“And then too, when anyone came along who had been a follower of the
presbyters, I would inquire about the presbyters’ discourses: what was said
by Andrew, or by Peter, or by Philip, or by Thomas or James, or by John or
Matthew, or by any other of the Lord’s disciples: and what Aristion and the
Presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say. It did not seem to me that I
could get so much profit from the contents of books as from a living and
abiding voice.”
St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3, 4, 1 (c. 180 AD)
“If there should be a dispute over some kind of question, ought we not have
recourse to the most ancient Churches in which the Apostles were familiar,
and draw from them what is clear and certain in regard to that question?
What if the Apostles had not in fact left writings to us? Would it not be
necessary to follow the order of tradition, which was handed down to those
to whom they entrusted the Churches?”
Tertullian, The Demurrer Against the Heretics 19, 3 (200 AD)
“Wherever it shall be clear that the truth of the Christian discipline and
faith are present, there also will be found the truth of the Scriptures and of
their explanation, and of all the Christian traditions.”
Origen, Fundamental Doctrines 1, Preface, 2 (c. 220 AD)
“Although there are many who believe that they themselves hold to the
teachings of Christ, there are yet some among them who think differently
from their predecessors. The teaching of the Church has indeed been
handed down through an order of succession from the Apostles, and
remains in the Churches even to the present time. That alone is to be
believed as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and
apostolic tradition.”
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