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The canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church refers to "the law of the [Eastern Orthodox] church, containing the various rules, ecclesiastical decrees, and definitions concerning the faith or the lifestyle of [Eastern] Orthodox Christians. The Canons generally provide for all administrative or disciplinary questions that might arise in the Church, and, consequently, are not infallible but can be changed or re-interpreted by an Ecumenical Council."[1]

Eastern Orthodox canon law is "a standard for behavior" and "the attempt to apply dogma to practical situation in the daily life of each [Eastern Orthodox] Christian".[2] It is "the formalized part of divine law."[3]

The canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church is not codified; the corpus of E. O. canon law "was never streamlined or organized into a formal code of ecclesiastical law (as in the Roman Catholic Church)." Some hierarchs, priests and theologians have encouraged a codification in the past, but it "did not go beyond the level of desire". Some canons of the E. O. canon law contradict each others, such as those related to the reception of heretics in the church and the validity of their sacraments.[4]

Definition

Viscuso writes that the Eastern Orthodox canon law expresses two realities. Theologically, it is the expression of "God's truth given the given the time and circumstances"; ecclesiologically, it is the expression of "the Church's pastoral life."[2] He says Eastern Orthodox canon law "is incarnational; the truth is being applied to or incarnated in specific circumstances of history."[5]

History

"[T]he canons were produced for the most part in response to some particular dogmatic or moral question or deviation in the Church life and so usually bear the marks of some particular controversy in history which has conditioned not merely their particular formulation, but indeed their very existence."[6]

The presence of a canon in an Eastern Orthodox canon collection does not mean that said canon was in force at the time it was put in the collection. This is beause some canonical collections are made to preserve "the memory of long-gone institutions and practice. For example, certain later Byzantine canonical collections speak of the order of penitents (mourners, listeners, prostraters, and those that stand together with) or of the African Church as if these realities of the Early Church continued to exist later in the Middle Ages."[2]

In the late Byzantine period, i.e. from twelfth to fifteenth century, "there were systematic approach to translate the canons into a contemporary application." The situation is very different in the modern age.[7]

Sources

The canon 2 of the in Trullo council establishes that the official canonical sources are: the Apostles, ecumenical and local councils, and Patristic writings. However, along with those, at various points in time the Eastern Orthodox Church has given canonical authority to numerous other sources: "civil legislations, rulings of patriarchs, acts of synods, canonical commentaries, canonical works in various forms including nomokanons, canonical responses, and others."[7]

As a sidenote, Canon 1 of the Nicea II council "also provides recognition of canonical sources."[7]

Legislations taken from patristic writings were first introduced into the legistlation of the Eastern Orthodox Church throught the work of the 6th-century Patriarch John Scholasticus of Constantinople, "in his influential collection of ecclesiastical canons in fifty titles. In the same collection, Scholastikos also includes the Canons of the Holy Apostles."[7]

The canons of the Eastern Orthodox canon law "were issued by the Ecumenical Councils, by regional councils (subsequently ratified by Ecumenical Councils), and by the Fathers of the Church." Those canons were collected and interpreted in The Rudder (19th century) as well as in other collections of canons. "Along with those canons, autocephalous churches, as well as other branches of the Church, issued their own canonical decrees, which mainly deal with the organization, the relationships and customs of the local churches. Naturally, multiple and diverse sources of canons make their codification very difficult."[8]

Canon

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, canons "are ecclesiastical norms issued by the Church through the collective voice of the bishops gathered in ecumenical or local synods, speaking through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and in agreement with Christ's teaching and the dogmas of the Church. In addition, the Fathers of the Church issued canons or wrote letters that eventually came to be considered entirely or partially canonical. The autocephalous churches issued decrees concerning the life of the Church and particular aspects of their order and discipline. The Tradition of the Church also contributed to the corpus of ecclesiastical norms with truth of faith that eventually entered into universal acceptance. A special place in Canon Law is given to the [eighty-five] Canons of the Holy Apostles, attributed to the Apostles and collected in different works."[9]

Most E. O. canons are the disciplinary, also called penitential, canons; those canons "deal primarily with wrongdoings and sins." Other types of canons are those which deal with administrative and dogmatic matters. "Many of the administrative canons were issued as results of interactions between the Church and the state; thus, they are not so different from secular laws and regulations."[10]

Some canons are considered as infaillible and therefore unchangeable: those are "council definitions which speak about an article of the Christian faith", as well as "[s]ome canons of a moral and ethical character [...] whose meaning is absolute and eternal and whose violation can in no way be justified" like the canons forbidding simony.[6]

There is a hierarchy among the canons. Canons issued by ecumenical councils are the most important; they are followed by those issued by local councils; the last in importance are those issued by Church Fathers. Rules and decrees issued by individual Eastern Orthodox Churches have a local, not universal application; therefore, they are considered as "advisory rules."[11]

