The Meaning of Tradition

by Yves Congar

Some Christians claim to reject Tradition in preference to a supposedly "Bible only" Christianity. Catholics, on the other hand, venerate Tradition, yet often without adequately understanding it. In this masterful book, the great theologian Yves Congar explains why Tradition is an inescapable aspect of a fully biblical Christian faith. He explores the various forms of Tradition and discusses the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, as well as the role of the Magisterium of the Church. The Meaning of Tradition clears up misconceptions held by many Evangelical Christians and even some Catholics on this important subject. Congar's study of Tradition greatly contributed to the teaching of Vatican II and to a deeper appreciation of the Church Fathers.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Catholic, Christianity, Nonfiction, Church History, Christian

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

A French Dominican priest who become one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century on the topic of the Roman Catholic Church and ecumenism.

Reviews

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a concise take on what tradition means for Catholics. Congar tries to tease out some mistaken assumptions about the common division between scripture and tradition. What comes across the most is the opportunism of a lot of definitions of tradition - you can see how someone's role inside or outside of the church leads them to narrow or expansive definitions. At the same time, Congar is more offering the contours of the discussion and some basic truths about it, not offering arguments that would decisively knock down most particular theological positions. His central point is that the focus of the church is on the teachings of Jesus and the movement of the Holy Spirit through history, which is not exactly identical to the scriptures left behind and is more complex than a simple correspondence between scripture and current institutions. Some of this is familiar to basic Catholic-Protestant debates but as someone still fairly new to all this I found it helpful how subtle and precise Congar can be.

[Jarred de Beer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

It is well known that Dei Verbum’s section on Divine Revelation is taken straight from Congar. His explanation of tradition and traditions is thorough and enlightening. What I struggled with is that in attempting to distance himself from ‘two-sources of revelation’ terminology, he adopts a position that appears self-contradictory:

“A consensus of opinion seems to have been established among us [theologians], which may be summed up as follows: it is impossible to deny the existence of truths belonging to the revealed deposit without being formally attested in Scripture. And yet the latter presents the whole Christian mystery.”

If there are truths outside of scripture, I would argue, and I believe Congar would agree, that they belong to tradition (take the Marian doctrines or the canon of scripture itself, for example). As such, it cannot be said that Scripture “presents the whole Christian mystery.” Rather, as at least three centuries of theologians believed after Trent, revelation is expressed in both scripture and tradition.

I understand that Congar is elevating the importance of scripture by arguing that it is materially sufficient, but it approaches a form of ‘Catholic sola scriptura’ and risks reducing tradition to some abstract concept that is difficult to define. That said, operating within such a perspective, Congar does elucidate the nature and role of tradition quite well. I think the relationship between scripture and tradition requires further discussion, however, even if the majority of theologians have dismissed ‘two sources of revelation’ terminology.

[Anna Khiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 | Je m’attendais pas à aimer le livre, mais il était vraiment intéressant. Juste assez compliqué pour un ouvrage de vulgarisation, mais j’imagine que c’est parce que le concept de vitalité de la Tradition est en lui même assez complexe…

Juste, un langage parfois ambigu qui m’a perdu.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an invaluable summary of Congar's historical investigations of Tradition in the life of the Church. Some other reviewers expressed disappointment that Congar did not adequately answer Protestant arguments, but that was never the intent of this book. This book should instead be read in contrast with the tendencies that prevailed before Vatican II, which saw the tradition as an inspired teaching Magisterium passing on doctrine to a merely passive listening laity. In contrast, Congar shows that the history of the Church has involved a more dynamic Tradition, developing through the interaction of the laity and the hierarchy. The position of Protestantism is present in this book simply to illustrate what Congar is not advocating. Tradition is dynamic, and it must involve the laity. But unlike the Protestant view, the Catholic understanding of Tradition must also involve the hierarchy. In today's Catholic Church, the right-wing (Catholic Answers) needs to better appreciate the laity's role in forming Tradition. The left-wing (Hans Kung), needs to better appreciate the hierarchy's role in forming Tradition.

