Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical Ecclesiology is the theological study of the Christian church. Specific areas of concern include the church's origin, its relationship to the historical Christ, its role in salvation, its discipline, its destiny, and its leadership law governing the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called, the Eastern The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church[note 1] and also the Eastern Orthodox Church, asserts that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago. The Church is composed of several self-governing ecclesial bodies, each geographically and and Oriental Orthodox Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon . Hence, these Oriental Orthodox Churches are also called Old churches, and the Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy. As the name suggests, the Anglican Communion is an association of these churches in full communion with the of churches.[1] The way that such church law is legislated A legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings. In parliamentary systems of government,, interpreted and at times adjudicated A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. In both common law and civil law legal systems, courts are the central means for dispute varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was initially a rule adopted by a council An ecumenical council is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The word derives from the Greek language "Οικουμένη", which literally means "the inhabited world", which first referred to the Roman Empire and later was extended to (From Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of kanon / κανών, Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s kaneh / קנה, for rule, standard, or measure); these canons formed the foundation of canon law.
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Canons of the Apostles
Main article: Canons of the Apostles The Apostolic Canons or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Church, incorporated with the Apostolic Constitutions which are part of the Ante-Nicene Fathers collectionThe Apostolic Canons[2] or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles[3] is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees (eighty-five in the Eastern The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church[note 1] and also the Eastern Orthodox Church, asserts that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago. The Church is composed of several self-governing ecclesial bodies, each geographically and, fifty in the Western The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called Church) concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of, roughly, the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus (c. 30) and the First Council of Nicaea (325). At first the Christian church was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John Church, incorporated with the Apostolic Constitutions The Apostolic Constitutions is a late 4th century collection, in 8 books, of independent, though closely related, treatises on Early Christian discipline, worship, and doctrine, intended to serve as a manual of guidance for the clergy, and to some extent for the laity. It purports to be the work of the Twelve Apostles, whose instructions, whether which are part of the Ante-Nicene Fathers The Ante-Nicene Fathers, subtitled "The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325", is a collection of books in 10 volumes containing English translations of the majority of Early Christian writings. The period covers the beginning of Christianity until before the promulgation of the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea. The
Roman Catholic Church
Main article: Canon law (Catholic Church) Canon Law, the Canon law of the Holy Roman Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. The academic degrees in canon law are the J.C.B. , J.C.L. (Juris Canonici Licentiatus, Licentiate of Canon Law) and the J.C.D. (Juris Image of pages from Burchard of Worms' Decretum, the 11th c. book of Canon Law.The Roman Catholic Church has the oldest continuously functioning legal system in Western Europe The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context (e.g., the time period, the region or social situation). Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical,[4] predating the common and European civil law Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law, the primary feature of which is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not determined by judges. Conceptually, it is the group of legal ideas and systems ultimately derived from the Code of Justinian, but heavily overlaid by Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, and local practices, as traditions. What began with rules ("canons") adopted by the Apostles In Christianity, the Apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews,[3:1] Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples (students). They were, according to the Acts of the Apostles and Christian at the Council of Jerusalem The Council of Jerusalem is a name applied by historians to an Early Christian council dated to around the year 50. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Mosaic law, including the rules concerning circumcision of males, however, the Council did retain the prohibitions against eating blood, in the 1st century has blossomed into a highly complex and original legal system encapsulating not just norms of the New Testament The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament. Unlike the Old Testament, the contents of the New Testament deal explicitly with Christianity, although both the Old and New Testament are regarded, together, as Sacred Scripture. The New Testament, but some elements of the Hebrew Hebrews is a term used in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and is regarded by many scholars as being synonymous with the Israelites (Old Testament The Old Testament is the collection of books that forms the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. The contents of the Old Testament canon vary from church to church, with the Orthodox communion having 51 books: the shared books are those of the shortest canon, that of the major Protestant communions, with 39 books), Roman The term Roman law denotes the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the seventh century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve Tables to the Corpus Juris, Visigothic The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe; the Ostrogoths being the other. Together these tribes were among the barbarians who disturbed the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period. The romanized Visigoths first emerged as a distinct people during the fourth century, initially in the Balkans, where they, Saxon The Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans (the state of Sachsen is not inhabited by ethnic Saxons; the state of Sachsen-Anhalt is though, in its northern and western parts); those in the eastern Netherlands are considered, and Celtic The Iron Age and Roman-era Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Europe who spoke Celtic languages legal traditions spanning thousands of years of human experience.
