Tradition

The concern for continuity and tradition, which is characteristic of Orthodoxy, implies a sense of identity and consistency with the original apostolic witness, as realized through the sacramental community of each local church. The Holy Spirit, bestowed on the church at Pentecost, is seen as guiding the whole church "in all truth" (John 16:13). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries (particularly that of the bishop of each diocese) or is manifested through certain institutions (such as councils). Nevertheless, because the church is composed not only of bishops, or of clergy, but of the whole laity as well, the Orthodox Church strongly affirms that the guardian of truth is the entire "people of God".

This belief that truth is inseparable from the life of the sacramental community provides the basis for the Orthodox understanding of the apostolic succession of bishops. Consecrated by their peers and occupying the "place of Christ" at the Eucharistic meal, where the church gathers, they are the guardians and witnesses of a tradition that goes back, uninterrupted, to the apostles and that unites the local churches in the community of faith.