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Deposit of Faith
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What is the Deposit of Faith?
The Catholic Faith is not governed by shifting opinions and popular consent. The foundation of the Faith is revealed not only in the Person of Christ, but in the Teaching Authority given to the Church by Christ ("He who hears you, hears Me.")
There are three components of this foundation which we refer to as the "Deposit of Faith". The following three branches work in concert for continuity of teaching in the Church today and in the future:
- Sacred Scripture
- Tradition
- The Magisterium
Sacred Scripture is the written Word of God, revealed through sacred authors going back to Moses and those who edited (compiled) the extant works into what is contained in the canons of the Old and New Testaments. The Church teaches that Sacred Scripture is inerrant in all it prescribes for man's salvation. (This does not qualify Scripture as a scientific text, nor does it claim inerrancy in matters outside of salvation).
Tradition is the divinely inspired custom and activity of the Church, including Oral Tradition, rites, theology, works, councils, and matters of universal agreement among the Church Fathers. Factually speaking, evangelization of the Church in the first three centuries was largely a product of Oral Tradition outside of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the various epistles read at liturgy. The four Gospels (the last of which was written around 100 A.D.) were not declared canonical until the fourth century. Further, there was no hard "cutover" to New Testament preaching (as we see it modeled in Protestant congregations). The Oral Tradition continued apace as an equal companion to Sacred Scripture in catechizing Gentiles, Jews, and baptized Christians. Tradition, as an inspired aspect of the Deposit of Faith, does not have a "sunset" feature and continues to inform and ratify the Doctrine of Faith through today. It cannot be dispensed with any more than Sacred Scripture.
The Magisterium. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 100), "the task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him."
Thomas Storck of Ignatius Insight.com provides further clarification:Thus the Magisterium operates via two methods. The solemn or extraordinary Magisterium is seen in solemn definitions either by a pope, as for example, the definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven in 1950, or by one of the Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church ratified by the pope, as the definitions made by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) to reaffirm the Catholic faith against the Protestants or the definition of papal infallibility by the First Vatican Council in 1870.
The ordinary and universal Magisterium, on the other hand, is the ordinary teaching of the Church, accomplished via papal pronouncements, statements of bishops, catechisms, homilies, etc. This is not to say that everything that any pope, bishop or priest has ever said on any occasion is part of the ordinary and universal Magisterium, but that it is via such means that this teaching is generally made known to the faithful. Note that the First Vatican Council speaks of it as both "ordinary and universal." "Ordinary" means that it is accomplished via the ordinary means of teaching that the Church uses, but "universal" means that it is taught by the entire body of bishops, and usually over a period of time. For generally when a doctrine has been taught as authoritative over time and by many popes and bishops, this indicates that it is a teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium and must be received and believed as faithfully as teaching that is solemnly defined by pope or council. (Emphases by Ed.)