In the Roman Church, positive ecclesiastical laws, based upon either immutable divine and natural law Natural law or the law of nature has been described as a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. As classically used, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. The phrase natural law is opposed to the positive law (which is man-made) of a given, or changeable circumstantial and merely positive law In the strictest sense, it is law made by human beings, that is, "Law actually and specifically enacted or adopted by proper authority for the government of an organized jural society." This term is also sometimes used to refer to the legal philosophy, legal positivism, as distinct from the schools of natural law and legal realism, derive formal authority and promulgation from the pope, who as Supreme Pontiff Pope (Greek: παπάς ; Latin: papa: an affectionate diminutive for father) is a religious title traditionally accorded to the Bishop of Alexandria and the Bishop of Rome, as well as several other religious figures possesses the totality of legislative, executive, and judicial power in his person. The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but indeed all-encompassing of the human condition.
In the early Church Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus (c. 30) and the First Council of Nicaea (325). At first, the Christian church was centered in Jerusalem, and its leaders included James, Peter, and John. The first Christians were all Jewish or Jewish Proselytes, either by, the first canons were decreed by bishops A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the Anglican churches, bishops claim Apostolic united in "Ecumenical An ecumenical council is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The word derives from the Greek language "Οικουμένη", which literally means "the inhabited world", which first referred to the Roman Empire and later was extended to" councils (the Emperor summoning all of the known world's bishops to attend with at least the acknowledgement of the Bishop A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the Anglican churches, bishops claim Apostolic of Rome The Diocese of Rome , otherwise known as the Holy See, the Apostolic See, the Holy Roman Church, the Church of Rome, or the See of Peter, is a diocese of the Catholic Church, in Rome, Italy. The diocese is the seat of the bishop of Rome, also known as the Pope, who is the Supreme Pontiff and chief of the Catholic Church. Established in the First) or "local" councils (bishops of a region or territory). Over time, these canons were supplemented with decretals Decretals is the name that is given in Canon law to those letters of the pope which formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law of the Bishops of Rome, which were responses to doubts or problems according to the maxim, "Roma locuta est, causa finita est" ("Rome has spoken, case is closed").
Later, they were gathered together into collections, both unofficial and official. The first truly systematic collection was assembled by the Camaldolese The Camaldolese are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century monk Gratian Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. He is sometimes wrongly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, or Johannes Gratianus, or Giovanni Graziano. His birth and death dates are unknown in the 11th century, commonly known as the Decretum Gratiani The Decretum Gratiani or Concordia discordantium canonum is a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, which together became known as the Corpus Juris Canonici. It retained legal force in the Roman Catholic ("Gratian's Decree"). Pope Gregory IX The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) and of his uncle Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy is credited with promulgating the first official collection of canons called the Decretalia Gregorii Noni or Liber Extra (1234). This was followed by the Liber Sextus (1298) of Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in a circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, and with King Philip IV of France, the Clementines (1317) of Clement V Pope Clement V , born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de Goth), was Pope from 1305 to his death. He is memorable in history for ordering the execution of the Order of the Templars, and as the Pope who moved the Roman Curia to Avignon - although, as a matter of fact, he moved the Roman Curia to Carpentras - in 1309,, the Extravagantes Joannis XXII The term Extravagantes is applied to the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, to designate some papal decretals not contained in certain canonical collections which possess a special authority. More precisely, they are not found in the Decree of Gratian or the three official collections of the Corpus Juris (the Decretals of Gregory IX, the and the Extravagantes Communes, all of which followed the same structure as the Liber Extra. All these collections, with the Decretum Gratiani The Decretum Gratiani or Concordia discordantium canonum is a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, which together became known as the Corpus Juris Canonici. It retained legal force in the Roman Catholic, are together referred to as the Corpus Juris Canonici The Corpus juris canonici is the collection of significant sources of canon law of the Catholic Church that was applicable to the universal Church or specifically to Churches of the Latin Rite or Eastern Rites. It was replaced by the Codex juris canonici ("Code of Canon Law"), which was promulgated in 1917 and went into effect in 1918. After the completion of the Corpus Juris Canonici, subsequent papal The pope (from Latin: papa; from Greek: πάππας , an affectionate word for father) is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church (that is, the Latin Rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the see of Rome). The current office-holder is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected in legislation was published in periodic volumes called Bullaria Bullarium is a term commonly applied to a collection of papal bulls and other analogous documents, whether the scope of the collection be general in character, or limited to the bulls connected to any particular order, or institution, or locality.
