The previous chapters have laid the groundwork for understanding the details of Orthodox Christian doctrines in scripture and tradition. Christ Jesus founded the Church and the Church proclaims the Gospel publicly and within its liturgy. We find that Orthodox teaching is of divine origin. These teachings can only be interpreted and understood within the context of Orthodox Church. The Holy Spirit guides us in the Church to know and teach the spiritual meaning and application of scripture and tradition, which have different levels of meaning established by the holy fathers of the Church (literal, allegorical, anagogical). All of this is based on the experience of God and it is given according to the degree that we ascend closer to God and not based on speculation or a purely literary framework like classical literature. Important prophetic elements are a part of the written and unwritten traditions of the Church. The order and the content of the Bible with a canonical status already distinguishes Orthodoxy, Catholics, and Protestants in their worship and in teachings; however, all three groups have no major differences in terms of the New Testament Scripture tradition, although the Revelations of John is a controversial book that distinguishes Protestant doctrines from the interpretations of Roman Catholics and Orthodox Church.
In 90 A.D., the Sanhedrin established the Jewish canon in Jamnia, Galilee. For Orthodox Christianity, the primary criterion that determines the canonicity of the Bible’s contents is the books that are incorporated into liturgical worship. For Protestants, some may vary between ancient manuscript traditions and Masoretic text or for others a form of biblical criticism or scholarship. For Catholics, it is the apostolic tradition and what has been approved for instructing the faithful such as catechesis, homily, and pastoral preaching (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd ed., Article 3, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).