[Rory Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

When it was first published in 1964, this was a creative and thoughtful challenge to aspects of the Catholic Manualist approach to theology, which had predominated for the previous hundred years. However, its ideas quickly became mainstream, especially in the light of the 1965 Vatican Council. So, reading the book almost sixty years later, the value and novelty of the original book is harder to see.

One of the helpful features of the book is that it provides a simple overview of some useful Patristic sources and quotes on the topic of Tradition. However, the book’s footnotes are a little inconsistent, so it is not always easy to follow up references. For example, in chapter 1 Irenaeus is referenced to a locus in Patrologia Graeca (PG), whilst Gregory of Nyssa is referenced to the actual title of his work (Contra Eunomium), as well as the PG reference. As this is a 2004 edition, of the original 1964 edition, it would have been helpful if footnotes and references could have been updated into a consistent fuller format.

A more serious issue in the book, is a question of consistency between Chapters 1 and Chapter 3. In Chapter 1 the author insists upon an interpretation of ‘Scripture and Tradition’ which rejects the (Counter Reformation) idea that Revelation is ‘partially’ contained in each. Instead, he insists that “the saving Gospel is contained entirely in the Scriptures, as it is also contained entirely in tradition’ (Chapter 1).

However, in Chapter 3 the author talks about the problem of canonicity. Christians can have no access to Scripture, until they are clear which books constitute the canon of Scripture. The author notes that Scripture does not contain a list of the canonical books. He also rejects Karl Barth’s solution that the canon is just self-revealingly obvious to Christians. (Catholics and Protestants have a different canon, so it cannot be obvious). This means that the Revelation of the Canon would seem to be a piece of information that is not contained within Scripture.

But if that is so, then how can it be the case that the entirety of Revelation is contained in Scripture, as Chapter 1 insists? This issue of the consistency of the claims in Chapters 1 and 3 is never really resolved in the book; and that leaves a question mark over the coherence of the book’s model of Tradition.

Another aspect of the book which some readers may have concerns about, is its occasional 1960s style, gender stereotyping. For example, we hear how a ‘woman expresses instinctively and vitally what a man expresses logically…’ (Chapter 1).

Overall, this may have been an insightful and original book in the early 1960s, but it is now a dated book. arguing a problematic and unresolved thesis. Readers interested in knowing more about the theological topic of Tradition might be better served by simply looking the idea up in a modern theological dictionary.

[Rev. M. M. Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yves Congar would not quibble too much with the opening song from "Fiddler on the Roof" because it is clear in his book that Tradition is very much a way of life. But it is also more than that. There is Tradition and there are traditions. Tradition (with a capital T) is the content of a faith that is passed down from generation to generation. Traditions are the ways that we do things, like celebrate certain times, which plug into Tradition but are not necessarily intrinsic to it. For example, the way that Christmas is celebrated in ethnic households (I'm thinking of Italian and Polish here) is very different but linked to the Tradition regarding the Birth of Christ.

Written not long after the Second Vatican Council, Congar's work is an attempt to counter the seemingly insurmountable divide between Catholics and Protestants over the roots of faith. The Protestant claim to base faith on sola scriptura (scripture alone) is seen as inadequate and is contrasted to the Catholic view of Scripture and Tradition. Congar shows that some elements of the Christian faith are passed down from Apostolic times outside of the Scriptures. In this, he is speaking of articles of faith like the sacraments, something that is believed always, everywhere, and by all. Latin as the language of the liturgy would not be considered in this way even though many would believe that Latin was used at the Last Supper. The use of Latin in the Church would belong to traditions rather than Tradition.

As a theological work, this book demands full attention; it's not a book to read before going to sleep (unless you suffer from insomnia). It does require a certain amount of theological sophistication but will reward the reader who attempts to read through it.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Congar's theology of tradition, rooted in the Spirit guiding the church through history to make important decisions in its magisterium, a process that is revelation in Christ being filled out, interpreted, and passed on faithfully (not two sources of revelation), forming important "monuments" that root the church in the past in order to confront new situations in the future - this theology really offers an account of Catholicism that equipped it as it oriented itself in late modernity.

