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Thedeposit of faith (Latin:depositum fidei orfidei depositum) is the body ofrevealed truth in thescriptures andsacred tradition proposed by theRoman Catholic Church for the belief of its members. The phrase has a similar use in theU.S. Episcopal Church.
The "sacred deposit" of the faith (depositum fidei) refers to the teachings of theCatholic Church which are believed to be handed down since the time of theApostles – namelyscripture andsacred tradition. St. Paul uses the Greek wordparatheke ("deposit") in1 Timothy 6:20: "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you"; and again in2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard this rich trust with the help of theholy Spirit that dwells within us" (NAB).[1]
Pope John XXIII referred to "the deposit of faith" (il deposito della Fede) in hisopening speech at theSecond Vatican Council.[2] According toDei Verbum, the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, "Sacred tradition andSacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word ofGod, committed to the Church, [...] both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end."[3]
They are interpreted and transmitted through themagisterium, the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, which is entrusted to the pope and to the bishops in communion with him.[4] On the occasion of the publication of theCatechism of the Catholic Church,Pope John Paul II issued theapostolic constitutionFidei depositum, in which he said: "Guarding the deposit of faith is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church and which she fulfils in every age."[5]
According toCatholic theology,divine revelation ended with the death of the lastapostle,John. Thedevelopment of doctrine does not add to this revelation, nor does it increase the deposit of faith, but it increases the understanding of it.[6] TheCatechism of the Catholic Church states: "Even if the Revelation is already complete, it has not been made fully explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries".[7]
In theEpiscopal Church, the "deposit of faith" refers to "[t]he saving revelation ofChrist that has been given to the church, especially as known through biblical witness andtradition".[8]
