'', the fundamental collection of
Catholic canon law for over 750 years Within the framework of
Christianity, there are several possible definitions for religious law. One is the
Mosaic Law (from what Christians consider to be the
Old Testament), also called
divine law or
biblical law; the most famous example is the
Ten Commandments. Another is the instructions of
Jesus of Nazareth to his
disciples in the
Gospel (often referred to as the
Law of Christ or the
New Commandment or the
New Covenant, in contrast to the
Old Covenant). Another is the
Apostolic Decree of Acts 15, which is still observed by the
Greek Orthodox Church. Another is
canon law in the
Catholic,
Anglican, and
Orthodox churches. In some
Christian denominations, law is often contrasted with
grace (see also
Law and Gospel and
Antithesis of the Law): the contrast here speaks to an attempt to gain
salvation by
obedience to a code of laws as opposed to seeking salvation through faith in the
atonement made by
Jesus on the cross. From the
Gospel of John:
Biblical/Mosaic law Christian views of the
Old Covenant vary and are to be distinguished from
Christian theology,
ethics, and
practice. The term "Old Covenant", also referred to as the
Mosaic covenant and the
Law of Moses, refers to the statements or principles of religious law and
religious ethics codified in the first five books or
Pentateuch of the
Old Testament. Views of the Old Covenant are expressed in the
New Testament, such as
Jesus'
antitheses of the law, the
circumcision controversy in Early Christianity, and the
Incident at Antioch and position of
Paul the Apostle and Judaism. Most Christians hold that
only parts are applicable, while some
Protestants have the view that
none is applicable.
Dual-covenant theologians have the view that only
Noahide Laws apply to
Gentiles. The
Jewish Christianity movement is virtually extinct. According to the New Testament Christians are no longer regarded as Gentiles (Romans 8: 28–29)
Canon law Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority for the governance of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the
Roman Catholic Church, the
Eastern and
Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the
Anglican Communion of churches. The way that such church law is
legislated, interpreted and at times
adjudicated varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was initially a rule adopted by a
church council (From
Greek kanon / κανών,
Hebrew / , for rule, standard, or measure); these canons formed the foundation of canon law.
Canons of the Apostles The
Canons of the Apostles or
Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees (eighty-five in the
Eastern, fifty in the
Western Church) concerning the government and discipline of the
Early Christian Church, incorporated with the
Apostolic Constitutions which are part of the
Ante-Nicene Fathers Catholic Church The
canon law of the Catholic Church () is the system of
laws and legal principles made and enforced by the
hierarchical authorities of the Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. It was the first modern Western
legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West, predating the European
common law and
civil law traditions. What began with rules ("canons") adopted by the
Apostles at the
Council of Jerusalem in the 1st century has blossomed into a highly complex and original legal system encapsulating not just norms of the
New Testament, but some elements of the
Hebrew (
Old Testament),
Roman,
Visigothic,
Saxon, and
Celtic legal traditions spanning thousands of years of human experience. while the unique traditions of
Eastern Catholic canon law govern the 23
Eastern Catholic particular churches
sui iuris. Positive ecclesiastical laws derive formal authority in the case of universal laws from
promulgation by the supreme legislator—the
Supreme Pontiff—who possesses the totality of legislative, executive, and judicial power in his person, while particular laws derive formal authority from promulgation by a legislator inferior to the supreme legislator, whether an ordinary or a delegated legislator. The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-encompassing of the human condition. It has all the ordinary elements of a mature legal system: a fully articulated
legal code for the
Latin Church as well as a
code for the
Eastern Catholic Churches, principles of
legal interpretation, and coercive penalties. It lacks civilly binding force in most secular jurisdictions. Those who are versed and skilled in canon law, and professors of canon law, are called canonists (or colloquially, canon lawyers). Canon law as a sacred science is called canonistics. The
jurisprudence of Catholic canon law is the complex of legal principles and traditions within which canon law operates, while the
philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law are the areas of philosophical, theological, and legal scholarship dedicated to providing a theoretical basis for canon law as a legal system and as true law. In the
early Church, the first canons were decreed by
bishops united in "
Ecumenical" councils (the Emperor summoning all of the known world's bishops to attend with at least the acknowledgement of the
Bishop of
Rome) or "local" councils (bishops of a region or territory). Over time, these canons were supplemented with
decretals 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 monk
Gratian in the 11th century, commonly known as the
Decretum Gratiani ("Gratian's Decree").
Pope Gregory IX 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, the
Clementines (1317) of
Clement V, the
Extravagantes Joannis XXII and the
Extravagantes Communes, all of which followed the same structure as the Liber Extra. All these collections, with the
Decretum Gratiani, are together referred to as the
Corpus Juris Canonici. After the completion of the
Corpus Juris Canonici, subsequent
papal legislation was published in periodic volumes called
Bullaria. By the 19th century, this body of legislation included some 10,000 norms, many difficult to reconcile with one another due to changes in circumstances and practice. This situation impelled
Pope Pius X to order the creation of the first
Code of Canon Law, a single volume of clearly stated laws. Under the aegis of 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.
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
Latin Catholic seminary students are expected to take a course 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 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 11th 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
Scotland 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 In 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. 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 not referred to as "canons".
The United Methodist Church The
Book of Discipline contains the laws, rules, policies and guidelines for The United Methodist Church. It is revised every four years by the General Conference, the law-making body of The United Methodist Church; the last edition was published in 2016. ==Hinduism==