Church Tradition and Its Biblical Foundations in the Teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. An Outline of Problems

Abstract

The Tradition of the Church has been a vital part of the Christian faith since the apostolic age. It has its tangible, historical basis in Scripture, but at the same time, it is a supernatural, living and ever-present reality of the Church. Because of its relevance to Christian life, tradition is also a frequently debated theological topic in Catholic and Protestant theological circles. As a theologian, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI created and offered the Church his concept of the Tradition of the Church, and that theological proposal is the subject of the present analyses. They aim to describe the sources, the essence and the constituent elements of the sacred Tradition of the Church in Ratzinger’s lectures with particular reference to its biblical basis. A methodologically correct way of dealing with the issue at hand is a historical and, at the same time, theological analysis, since the subject of the study is the Church as a supernatural reality of the community of believers past and present. This article first discusses Joseph Ratzinger’s publications on the Tradition of the Church, proceeding afterwards to present the essential elements of his understanding of Tradition and, finally, describing its biblical foundations. For Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, Tradition is the constant actualisation of Jesus’ presence in the Church, the memory of him, but also the living experience of salvation.