Canon Law in Orthodox Christianity

Canon law (Greek: kanones) constitutes the body of ecclesiastical legislation governing the life and discipline of the Orthodox Church. Unlike the legalistic framework of Western canon law, Orthodox canons are understood as pastoral guidelines oriented toward the salvation of souls. The canons express the Church’s living Tradition in matters of discipline, governance, and pastoral practice.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

Nature and Purpose of Canon Law

Orthodox canon law differs fundamentally from its Western counterpart in both spirit and application. The Greek word kanon (rule, measure, standard) suggests not a rigid legal code but a guideline for right order in the Church’s life. The canons are the practical expression of the Church’s dogmatic and moral teaching, applied to concrete situations of ecclesiastical life.

The canons serve several interrelated purposes:

  • Preservation of right order (eutaxia) in the Church’s worship, governance, and communal life
  • Pastoral guidance for the salvation of individual souls, adapting discipline to spiritual need
  • Protection of dogmatic truth by establishing boundaries against heresy and schism
  • Regulation of clergy and laity in their respective roles and responsibilities

Relationship Between Canons and Dogma

A crucial distinction must be maintained between dogma and canon. Dogmas are the immutable truths of the faith defined by the Ecumenical Councils (the doctrines of the Trinity, Christology, etc.). Canons are disciplinary rules that may be applied with varying degrees of strictness depending on pastoral circumstances. As St. Basil the Great teaches in his canonical epistles, the purpose of penance and discipline is always therapeutic – the healing of the soul – not punitive (Basil the Great, Third Canonical Epistle to Amphilochius [Epistle 217], e.g., Canons 74 and 84; trans. NPNF II/8).

This does not mean that canons are optional or arbitrary. They carry the authority of the councils and fathers who promulgated them. However, the bishop possesses the authority to apply canons with oikonomia (pastoral economy) or akriveia (strictness) according to the spiritual needs of the person involved (see Pastoral Economy).

The Principle of Canonical Reception

Not all canons from all local councils are universally binding. The Orthodox Church recognizes a process of reception: canons become authoritative for the whole Church when they are received and confirmed by an Ecumenical Council or by the consensus of the Church over time. The canons of certain local councils (Carthage, Sardica, Gangra, Laodicea, etc.) were received as universally binding when confirmed by Canon 2 of the Quinisext Council (Trullo, 692).

The Living Character of Canon Law

The canons are not a dead letter but part of the Church’s living Tradition. New situations arise that the ancient canons did not foresee. In such cases, the Church applies the phronema (mind) of the canons – their underlying pastoral and theological principles – to new circumstances. The Church has the authority to issue new canons through properly constituted councils, though no Ecumenical Council has been convened since Nicaea II (787).

This Section

This section covers the following topics:

See Also

References

  • Basil the Great, Canonical Epistles (Epistles 188, 199, 217 to Amphilochius of Iconium)
  • The Rudder (Pedalion), compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and Hieromonk Agapios (first published Leipzig, 1800); English trans. D. Cummings, Chicago: Orthodox Christian Educational Society, 1957
  • Kniga Pravil (Book of Rules), the standard Russian canonical collection
  • Nikodim (Milash), Bishop, The Canons of the Orthodox Church with Commentaries (Pravila pravoslavne crkve s tumačenjima), 2 vols., Novi Sad, 1895-96
  • Quinisext Council (Trullo, 692), Canon 2
  • Protopresbyter John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes (1974)