Biblical Inerrancy

The Syro-Malabar Church affirms that Scripture is divinely inspired and authoritative for faith and doctrine. The Second Vatican Council's Dei Verbum teaches that Scripture is the word of God and that it teaches 'firmly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of salvation.'

However, the church does not affirm biblical inerrancy in the strict, literal sense understood by some evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism. Vatican II allows for the use of historical-critical methods to understand the human context and literary forms of Scripture. The church acknowledges that Scripture addresses the salvation of souls rather than scientific or historical details in a modern sense. The biblical authors spoke within their own cultural and literary contexts, and their writings must be interpreted accordingly.

Scripture is not the sole source of divine revelation; Sacred Tradition—the living transmission of apostolic faith through the church—is equally authoritative. The Magisterium of the church, in communion with the Pope, has the role of interpreting both Scripture and Tradition authentically. This threefold cord—Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium—guides the church's understanding of revealed truth. The Syro-Malabar Church's approach integrates Catholic theology with its distinctive Syriac theological heritage.