Canon (canon law)
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In canon law, a canon designates some law promulgated by a synod, an ecumenical council, or an individual bishop.[2]
The word "canon" comes from the Greek kanon, which in its original usage denoted a straight rod that was later the instrument used by architects and artificers as a
Etymology
Pre-Nicene usage
Some writers think that the Church preferred the word canon to law, as the latter had a harsh meaning for the faithful in the times of persecution.[4]
The early Fathers use canon as equivalent to the rule of faith, or for some formula expressing a binding obligation on Christians.[note 2][4]
Bickell declares that for the first three hundred years, canon is scarcely ever found for a separate and special decree of the Church; rather does it designate the rule of faith in general. He appeals to the fact that the plural form of the word is seldom used in the earliest Christian writers.[4]
Nicene and Medieval usage
With the fourth century began the use of canon for a disciplinary decree, owing to its employment in this sense by the
The
Canon vs. decretum
According to the
The word decretum during the same period, though signifying in general an authoritative statute or decision, began to be limited more and more to dogmatic matters, while canon when used in opposition to it was restricted to laws of discipline. That this usage, however, was not invariable is evident from
Codifications
As ecclesiastical regulations began to multiply, it became necessary to gather them into codices, which generally received the title of "
Catholic Church
In 1917, the Catholic Church published the 1917 Code of Canon Law which applied to the Latin Church. In 1983, it published the a new Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church which replaced the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
During the reign of Pius XII, numerous canons for the Eastern Catholic Churches were published. In 1993, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches was published.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, principally through the work of 18th-century Athonite monastic scholar Nicodemus the Hagiorite, has compiled 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 in her discipline. The dogmatic determinations of the Councils are to be applied rigorously since they are considered to be essential for the Church's unity and the faithful preservation of the Gospel.[5]
Catholic Church
In
Tridentine usage
From the
With the
The usage of Trent seems to bring canon nearer to the signification it bore before the
Authority
As to the authority of ecclesiastical canons in the Catholic Church, a distinction is made when speaking of canons of faith and canons of discipline, for the former are irreversible, the latter are not. Similarly, canons containing a precept already binding by reason of Divine or natural law, cannot be on the same footing as those that are of mere ecclesiastical origin.[4]
In general, the Corpus Juris Canonici declares[note 4] that canonical statutes are binding on all; likewise[note 5] that bishops are the guardians of the canons and must see to their observance. When there is question of canons in the ordinary ecclesiastical sense (namely, that which obtained before the Council of Trent), as they refer principally to matters of discipline, it must be borne in mind that they are neither immutable nor irreformable.[4]
The subject-matter of such canons depends not only on circumstances of persons, places, and times, but also on considerations of expediency or temporary necessity. A change in any of the causes which brought about the framing of the canons, will make a change in their binding force, for disciplinary regulations are almost necessarily mutable.[4]
In like manner when there is question of the binding force of a canon, it is important to determine whether it was issued by a general council or by the decree of a pope, as imposing an obligation on all the faithful, or whether it was framed solely for restricted regions or persons. In the latter case its binding-force is as restricted as its scope.[4]
Abrogation, obrogation, and custom
The Catholic Encyclopedia argues that the object which the Catholic Church has always had in view in promulgating her canons has been the guidance and preservation of the clergy and laity in the duties of a Christian life and in the best methods of ecclesiastical administration.[4]
Although, therefore, such canons contain elements of positive human law, yet ultimately they are founded on the Divine or natural law. As such, they cannot be entirely abrogated by contrary custom, though their rigour may be mitigated by certain circumstances, on the ceasing of which, the pristine rigour of the canon would be again binding. When they are entirely of human law, they may, of course, be completely abrogated, not only by legislation on the part of the proper authorities, but also by legitimate custom.[4]
William H. W. Fanning, in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article states that:
The neglect of the prescriptions of the sacred canons has always been the source of corruption in morals, and perhaps the chief reason for the loss of faith by nations as well as by individuals.[4]
According to Fanning, the study of the sacred canons is especially enjoined on the clergy. Fanning speculates that perhaps most of the regulations refer directly to ecclesiastics, and suggests that clergy will find in them the surest guidance for their own conduct and for the fruitful exercise of their ministry in directing the faithful.[4]
Eastern Orthodox Church
In
Episcopal Church (USA)
In the
Notes
- ^ Translation:[1]
I. Let a bishop be ordained by two or three bishops.
II. A presbyter by one bishop, as also a deacon, and the rest of the clergy.
III. If any bishop or presbyter, otherwise than our Lord has ordained concerning the sacrifice, offer other things at the altar of God, as honey, milk, or strong beer instead of wine, any necessaries, or birds, or animals, or pulse, otherwise than is ordained, let him be deprived; excepting grains of new corn, or ears of wheat, or bunches of grapes in their season. For it is not lawful to offer anything besides these at the altar, and oil for the holy lamp, and incense in the time of the divine oblation.
IV. But let all other fruits be sent to the house of the bishop, as first-fruits to him and to the presbyters, but not to the altar. Now it is plain that the bishop and presbyters are to divide them to the deacons and to the rest of the clergy. - Irenæus, Adv. Hær., I, ix; Tertullian, De Præscr., 13.
- Decretists gave to Gratian's codification the title of Decretum Gratiani.
- ^ Cf. cap. 1. de Const.
- ^ Corpus Juris Canonici, cap. Quum scimus
See also
- Canon law
- Canon law (Catholic Church)
- Canon 844
- Canons of Edgar
- Canon 915
- Canon 1324
- Canon 1397 §2
References
- ^ "Philip Schaff: ANF07. Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries: Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, Homily, and Liturgies - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org.
- ^ )
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Fanning 1913.
- ^ Patsavos, Lewis J. (2013). "The Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- OCLC 856076162.
- ^ "Canon". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
Bibliography
- Berman, Harold J., Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983).
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Fanning, William H. W. (1913). "Ecclesiastical Canons". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- The dictionary definition of canon at Wiktionary