Church customs

In the early days of the Christian Church, many church customs had the closest connection with the Apostolic Church Tradition, expressed it in themselves and strengthened it in Church life. It goes without saying that the customs originating from such a source had the same significance in church law as tradition. But in the Church, both in the first centuries and especially in subsequent times, there were and still are such customs, which are based solely on the conviction of a greater or lesser part of Christians that everything observed by these customs is right. This conviction is expressed in the long-term observance of something not defined by positive legislation or not indicated by tradition. Respect for custom is also found in the Holy Scriptures. (Corinthians 11:16). The legislation of the early Church also respected customs if it shared the conviction of their justice and expediency, or at least did not see in them a contradiction to its spirit and its basic rules. The antiquity of the custom, like the venerable gray hair, inspired special reverence for it (Vasil. Vel. 92 pr.). Such respect was expressed in the fact that the Councils confirmed many customs with their own rules, or based their decrees on customs. Thus, for example, on the basis of ancient custom, the First Ecumenical Council confirms the prerogatives of the bishops of Rome, Alexandria, and Jerusalem (canons 6 and 7); condemning a certain disorder allowed in other Churches; the same Council notes that it is based neither on rule nor on custom (Prov. 18); The Second Ecumenical Council, speaking of the order of administration in certain Churches, enjoins them to follow the custom of the Fathers, which has been observed until now (Prov. 2). The Council of Trullo generally notes that "our God-bearing Fathers have decreed that the customs of each Church should be observed" (Prav. 39). However, distinguishing between customs in accordance with Christian rules, in accordance with the spirit of the Church, and customs that contradict them, the Church strictly forbade the latter, regardless of their antiquity (Trul. 33, 62, 65, etc.). And in the current church law, church customs should be important when they are interpreters of the laws, or supplement them by determining such particular cases that are not defined by positive law (consuetudo secundum leges, praeter leges). There are, however, customs in the Church which come into some contradiction with the positive law, weaken its force, and even oust it from use (contra legas). They arise as a result of the realization of their necessity and usefulness for the Church, since the law is recognized as inapplicable to the changed conditions of life and inexpedient. Such customs cannot be ignored when the ecclesiastical authority, without making them a law, gives them force by its consent or admission. In any case, no custom can have a place in church law if it contradicts the truths of religion, the basic principles of church government, and is not based on justice; otherwise it will only be an old delusion. In terms of the vastness of their action or distribution, customs can be general, relating to the entire local Church, and particular, operating in any one of its parts. The greater or lesser prevalence, as well as the antiquity of a certain custom, gives it greater or lesser authority.

State Laws Regarding the Church

The significance of state laws in church law has a close connection with the position that the Church occupies in the state, with their mutual relations.

For the history of the law of the Orthodox Eastern Church, the legislation of the Christian, Greco-Roman and Byzantine emperors is of great importance. From the fourth century, when the Christian Church entered into a peaceful alliance with the state, the Greco-Roman Christian emperors took a close part in church affairs. On the one hand, by arranging the life of the state in accordance with the spirit and rules of the Christian faith, they gave church decrees the force of state laws; on the other hand, they promulgated, in accordance with the ecclesiastical authority, various laws concerning the external welfare and internal order of the Church. The Church not only did not refuse the state power such participation, but also turned to its protection, patronage, and assistance (e.g., Carthage 104); however, it also established and protected by its laws the boundaries of the interference of secular power in church affairs. The legal provisions of state power adopted by the Church (in Greek: νομοι) became, along with the church canons, the source of church law. The combination of both was called the Nomocanon. The most important monuments of Christian, Greco-Roman and Byzantine legislation on the Church are: the Code of Emperor Theodosius II (438), which contains most of the decrees of previous emperors on church affairs; the laws of the emperor Justinian the Great, who took a particularly active part in church affairs. In his codex (568), in the first 13 titles of the 1st book, there are the laws of the emperors (after Theodosius II) relating to the Church. Many of his novellas (up to 28) also deal exclusively with ecclesiastical affairs; an extensive codex known as basil; in it the first 4 books contain laws about the Church; a guide to the laws (πρόχειροντωννομον) of Emperor Basil the Macedonian (ed. 870); in it up to 13 titles (out of 40) relate to church affairs; Eclogues of the Emperors Leo and Constantine.

