Tradition 2 · February 21

A College of Cardinals

Daily Traditions · February 21

The threat

The danger Tradition Two answers did not only rise from the groups; for years it sat at the top of A.A., and Bill W. said so. At St. Louis in 1955, as the old-timers handed A.A.'s world services over to the groups, he described the old arrangement (A.A. Comes of Age): "When we first put our world services into effect, Dr. Bob and I and our old-time friends were self-appointed guardians and custodians of this society." Self-appointed means nobody chose them. He went further: "our setup of those days was a sort of a double-headed papacy and a college of cardinals." A papacy is rule from one head, and the cardinals are the circle around it. They did good work, but answered to no one below them. The fix was to make the top answer downward. The new Conference, Bill said, "will represent the conscience of A.A. world-wide, to which our Trustees will in this very hour become directly accountable." That is the Long Form carried all the way up (Big Book, p. 563): the "one ultimate authority" speaks "in our group conscience," and no office outranks it. Today the papacy can be any office, committee or intergroup that starts telling groups what they must do. Test it tonight: if any office or committee has sent your group an instruction, ask who elected it and who it answers to.

Sit with

Even A.A.'s founders were once a hierarchy that answered to no one, until they made it answer to the groups. Does anyone outside my group give it orders?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 2 (Big Book, p. 563); A.A. Comes of Age (St. Louis, 1955: the Third Legacy handed to the Conference).

Tradition 2

"For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 2 → Get the app →

← February 20Serve but Never Govern Tradition 2All of February February 22 →Their Right Size

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).