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Questions & Answers

Tradition

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › The Church › Tradition

The question

Must all the teachings and writings of the early Church Fathers and of all the Saints be indiscriminately believed in and accepted as Holy Tradition? Do all saints automatically become part of the church 'Fathers' or do the Fathers belong to a certain historical period?

The answer

The "Church Fathers" is a term commonly applied to the fathers of the first six centuries. Their writings are categorized as Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. The teachings and writings of the early church Fathers are part of our Church belief. However, we should not accept everything each of them wrote as absolute truth without reservation. We should make sure that their opinion or teaching is Biblical agreeing with the spirit and teachings of the Holy Bible and consistent with the belief of our church as a whole.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 655 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.