Interpreters of the canons

To some extent, the sources of church law can be attributed to interpretations of church canons, which have gained authority through their constant use in church practice. Such authority in the Orthodox Church is enjoyed by the explanations of the canons compiled by the jurists of the Greek Church (twelfth century): Zonaras, Aristhenes and Balsamon. John Zonaras, first a nobleman of the Byzantine court, then an Athonite monk. His interpretations of all the canons (published in 1120) are limited to pointing to the direct and proximate meaning of the canons; very rarely do they turn to civil laws. Alexis Aristhenes, deacon and steward of the Church of Constantinople, wrote (1160) commentaries on an abbreviated exposition of church rules (synopsis). These interpretations are very brief, sometimes only paraphrasing the text of the rules, or explaining their grammatical meaning; sometimes they confine themselves to remarking that the rule is clear in itself. This work of Aristhenes was in wide use in the Russian Church (placed in the helmsman). Theodore Balsamon was the Patriarch of Antioch and the most famous of the jurists of the Greek Church. In addition to many canonical works, he left (1192) a commentary on the complete code of church rules (Photius Nomocanon). His interpretations are extensive and detailed; in some places they are supplemented by the resolution of practical issues. The main purpose of this work is to clarify the dark places of the canons, to point out and eliminate the discrepancies and contradictions with state decrees that occur between them. In addition, he corrected references to state laws in the Photian Nomocanon, according to their new codes (on the Basilicas) and additions.

Collections of Canons and Nomocanons of the Greek Church

Lists of conciliar decrees were usually carried away by the bishops present at the Councils, or sent to the Churches (Carth. 1 pr.). The decrees of the later Councils were joined by the previous ones; In this way, collections of canons were compiled. At first they could not be complete and identical in their composition, until the Council of Trullo indicated and approved the full composition of the canons that should be accepted for the guidance of all the Churches. In the course of the accumulation of state laws relating to the Church, it became necessary, for their practical guidance, to bring them together and compare them with the canons, i.e., to compile the nomocanons. The first compiler of the nomocanon in the Eastern Church is considered to be John Scholasticus, first a legal adviser, then a presbyter in Antioch, and finally Patriarch Constantine of Roaoli (578). He compiled two collections of church laws. The first, under the title: Collections of Canons (συναγογητων κανόνων), contains the canons (85) of the Holy Apostles, the canons of the first 4 ecumenical; 6 Local Councils and the canons (68) of St. Basil the Great. All these canons are arranged not according to the order of the Councils, but according to the subjects of the canons or according to the similarity of their content, for the convenience of their practical use. Their entire composition is divided into 50 sections or titles. Another collection, entitled the Code of State Laws concerning the Church (συλλογήτωννύμων), divided into 87 chapters, is an extract from Justinian's novels concerning ecclesiastical affairs. The collections of Scholasticus soon underwent alteration (in person), were combined together (with the replacement of the canons only by their quotations), and in this form were in use for a long time in the Eastern Church. After Scholasticus, new, more complete collections of canons and ecclesiastical civil laws appeared. Especially famous was the Nomocanon under the title: Syntagma in 14 titles, originally compiled by an unknown person at the beginning of the VII century; processed and supplemented at the end of the ninth century by later laws, it received the name of the Photian Nomocanon. In this Nomocanon, the canons and ecclesiastical-civil laws are first indicated, in quotations alone, arranged in a systematic order and divided into 14 sections or titles (with divisions into chapters); then all the canons are given (in chronological order); below are extracts from the Justinian laws relating to ecclesiastical affairs. It was also supplemented in subsequent times. The fourteenth-century collections of Matthew Vlastar and Konstantin Armenopoulo also deserve attention. The monk M. Vlastar compiled the Syntagma, or Code of Church Laws, in the form of an alphabetical encyclopedic dictionary; Along with the exposition of canonical decrees, he cites extracts from state laws concerning the subject expounded. K. Armenopoulo compiled an abbreviation of the canons, arranged according to topics in 6 sections. It is one of the 6 parts of his work: A Guide to the Laws. These collections were also in use in Russia.