My own thinking, as a Baptist, has been profoundly challenged. For instance, I have long thought about how can Protesants affirm the biblical canon without the authority processes that decided it. However, on the other hand, there are decisions of councils in Catholic tradition that I just don't think is accurate to the process Congar describes, they are unwarrant innovations and insertions of theological convictions beyond the Biblical deposit. So, my own thinking is that if tradition can develop, I think it shows signs of deforming, and if that is the case, it needs to be coupled with an understanding of how it must ameliorate and innovate today. Congar, as I see, wrote more on this in another book, so I think I am going to dig into that next.

[Cassie Freed · Rating 5 out of 5]

So... I am not a trained theologian. Books like this one take me weeks to get through because they tend to be dense with lots of terminology or references to other sources and events that I don't understand or have knowledge about. This book here is no exception.

However, I give this book 5 stars because even with such setbacks, a regular, non-theologian such as myself can still work through the book with more ease than most theology books I've come across (and given up on).

Tradition is a massive topic that I do not even begin to claim to understand how it works in the Catholic faith (especially given that I'm not Catholic), yet Congar, I think, has done an excellent job in nailing down what tradition is without confining it to any box. His goal is not to list out every tradition of the church but to define tradition itself. What is it? How does it inform the faith? How does it inform doctrine and dogma? How does it influence our understanding of Scripture? How does Scripture influence our understanding of tradition? Where does the Magisterium and church authority fit into all this?

Congar gives his answer to these questions as best he can, and his best is pretty brilliant and well-written, though I'll have to take a brain-break for a little while. (:

[Maria Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent reflection on the meaning of Tradition in relation to Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Church. Congar excellently explains what it means for Tradition to be "living" and why it must be alive. Tradition is the deposit of faith given to us first in Revelation, which is then preserved and handed down to the new generations of the faithful. This Revelation is the life of Christ for us, and it is this life that the Church seeks to communicate to Her members first and foremost.

[Joel Newberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing read. I picked this up to read for a Catholic perspective on my dissertation, and I am still frustrated with the strange tendency of Catholics to try and own history without quoting anything directly. The book spends ample time talking about the importance of the Church Fathers but fails to produce any quotations that back up his statements about the Church Fathers on tradition from the Church Fathers. I did learn about the methodology for Catholicism and tradition vs. traditions. I am further convinced of my protestant beliefs.

[Brother Gregory Rice, SOLT · Rating 5 out of 5]

The argumentation is a bit circuitous (I wonder if this is assembled from lectures or other papers) but the thesis is perspective-altering in its clarity and simplicity of faith. Reminds me of St. John Henry Newman.

[S.E. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down.

[Zbigniew Zdziarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent analysis and summary of what Tradition and tradition means for the Church. It's such an important topic post Reformation. This should be a textbook at universities and seminaries.

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an explanation of tradition, this is a good book that is far more readable than his two volume work on "Tradition and Traditions" and as an introduction I would give it 4/5. As a defence of the Roman Catholic principle of tradition alongside Scripture, I did not find it as convincing. Admittedly, successive Christian generations are always inheriting practices and beliefs from our spiritual ancestors. Many of these are excellent for deepening our devotional life, worshiping God and evangelizing the nations and they create a familiar, established Christian ethos (while Congar focuses on the "Catholic spirit" I believe there is a certain Christian ethos shared by the three main streams of Christianity). In this sense, every Christian can affirm traditions. It is very important for Christians today to consult what our spiritual ancestors thought about issues such as the family, sanctification, etc...But certain doctrines promulgated by tradition and its judge, the Magisterium, will inevitably cause friction within the greater Christian Church. One of the most well-known dogmas derived from tradition is the Immaculate Conception which Congar attributes to the practices of the laity, thereby including them in the process and progress of tradition, as opposed to tradition being held in monopoly by the ecclesiastical elites (a thought on this - if Marian dogmas were only finally established because of the insistence of the laity, how do we respond to evangelical Protestant laity who have developed their own, perhaps sentimental, "traditions"?). One of the excellent points Congar makes in defence of tradition is that the Christian Church is constantly needing to re-proclaim eternal truths in light of changing contexts; proclamation and practice in the fourth century Church looks different from that in the twelfth century and from that in the twenty-first century. Congar is speaking like a postmodern here! However, there are some limitations when Congar suggests believers can communicate the faith via simple symbols such as the sign of the cross; explanation will be needed, depending upon the ignorance or knowledge of the audience (particularly since every Christian is called to spread the Gospel; think of Philip and the eunuch who needed an explanation). In offering a defence of tradition, I would have liked Congar to use better examples of doctrines that require tradition to defend them and that are crucial to the faith (unlike Marian doctrines). Perhaps it's that I will simply always disagree with the distinctive Catholic traditions affirmed. All in all, a good guide on the Catholic principle of tradition and traditions.

