What is more ancient, oral tradition or the written word?
The most ancient and original instrument for spreading divine revelation is holy tradition in the form of oral proclamation and living transmission. From Adam to Moses, there were no sacred books. Our Lord Jesus Christ delivered his divine teaching to his disciples by word and example, not by writing; and the Apostles at first did the same, spreading the faith and establishing the Church of Christ for some two decades before the earliest New Testament writings. St John himself shows his preference for the living voice: “I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face” (3Jo 13–14; cf. 1Co 11:2).
The necessity of tradition is further evident from the fact that, for many centuries, books were accessible only to a small part of mankind, whereas tradition, inseparable from the life, worship, and structure of the Church, was accessible to all.
