The distinction between tradition (lowercase) and Tradition (uppercase) is a modern Western idea, and one that I do not accept.  I hold to the Patristic distinction between Kerygma and Dogma enunciated by St. Basil the Great in his writings. [1]  Kerygma is the doctrine of the faith as found in the written Tradition (i.e., the Sacred Scriptures) and the writings of the Church Fathers; while Dogma is the silent (σιωπή) unwritten practices of the Church — guarded in a sacred secrecy — i.e., the divine liturgy, the holy mysteries, the liturgical epiklesis, the anointing with oil, praying while facing East, standing while praying on Sunday, baptism by triple immersion, and also making the Sign of the Cross, etc., along with the theological meanings inherent to the Church's worship and doctrine.  That said, neither the Kerygma nor the Dogma of the Church are viewed by the Holy Fathers as dispensable.  Moreover, those outside of the Church were — according to St. Basil — allowed to know the Kerygma, but only the fully initiated were allowed to know the Dogma of the Church.  Finally, this distinction does not involve the false notion that some of things come from man alone and can be dispensed with at will, while other things are essential because they are of divine origin.  In fact, the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, both as it concerns Kerygma and as Dogma, comes from Christ, and so it must be faithfully kept by all, both the clergy and the laity alike.

          This Basilian approach, which involves distinguishing between Kerygma and Dogma, is connected to what St. Hilary of Poitiers said about God in his books On the Trinity, for as he put it:

The worship of the Trinity, which involves its proper understanding, is part of the Dogma of the Church, and yet the outward preaching of the faith, i.e., the Kerygma, must on occasion speak of things that are better left unsaid, but only in order to denounce those who speak falsely about God, and also in order to protect the Dogma of the faith, which should be meditated upon in one's heart with silent (σιωπή) reverence and awe. [3]

The Unchangeable Nature of Kerygma and Dogma

by Steven Todd Kaster

Original Version:  29 March 2013 (from a thread at the Phatmass Phorum)
Revised and expanded on:  8 February 2026

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End Notes:

[1]  St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, translated by David Anderson, (Crestwood, NY:  St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980), pages 98-101.

[2]  St. Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity, Book II, 2, in Philip Schaff (Editor), The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, (Peabody:  Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), volume 9, page 52.

[3]  The Latin term used by St. Hilary in this passage is silentio venerationis (silent veneration), which represents the Patristic phronema of silence in connection with the mystery of God.

Copyright © 2013, 2026 - Steven Todd Kaster