[Matthew Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yves Congar (1904-1995) is a giant of Catholic ecclesiology. This work here provides a lucid, passionate, and eminently readable introduction to Tradition, the Church, and the Scriptures. Congar argues that tradition is the life of the Church, as she is filled by the Spirit, in order to faithfully meet the challenges of the future. This deposit made once and for all by the Apostles, who received it from Christ, is passed down from generation to generation, and though its content does not change, this tradition does not remain static for it is the lived self-understanding of the Church in history. Congar offers intelligent critiques of Protestants like myself along the way, and while he certainly hasn't assuaged all my fears, his work is compelling and he is certainly required reading for anyone serious about understanding what it means to be a part of the Church and her Tradition.

[Kurt Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

from the book jacket

The most important Catholic publishing project of our time . . . international in scope, comprehensive in concept, written for every intelligent Catholic . . . a monument to Catholic scholarship and faith in the Twentieth Century. Hailed by Catholic scholars on both sides of the Atlantic, it has been praised by L'Osservatore Romano as "a new means of conveying religious culture . . . which should bring Catholics much spiritual joy."

Awarded the Thomas More Association Medal for the most distinguished contribution to Catholic publishing during 1958.

[Charles Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would suspect that this book would be of most value to Catholics. All of us have heard that unlike the Protestants, Catholics do not rely solely on Scripture but on Tradition. Personally I always had a vague idea of what tradition meant. Now reading Congar's book I realize how essential Tradition is to the Church and being a Catholic.My advice: Is read it slow. Do not be concerned about rereading for clarity. I think Congar has done a good a job as anyone could in explaining this to laypeople but the subject is complicated so it can only be simplified so much. But it's well worth the work. Guaranteed to have many "Aha!" moments.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brilliant book, that I would especially recommend to every Catholic, and in general to anyone interested in Apostolic Christianity. What is tradition - is it the customs in our homes and communities, or is it something more? What does tradition mean in a Christian context? What is the role of tradition, what are the sources of tradition, how does tradition relate to other ways of finding and constructing meaning? Yves Congar presents brilliant answers to these questions in this book. Less than 200 pages, this book is a pretty quick read, and the translator used crisp, clear language to convey the author's meaning. I plan to read it again soon!

[Charles Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a tough read ... it explains tradition and its relationship to scripture and the Magisterium of the Church. It brings in the protestant viewpoint of 'sola scriptura'. I waded through it and came out unscathed and better informed. There were moments of overwhelming drowsiness however. Congar was an importantl power in Vatican II and one of the great theologians of this era. IMHO. It is short (172 pages).

[Mark O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably only of interest to Catholics, but if you want to understand what the Roman Church means by 'Tradition' and why it is held equal to Scripture, then this is a must read.
Stand up for Vatican II.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic study of what is meant by the word "Tradition", especially in the context of Catholic theology.

[нєνєℓ ¢ανα · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very excellent treat of the theme and extreme success on theologian tradition. Two thumps up for Yves Congar

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A careful explanation and a more nuanced position, than expected .

[Kevin W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal explanation on what the Church has in mind when she refers to "Tradition" and how a clear understanding of Tradition has drastic implications for our world today.

[Louis R]

Hopeful to understand what is essential, and what is always helpful. Conger does a great job not attempting to redefine the faith-based on Modern assumptions, but to help understand how it applies to the modern world.