Regula Fidei

This is a phrase used often in the early Church to refer to the summation of the Christian faith. The regula fidei was seen as the faith which was held “always, everywhere, and by all.” It was seen as being inherited and passed on, not through an avenue of inspired or infallible information distinct from that of Scripture, but as representative of the essential doctrinal and moral elements of the faith contained in Scripture. This concept served as a theological barrier to gauge and protect orthodoxy. Also known as the “analogy of faith,” from Latin analogia fidei.