traditionalist

From traditional +‎ -ist.

traditionalist (plural traditionalists)

1. A person who adheres to tradition, especially in cultural or religious practices.
   • 1962 December, “A new Pullman era?”, in Modern Railways, page 362:

     Pullman traditionalists will no doubt maintain that the full-service-at-every-seat principle is popular with their clientele; […] .

   • 2023 October 2, Ruth Graham, “‘Two Trains Charging at Each Other’: A Texas Bishop Takes On the Pope”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     He speaks at conferences across the country and posts prolifically on social media on topics ranging from the ethics of Covid-19 vaccines (which he has questioned) to the Latin Mass favored by traditionalists (and discouraged by Pope Francis) to local conflicts between priests and bishops.

   • 2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     Among the frontrunners before the conclave began were Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines; Péter Erdő, a traditionalist from Hungary; Robert Sarah, a cardinal from Guinea who criticised Francis’s papacy; and the moderate US cardinal Robert Prevost.

2. (climbing) A traditional climbing climber.

• annihilationist
• conditionalist
• destructionist
• reformer
• reformist

traditionalist (comparative more traditionalist, superlative most traditionalist)

1. Adhering to tradition, especially in religious practices.
   • 2023 October 3, Jason Horowitz, “Conservative Catholics, Relegated to Sidelines, Denounce Papal Gathering”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:

     The day before, Cardinal Burke and other traditionalist prelates made public an exchange of letters with Francis in which they aired grave doubts about the legitimacy of a major assembly of the world’s bishops and laypeople that will, on Wednesday, begin discussing some of the most sensitive topics in the church.