76
edits
Changes
→Clarifying the Church's use of "Supersession"
Despite the New Testament's precedence, and despite certain Old Testament ritual elements ceasing or changing, the Old Testament continues to have importance: It remains an important source of learning, as St. Paul writes: ''“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine and for instruction in righteousness”.'' (II Tim 3:16)
[[St. Maximusthe Confessor]] sees the two Testaments as complementary, writing: ''“The Old Testament provides to the knowledgeable man the modes of virtues. The New Testament gives the practical man the words of true knowledge.”''<ref>St Maximus the Confessor, Exegesis of Zechariah 4:1–3</ref>
As to the relationship between ancient Israel and the Church, there is a continuation between the two as St. Paul described it in Romans 11. There he portrayed Israel as a spiritual community from whom some branches had been broken off, while others (gentile Christians) had been grafted in, while keeping the hope that the broken branches would return.