Some Eastern Orthodox theologians refer to the E. O. canons as "holy canons".[11]

Type of law

The canons are "of the Church", therefore they cannot be considered as "positive laws" in a juridical sense.[6]

The canons of in use in the Eastern Orthodox Church are "not exhaustive, and do not cover every possible aspect of Church faith and life."[6]

The E.O. canon law is "corrective, not perscriptive, in nature"; this means E.O. canon law "responds to situations once they have occured and have affected the value of the Church, rather than ancicipating situations before they arrive."[12] Eastern Orthodox canon law is "reactive rather than proactive." This means that canons were issued in response to "situations and behaviors that deviated from the norms, not for future or potential situations." Throught the passage of time, some new sins have come to exist for which there is no canon. It is possible a canonist, "throught careful interpretation and association", could recommend an existing canon for a sin of this type; for example, an already existing canon condemning the self-mutilation of one's body may be applied to tattoos or piercings. The interpretation of the canons must be made according to the "mind (inttention)" of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and not according the the interpreter's opinion.[13]

There is no precedents in E. O. canon law; "by the application of akriveia or economia," each decision in E. O canon law "is unique and often a private one."[14]

Penances

"Knowing that love rather than fear is the basis of human behavior," E.O. canon law seeks "to personalize penances to suit both the gravity of the sin and the attitude of the penitent."[12]

"Akriveia, or harshness, is the strict application (sometimes even extension) of the penance given to an unrepentent and habitual offender. Economia, or sweetness, is a judicious relaxation of the penance when the sinner shows remorce and repentance."[11]

Disciplinary canons are subject to interpretation and to the use of akriveia or economia, because they were given in "for specific situations and in specific contexts that could change over time". In contrast, dogmatic canons are not subject to interpretation or to akriveia or economia. This is because dogmatic canons are considered as "unchangeable, immutable truths of faith".[11]

Goals

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that when Jesus Christ "entrusted the work of salvation to the Church, which is a society of mortal men and women, He obliged her to provide herself with the necessary means of survival", which are a canon law. "This was to assist her in organizing herself, in overseeing the orthodoxy of her members, and in guarding against factions. In short, He obliged her to provide herself with a set of rules to live by. In so doing, the Church as a community of faith came to be associated with a juridical organization. This does not mean, however, that the community of faith was thereby reduced to a legal institution. The distinction is an important one."[15]

Differences with civil law

Contrarily to what happens in civil law, "the penalties for canonical transgressions [in Eastern Orthodox canon law] are medicinal and directed towards the spiritual state of the violator well as the well-being of the Body of Christ, the Church". This is "evidenced by the drastic step of isolating a spiritually destructive member throught excommunication."[2]

The sources between Eastern Orthodox canon law and civil law are different: the source for civil law is the ruler, the parliament, or the elected legislative body, while the source for E. O. canon law is the will of God. The differences between secular and E. O. canon law are also in purpose because the purpose of E. O. canon law is humanity's salvation, in time because E. O. canon law extends beyond this life into the next life, in scope because E. O. canon law includes one's conscience, and in place because E. O. canon law applies to the universal Church. Moreover, the philosophy also differs: the E. O. canon law's matter is the soul of and sins, while civil law's matter in the breaking of the law.[12]

Differences with canon laws of other Churches

The interpretation of Eastern Orthodox canon law "is based neither on legalism (as in the Roman Catholic Church) nor on logic (as in Protestant churches), but on both intellectual and mystical approaches to God."[16]

References

  1. ^ "A Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology - Part 1 (A-H) - Introduction to Orthodoxy Articles - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  2. ^ a b c d Viscuso, Patrick (2007) [2006]. Orthodox canon law: a casebook for study (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: InterOrthodox Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-935317-16-6.
  3. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  4. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. pp. 2, 8, 32. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  5. ^ Viscuso, Patrick (2007) [2006]. Orthodox canon law: a casebook for study (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: InterOrthodox Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-935317-16-6.
  6. ^ a b c d "The Orthodox Faith - Volume I - Doctrine and Scripture - Sources of Christian Doctrine - Canons". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  7. ^ a b c d Viscuso, Patrick (2007) [2006]. Orthodox canon law: a casebook for study (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: InterOrthodox Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-935317-16-6.
  8. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. pp. 3, 32. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  9. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  10. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  11. ^ a b c d Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  12. ^ a b c Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  13. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  14. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.
  15. ^ "The Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church - Theology - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  16. ^ Vasile, Mihai (2017). "Introduction". Orthodox canon law reference book. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-935317-45-6. OCLC 856076162.

Further reading

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