Special Sources of Law and Its Collections in the Russian Church

The canons of the universal Church passed to Russia from Greece along with Christianity, as well as the ecclesiastical and civil decrees of the Byzantine Empire. Both came to Russia through the Nomocanons of the Greek Church, translated into Slavonic (translations were borrowed from Bulgaria, and partly made in Russia). These Nomocanons served as the basis for a collection of church law in Russia, which was called the Helmsman's Book (i.e. the book of church administration). But in addition to what was taken from the Greek nomocanons, the Slavonic Helmsman's Books also contained purely civil decrees taken from Byzantine collections (e.g., the Judgment Law and the Prochiron of Imp. Basil the Great): of course, this was done for the acquaintance of the rulers. the authorities of the peoples newly enlightened by Christianity with Byzantine citizenship, the principles of which were introduced in the country together with Christianity. In the Russian Helmsmen, the Statutes of the Grand Dukes concerning the churches were sometimes introduced. (e.g., the Statutes of Vladimir and Yaroslav) and various articles of a canonical and liturgical nature, borrowed from the Greek Church, also of Russian origin. Initially, the Helmsman's Books were quite diverse in their composition; in general, from the thirteenth century, two editions of the Helmsman's books began to serve as prototypes for all their copies - the so-called Ryazan (or Joseph's, written at the end of the thirteenth century, for the Ryazan bishop Joseph) and the Sofia (Novgorod, made for the Novgorod archbishop Clement, at the end of the thirteenth century, and placed by him in the St. Sophia Cathedral). Metropolitan Cyril II, at his request, was given (1262) from the despot Jacob Svyatislav the Serbian Slavonic Rudder (translation of the Greek nomocanon and other additions to it, made by the Serbian archbishop Sava); the Ryazan Helmsman has a copy of this Helmsman, Metrop. Cyril. In it, the canons are given in abbreviation, according to Aristhenes, with his interpretations. In the Sofia Helmsman, - in addition to what is taken from the Helmsman of Met. Cyril (Serbian), - there are articles of Russian origin: the statutes of Vladimir and Yaroslav, Russkaya Pravda, the canons of the Vladimir Council, etc.): the canons are given not in an abridged, but in their full text, according to the ancient translation of the nomocanon, originally in Russia (probably this translation was made in Russia under Yaroslav). Later lists of Helmsmen fit into one of these two Helmsmen. However, there were also the so-called consolidated Helmsmen, who borrowed articles from various other lists of the Helmsmen. In the XVII century, during the reign of Pat. Joseph, the first printed edition of the Helmsman was made (1650). The basis for it was the Ryazan list (with the omission of some articles and the addition of others). Under Pat. Nikon (1652) it was subjected to a conciliar revision and printed in a corrected form. Subsequently, at the end of the XVIII century (1787), the Helmsman was again slightly corrected and printed. From this last edition all subsequent editions were made. According to its latest edition, the Helmsman's Book consists of two parts. In the first part, after several historical articles (e.g., on the installation of the first Patriarchs in Russia and on the Councils), there are excerpts from the book of Apostolic Decrees, then the Canons of the Holy Apostles, Ecumenical and Local Councils and Holy Fathers; everything is abridged, with the interpretations of Aristhenes and, in some places, of Zonaras. It has a total of 41 chapters. The content of the second part is mainly Byzantine state legislation, both ecclesiastical and purely civil. Thus, it contains: Justinian's Church Laws (from the nomocanon of John Scholasticus and excerpts from the Photian Nomocanon); laws on marriage and betrothal, under the name of kings Leon the Wise and Constantine "faithful to the king" (eclogues); the prochiron of Basil the Macedonian, under the name of the law of the city; three short stories by Alexios Comnenus, laws under the name of the "law of judgment by people" of Tsar Constantine the Great (alteration of the eclogue of Leo the Isaurian and Constantine Copronymus). In addition, the second part contains: "On the Mystery of Matrimony" (compiled on the basis of Greek canonists) and on lawless marriages (decrees of the Greek patriarchs); then, several more articles concerning church discipline, divine services, etc., and belonging to Greek patriarchs and church teachers, which are partly of Russian origin (e.g., from the works of Cyril of Turov). In total, there are 29 chapters in 2 parts. The count of chapters is common with the 1st part. - The final article in the Helmsman is represented by a forged letter from Constantine the Great to Pope Sylvester (deed of gift) and a story about the "Roman apostasy". Each part is accompanied by a subject index in alphabetical order. The second part of the Helmsman's Book lost its significance as a source of current law as independent church legislation developed in Russia. In addition to the Helmsman's Book, many canonical rules were placed in liturgical books (statutes, service books, service books) and in various collections, quite numerous and diverse in content. In the Russian Church, independent legislation also developed, through its local Councils. Of the multitude of Councils that issued general decrees for the Russian Church, the most notable were: a) the Council of Vladimir, convened in 1274 by Metropolitan Cyril II on the occasion of the many disorders in church life after the Tatar pogrom, which he had noticed. Its decrees are extremely diverse (dividing them into a hundred chapters gave the name to the Council).