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successors, owe neither their birth nor development to the Church of the
West. They possessed a religious, theological, liturgical, monastic, and
disciplinary heritage which is different from that of the West, yet not
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opposed to it.

3.1.1 One Faith, Different Traditions

The mysteries of the Catholic faith transcend all human experiences,
and they will never be adequately expressed in words. The profundity of the
revealed truths has given rise to many different theological systems and
methods in the Church. This means that professing one and the same faith,
different peoples at different periods of time, have tried to give expressions
to their faith in different forms suited to their cult and culture. Regarding the
theological contributions of the Eastern and Western Churches, the Second
Vatican Council said: “In the study of revelation East and West have
followed different methods, and have developed differently their
understanding and confession of God's truth. It is hardly surprising, then, if
from time to time one tradition has come nearer to a full appreciation of
some aspects of a mystery of revelation than the other, or has expressed it to
better advantage. In such cases, these various theological expressions are to
be considered often as mutually complementary rather than conflicting.
Where the authentic theological traditions of the Eastern Church are
concerned, we must recognize the admirable way in which they have their
roots in Holy Scripture, and how they are nurtured and given expression in
the life of the liturgy. They derive their strength too from the living tradition
of the apostles and from the works of the Fathers and spiritual writers of the
Eastern Churches. Thus they promote the right ordering of Christian life
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and, indeed, pave the way to a full vision of Christian truth”.
Regarding the diversity of customs and disciplines in the Church, it
should be noted that the Church law and discipline, though ultimately
founded upon the assumption of faith, are largely a human response to a
human need. The existence of a double heritage in the Church is an accepted

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Cf. ZOGHBY, E., Eastern and Western Tradition in the One Church, in HANS KÙNG &
CO. (ed.), Council Speeches of Vatican II, Deus Books, New Jersey, 1964, p. 51.
5
SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM OECUMENICUM VATICANUM II, Decretum De
Oecumenismo, Unitatis Redintegratio, no. 17, 21 November, 1964, in AAS 57, 1965, pp.
90-112.

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