St. Basil the Great blasts Sola Scriptura

St. Basil the Great blasts Sola Scriptura August 30, 2010
This week’s Patristic quote comes from Saint Basil. It deals with how Scripture and tradition interact with one another. I would like to hear different people’s perspectives on this. Is the Gospel indeed “Bare Words” without the traditions of the Church? Why?

Concerning the teachings of the Church, whether publicly proclaimed (kerygma) or reserved to members of the household of faith (dogmata), we have received some from written sources, while others have been given to us secretly, through apostolic tradition. Both sources have equal force in true religion. No one would deny either source – no one, at any rate, who is even slightly familiar with the ordinances of the Church. If we attacked unwritten customs, claiming them to be of little importance, we would fatally mutilate the Gospel, no matter what our intentions – or rather, we would reduce the Gospel teachings to bare words.

St. Basil the Great

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