- c) The Moscow Councils of 1667, 1675 and 1681, which established many rules for church administration and improvement. At the first of them, among other things, a curse was imposed on the stubborn opponents of the church authority - the unreasonable zealots of the imaginary antiquity (schismatics-Old Believers) and some decrees of the Hundred Chapters Council, which served as a support for the Old Believers' errors (on the sign of the cross, on barberry, etc.) were canceled. The decrees of the other mentioned Russian Councils have only historical significance at the present time; but, undoubtedly, they influenced subsequent church legislation and current law. With the establishment of St. The Synod, which replaced not only the patriarchs, but also the local Councils of the Russian Church, its decisions became one of the sources of the current law of the Russian Church. To the historical monuments of the Russian church. The rights also belong to the decrees and decisions of various churches. questions set forth by some hierarchs of the Russian Church. Of the ancient monuments, the following deserve special attention: the church canon of the All-Russian Metropolitan John II (1080), written in response to the questions of a certain black-robed Jacob (It was included in the Sofia Helmsman); b) the answers of the Novgorod bishop Niphon to the questions of a certain monk Cyricus (XII century). The Byzantine state laws concerning the Church, transferred to Russia through the Nomocanon, were initially followed by the Russian sovereigns in determining the rights and departments of the Russian Church; but at the same time, the special needs of Russian society and the Church, which did not exist in Byzantium, were taken into account. The first monuments of the legislation of the Russian Grand Dukes concerning the Church are: a) the Church Statute of St. Vladimir; its content concerns the grand ducal tithes given to the Church and the ecclesiastical court (the persons subject to the ecclesiastical court and the cases withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the secular court are indicated); b) The Statute of Yaroslav, confirming and revealing the Statute of Vladimir. Following their example and model, some appanage princes issued local Statutes and charters. In all subsequent times, the Russian state power, patronizing the Orthodox Church, took a close part in the church. affairs and in its laws it took care both to protect its external well-being and to its internal well-being, and always acted in accordance with the canons of the universal Church and with the rulers. church authorities. Therefore, historical monuments of state legislation can serve as the same monuments for church law. These monuments include: the Sudebniks of John III (1497) and John IV (1551), which contain several articles concerning the ecclesiastical court; The Code of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1649), in which some chapters relate to the church. Piety, Church. the courts, the trial of clergy, etc.; separate decrees supplementary to these decrees, as well as many different letters given to various church institutions and authorities; finally, all the later numerous laws relating to the Church. affairs given by the Supreme Power (most of them are placed in the Poln. Sobr. Laws). The practical sources of the law in force in the Russian Church are: the Law of God, proposed in the Holy Scriptures. Canons or Canons of the Holy Apostles, Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils, and Holy Fathers. Their collection, which consisted of the first part of the Helmsman's Book, is now (since 1839) published in full, and not abridged (as was the case in the Helmsman's Book), but without interpretation. At the end of the collection, an alphabetical subject index is attached. Spiritual regulations. It was compiled on behalf of Emperor Peter I by a special commission, mainly by the well-known Archbishop Theophan Prokopovich, considered and signed by the spiritual authorities and senators, approved by the Tsar in 1720 and given to the leadership of the then newly established Holy Synod. Synod. There are three parts in the regulations: 1) on the reasons for the establishment of the Holy Synod. Synod; 2) on matters subject to the administration of the Holy Synod. Synod; 3) on the offices of spiritual rulers. By its nature, it is not so much a collection of laws on the affairs of the Church as an instruction for the new church government and for the church authorities. Those who followed the spirit. Regulations of the Highest Decrees and Determinations of the Holy Synod. Synod; as well as special statutes specifically relating to certain parts of church administration, and certain provisions. The main place among these statutes belongs to the Statute of the Ecclesiastical Consistories, as a systematic code of laws on the subjects of diocesan administration. In 1841 it was approved by the Highest Authority, and in 1883 it was revised, harmonized with the laws that followed its drafting and, thus, corrected, put into effect by the Highest command. In this statute, after several general provisions on the boundaries, bodies and foundations of diocesan administration, the following are indicated: a) the subjects of diocesan administration (Orthodox faith, divine services, church improvement, clergy, parishes, church economy); b) the subjects of the diocesan court (misdemeanors and crimes of clergymen, complaints against them and disputable civil cases between them, cases of marriages, certification of the validity of the event of marriage and birth, the imposition of penances); c) the organization of the Consistory and the paperwork in it. The laws in force in the state, in those articles that may concern the church. affairs and church administration; in particular, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire.

