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Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty · Catechism · 90

Faith Q&A › Catechism › 5. Holy Tradition

What is the role of the laity in preserving the traditional life of the Church?

The answer

The laity play a role in preserving tradition by practicing it in their daily lives and in their worship. Church life cannot be preserved only by canons or through books, but through practice and life.

Every true believer represents a living stone in the spiritual temple of God, laid upon other living stones that came before him. That is, he receives the traditional life of the Church from past generations. And at the same time, he bears other living stones. That is, he transmits this life to future generations. Thus, he becomes a living member of the Church of Christ, transmitting her life by practicing it daily. We can therefore identify “traditional believers” not as those who carefully study Church canons, are well acquainted with the details of the rites, or just recite the church hymns; but rather as those who discover their unity with God in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit through preserving and practicing the canons, rites, hymns, etc., of the Church.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.