suggests oral/living tradition beyond Scripture.
• [Nicene Fathers] Basil, *On the Holy Spirit* 27.66: many unwritten traditions are observed in the Church.
• [Nicene Fathers] Athanasius, *Festal Letter* 2: appeals to unwritten apostolic traditions in worship.
2 John 12
Theme: Face-to-Face Teaching | Greek: | Notes: Emphasis on oral tradition.
• [Apostolic Fathers] Papias (via Eusebius, *HE* 3.39): valued the living voice over books.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Irenaeus, *AH* 5.33.3: praises the authority of those who heard the Apostles directly.
3 John 13–14
Theme: Face-to-Face Teaching | Greek: | Notes: Emphasis on oral tradition.
• [Apostolic Fathers] Papias (via Eusebius, *HE* 3.39): emphasizes oral tradition as primary.
• [Ante-Nicene Fathers] Origen, *Comm. on John* 5.3: apostolic teaching is fuller than written records.
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Dig in! Live a beautiful life with Christ and His people!
Disclaimer: We share these conversations to encourage Spirit-filled ecumenical dialogue and deeper theological reflection. While our discussions partially draw from the teachings and life of the Evangelical Orthodox Church, our words are personal and not to be understood as formal positions of the EOC. Christian Faith should be embodied so join Christ’s One, Holy, Apostolic Church wherever His Body is found.
