little o/Big O??

[cassc]

I always here people talking about big and little o orthodoxy and big and little t tradition, and the more I think about it the less clear I am about which is which. Bear with me for a sec, little tradition is people/groups personal/cultural traditions and Tradition is Holy Traditions passed down through the Church form the fathers, yes? So then Orthodoxy is our Orthodox faith and what is little o, just people who are strict/traditional in thinking?? and can you be an orthodox Orthodox??

 

[Shubunkin]

I don't know about "orthodox Orthodox" (seems redundant in a way)... but they talk of "orthodox Christians" as being anyone else.

 

[Photios]

The small "o" makes me think of Chesterton's book. Of course, the man is one of my major heroes.

 

[Protoevangel]

When I considered myself an orthodox Lutheran, it was based on the fact that I held to the historic creeds of Lutheranism, read in a historic context. The Lutheran Symbols call Mary ever-virgin, says the Saints pray for the Church, they do not disapprove of prayer for the dead, they call for private confession and absolution, call the Bread and Wine truly Christ's Body and Blood, they call for all communicants to be examined and absolved, Justification is considered in more than just the forensic sense, they call 2 Maccabees Scripture, they call for all traditional Church rites to be kept and practiced with utmost reverence as long as they do not contradict Scripture (such as certain Roman additions), they say that all bishops in the Church are equal, they say that children should always be taught to make the sign of the Cross, and that the baptized do have free will to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and finally, they do not speak of the Lutheran Church as a "denomination", but as the continuation of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in the West.

So it's not about being strict, but about (relatively) holding to the orthodox doctrine of the Historic Church.

 

[OnTheWay]

Small t traditions are practices that various jurisdictions have picked up over time but are not matters of doctrine or dogma. Hence it is a Russian small t tradition that you can drink beer during the fast and a Greek small t tradition that you cannot. Big T Traditions are Apostolic teachings that are required belief to remain in communion with the Orthodox Church.
As for Orthodox/orthodox, the capital letter is used when speaking specifically about the Church. For example, "St. Paul's is an Orthodox Church." The lower case just refers to something that is a correct belief. Hence you could say that "such and such" church as an orthodox understanding of the Trinity but an unorthodox approach to the sacraments.

 

[rusmeister]

The small "o" makes me think of Chesterton's book. Of course, the man is one of my major heroes.

I second that motion!
He's currently on my desktop wallpaper!

 

[Photios]

The painting I posted in the photo album is my desktop, but it was done by someone who is also a major hero.

 

[buzuxi02]

I dislike the analogy of capital and lower case letters. its still the same word.
Catholic/catholic

Orthodox/orthodox

Tradition/tradition


There is only one orthodox catholic faith.
There are the holy and/or apostolic traditions
And then there are pious customs usually refered to as pious traditions.

 

[Knowledge3]

I use the big "O" when stating and explaining orthodox doctrine outside of TAW.

I use the small "o" in long explanations of orthodoxy GT and GA, both from which I have fasted and limited my posting to TAW only.

I see no real difference between the big O and the small o except when defining the "O"rthodox Church which requires the big "O" and doctrinal refutations in defense of small "o"rthodoxy which is suitable for explanatory refutations against protestantism.

Peace, K3

 

[OnTheWay]

There are the holy and/or apostolic traditions
And then there are pious customs usually refered to as pious traditions.

Thing is all of these words have meanings even outside religious use. Capitalizing is just a demonstration that you are using these words with regard to their religious applications and how various things are viewed within the Church. For myself, when speaking about protestant churches I don't use the capital, when speaking about Churches with Apostolic roots I do.

 

[Michael G]

The small "o" makes me think of Chesterton's book. Of course, the man is one of my major heroes.

I have read a number of his books and they are excellent.

 

[cassc]

Hmm, I'm clearer now on when one would capitalize... I tend not to pay all that much attention to my capitalization (or punctuation, or grammar hehe ) when I'm on the internet. But as I have been noticing in many places as of late inattentiveness can lead to many problems...