Supplement. Features of the Teaching on the Sources of Church Law in the Roman Catholic Church and in Protestant Communities

In the Roman Catholic Church, the sources of the church. law, - except for Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, as well as customary law or church. The canons (with the above-mentioned exceptions) accepted by the Eastern Church before the separation of the Western Church from it are recognized. They are joined by the decrees of others who were in the West (and one in the East (In Constantinople, 869, on the occasion of the strife between Pat. Photius and the Popes). Councils, of which up to 14 Councils are recognized as Roman Catholic. Churches for the Ecumenical: Constantinople (above); 4 Lateran (1123, 1139, 1179, 1215); 2 Lyons (1245 and 1274); Vienna (1311); Konstance (1414); Basel (1431); Florence (1438); Fifth Lateran (1512); Trent (1545); Vatican (1869). Moreover, all the numerous decrees of the Roman high priests, under various names, as heads of the Church, are recognized in it as one of the main sources of law for the whole Church. The collection of ecclesiastical canons (made at first, in the form of a system of ecclesiastical law, by the monk Gratian in the twelfth century and then continued, by order of the Popes (Gregory IX (XIII century), Boniface VIII (XIII century), Clement V (XIV century)), by the addition of subsequent papal decrees) is called Corpus juris canonici and is recognized as a generally binding guide of church law. The state laws of the country Roman Catholic. Ecclesiastical law attaches importance to the extent that they are recognized as binding by the Church. Power. In view of the preservation of peaceful relations between the Church and the state, in some countries the governments concluded agreements or treaties (concordats) with the Pope, which determined the relationship of the Church to the state and the participation of state power in the Church. Affairs. Such agreements also belong to the foundations of local church law. Protestant communities provide states. authorities of the country to establish ecclesiastical legal norms on the basis of those principles that are indicated in the novozav. Priest. Thus, in addition to the Holy Scriptures (the explanation of which is not limited by ecclesiastical authority) and these symbolic books, the main source of ecclesiastical law among Protestants is, in general, the state laws of the country, - In particular, the statutes on the Protestant Church given by the secular government. Rem. The statutes of the churches of foreign confessions are placed in the eleventh volume of the Code of Laws.

Section II: The Structure of Church Administration