By the 19th Century, this body of legislation included some 10,000 norms. Many these were difficult to reconcile with one another due to changes in circumstances and practice. This situation impelled Pope St. Pius X Pope Saint Pius X (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 258th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). He was the first pope since Pope Pius V (1566–72) to be canonised. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional to order the creation of the first Code of Canon Law Canon Law, the Canon law of the Holy Roman Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. The academic degrees in canon law are the J.C.B. , J.C.L. (Juris Canonici Licentiatus, Licentiate of Canon Law) and the J.C.D. (Juris, a single volume of clearly stated laws. Under the aegis of the Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, the Commission for the Codification of Canon Law was completed under Benedict XV, who promulgated the Code, effective in 1918. The work having been begun by Pius X, it was sometimes called the "Pio-Benedictine Code" but more often the 1917 Code. In its preparation, centuries of material was examined, scrutinized for authenticity by leading experts, and harmonized as much as possible with opposing canons and even other Codes, from the Codex of Justinian to the Napoleonic Code.
Cover of the 1917 Code of Canon Law .Pope John XXIII initially called for a Synod of the Diocese of Rome, an Ecumenical Council, and an updating to the 1917 Code. After the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (Vatican II) closed in 1965, it became apparent that the Code would need to be revised in light of the documents and theology of Vatican II. After multiple drafts and many years of discussion, Pope John Paul II promulgated the revised Code of Canon Law (CIC) in 1983. Containing 1752 canons, it is the law currently binding on the Latin (western) Roman Church.
The canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which had developed some different disciplines and practices, underwent its own process of codification, resulting in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches promulgated in 1990 by Pope John Paul II. The institutions and practices of canon law paralleled the legal development of much of Europe, and consequently both modern Civil law and Common law bear the influences of canon law. Edson Luiz Sampel, a Brazilian expert in canon law, says that canon law is contained in the genesis of various institutes of civil law, such as the law in continental Europe and Latin American countries. Sampel explains that canon law has significant influence in contemporary society.
Currently, all Roman Catholic seminary students are expected to take courses in canon law (c. 252.3). Some ecclesiastical officials are required to have the doctorate (JCD) or at least the licentiate (JCL) in canon law in order to fulfill their functions: Judicial Vicars (c. 1419.1), Judges (c. 1421.3), Promoters of Justice (c. 1435), Defenders of the Bond (c. 1435). In addition, Vicars General and Episcopal Vicars are to be doctors or at least licensed in canon law or theology (c. 478.1), and canonical advocates must either have the doctorate or be truly expert in canon law (c. 1483). Ordinarily, Bishops are to have advanced degrees in sacred scripture, theology, or canon law (c. 378.1.5). St. Raymond of Penyafort (1175-1275), a Spanish Dominican priest, is the patron saint of canonists, due to his important contributions to the science of Canon Law.
Orthodox Churches
The Greek-speaking Orthodox have collected canons and commentaries upon them in a work known as the Pēdálion (Greek: Πηδάλιον, "Rudder"), so named because it is meant to "steer" the Church. The Orthodox Christian tradition in general treats its canons more as guidelines than as laws, the bishops adjusting them to cultural and other local circumstances. Some Orthodox canon scholars point out that, had the Ecumenical Councils (which deliberated in Greek) meant for the canons to be used as laws, they would have called them nómoi/νόμοι (laws) rather than kanónes/κανόνες (rules), but almost all Orthodox conform to them. The dogmatic decisions of the Councils, though, are to be obeyed rather than to be treated as guidelines, since they are essential for the Church's unity.
