Christian tradition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian traditions are traditions of practice or belief associated with Christianity.
The term has several connected meanings. In terms of belief, traditions are generally stories or history that are or were widely accepted without being part of Christian doctrine. Examples of such might be the crucifixion of Saint Peter, which is widely believed to have happened but is not recorded in scripture. Similarly the names of the Magi who visited Jesus at his birth are thought to have been invented much later than the events and are not now considered authentic, but can be considered a tradition.
Most churches also have traditional practices, such as a particular patterns of services.
In the Protestant churches, where the Bible is usually the final arbiter of doctrine, any story or belief not found there is considered tradition, and not part of doctrine. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches the Sacred Tradition of the church may be considered doctrine.
In the Bible the traditions of men is sometimes contrasted with the word of God; for example Jesus told the Pharisees "You revoke God's word by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other similar things." (Mark 7:13). However Saint Paul writes: "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, either by our message or by our letter.". (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
