Basil on the Unwritten Traditions

Canon 92. He speaks of the written teaching and the unwritten tradition of the apostles, and says that both have the same force in matters of religion. The unwritten traditions he names are these: marking those who hope in Christ with the sign of the cross; praying toward the east, to show that we are seeking Eden, the garden in the east from which our first parents were driven out, as he explains later; the words of invocation at the consecration of the bread of the eucharist and of the cup of blessing; the blessing of the baptismal water, of the chrism, and of the person baptized; the threefold immersion; and the renunciations made at baptism. All these the fathers kept hidden from those who were not initiated. He says that the dogmata were always kept secret, while the kerygmata were made public. He adds the tradition of standing at prayer on the first day of the week and through the whole of Pentecost, that is, from Easter to the day of Pentecost. This is done not only to show our rising with Christ, but as a foreshadowing of our expectation of an eternal and perfect day, for the enjoyment of which we stand upright. And lastly he names the profession of our faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit at baptism. [a] Canon 93. He maintains that the doxology in the words “with the Holy Spirit” is an unwritten tradition of the apostles. For this is a teaching full of authority, worthy of honor for its age. [d]