Anglican Communion
Main article: Canon law (Anglican Communion)In the Church of England, the ecclesiastical courts that formerly decided many matters such as disputes relating to marriage, divorce, wills, and defamation, still have jurisdiction of certain church-related matters (e.g., discipline of clergy, alteration of church property, and issues related to churchyards). Their separate status dates back to the 12th century when the Normans split them off from the mixed secular/religious county and local courts used by the Saxons. In contrast to the other courts of England the law used in ecclesiastical matters is at least partially a civil law system, not common law, although heavily governed by parliamentary statutes. Since the Reformation, ecclesiastical courts in England have been royal courts. The teaching of canon law at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge was abrogated by Henry VIII; thereafter practitioners in the ecclesiastical courts were trained in civil law, receiving a Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) degree from Oxford, or an LL.D. from Cambridge. Such lawyers (called "doctors" and "civilians") were centred at "Doctors Commons", a few streets south of St Paul's Cathedral in London, where they monopolized probate, matrimonial, and admiralty cases until their jurisdiction was removed to the common law courts in the mid-19th century. (Admiralty law was also based on civil law instead of common law, thus was handled by the civilians too.) Charles I repealed Canon Law in 1638 after uprisings of Covenanters confronting the Bishops of Aberdeen following the convention at Muchalls Castle and other revolts across Scotland earlier that year.
Other churches in the Anglican Communion around the world (e.g., the Episcopal Church in the United States, and the Anglican Church of Canada) still function under their own private systems of canon law.
Presbyterian and Reformed Churches
Main article: Presbyterian polityIn Presbyterian and Reformed Churches, canon law is known as "practice and procedure" or "church order," and includes the church's laws respecting its government, discipline, legal practice and worship.
Lutheranism
The Book of Concord is the historic doctrinal statement of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century.[5] The English translation of the Book of Concord was published in 2006. However, the Book of Concord is a confessional document (stating orthodox belief) rather than a book of ecclesiastical rules or discipline, like canon law. Each Lutheran national church establishes its own system of church order and discipline, though these are referred to as "canons."
The United Methodist Church
The Book of Discipline contains the laws, rules, policies and guidelines for The United Methodist Church. Its last edition was published in 2008.
See also
- Antinomianism
- Canon law (Church of England)
- Canon law (Episcopal Church in the United States)
- Canons of Dort
- Canons of the Apostles
- Chronological list of canon lawyers
- Collections of Ancient Canons
- Decretum Gratiani
- Doctor of Canon Law
- Ecclesiastical court
- Fetha Negest
- Gratian (jurist)
- Licentiate of Canon Law
References
- ^ "Canon law". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09056a.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Apostolic Canons". New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03279a.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "The Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles". Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol VII. http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/007/0070471.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Canon Law @Canonlaw.info
- ^ F. Bente, ed. and trans., Concordia Triglotta, (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), p. i
Further reading
- Baker, J.H. (2002) An Introduction to English Legal History, 4th ed. London : Butterworths, ISBN 0-406-93053-8
- Brundgage, James A., The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession: Canonists, Civilians, and Courts, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2008.
- Brundage, James A., Medieval Canon Law, London ; New York : Longman, 1995.
- The Episcopal Church (2006) Constitution and Canons, together with the Rules of Order for the Government of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as The Episcopal Church, New York : Church Publishing, Inc.
- R. C. Mortimer, Western Canon Law, London: A. and C. Black, 1953.
- Robinson, O.F.,Fergus, T.D. and Gordon, W.M. (2000) European Legal History, 3rd ed., London : Butterworths, ISBN 0-406-91360-9
External links
Catholic
- Codex Iuris Canonici (1983), original text in Latin (the only official text)
- Code of Canon Law (1983) but with the 1998 modification of canons 750 and 1371, English translation by the Canon Law Society of America, on the Vatican website
- Code of Canon Law (1983), English translation by the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, assisted by the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Canadian Canon Law Society
- Codex canonum ecclesiarum orientalium (1990), original text in Latin
- "Code of canons of Oriental Churchs" (1990), defective English translation
- Codex Iuris Canonici (1917), original text in Latin
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Canon Law: outdated, but useful
- Salvific Law
- 1983 Code of Canon Law - Notes, Commentary, Articles, Bibliography
Anglican
- "Canons of the Church of England"
- "Canon Law in the Anglican Communion"
- "Canon Law in the Episcopal Church in the US"
- "Ecclesiastical Law Society"
Categories: Canon law | Christian law | Christian terms
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