The Catholic Church utilizes the oldest continuously functioning legal system in theWest,[1] much later thanRoman law but predating the evolution of modern Europeancivil law traditions. The history of Latincanon law can be divided into four periods: thejus antiquum, thejus novum, thejus novissimum and theCode of Canon Law.[2] In relation to the Code, history can be divided into thejus vetus (all law before the Code) and thejus novum (the law of the Code, orjus codicis).[2] Eastern canon law developed separately.
The most ancient collections of canonical legislation are certain very early Apostolic documents, known as theChurch Orders: for instance, theDidache ton dodeka apostolon or "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", which dates from the end of the first or the beginning of the 2nd century; theApostolic Church-Ordinance; theDidascalia, or "Teaching of the Apostles"; theApostolic Canons andApostolic Constitutions. These collections have never had any official value, no more than any other collection of this first period. However, the Apostolic Canons and, through it, the Apostolic Constitutions, were influential for a time in that later collections would draw upon these earliest sources of Church law.[3]
It was in the East, after Constantine I'sEdict of Milan of toleration (313), that arose the first systematic collections. We cannot so designate the chronological collections of the canons of the councils of the 4th and 5th centuries (314–451); the oldest systematic collection, made by an unknown author in 535, has not come down. The most important collections of this epoch are theSynagoge kanonon, or the collection ofJohn the Scholastic (Joannes Scholasticus), compiled atAntioch about 550, and theNomocanons, or compilations of civil laws affecting religious matters (nomos) and ecclesiastical laws (kanon). One such mixed collection is dated in the 6th century and has been erroneously attributed to John the Scholastic; another of the 7th century was rewritten and much enlarged by the schismatical ecumenical patriarchPhotius (883).
In the Western Church one collection of canons, theCollectio Dionysiana, exercised an influence far beyond the limits of the country in which it was composed. This collection was the work ofDionysius Exiguus, who compiled several collections that now go under the nameDionysiana. Dionysius appears to have done most of his work shortly after the year 600.[4] His collections contain his own Latin translation of the canons of the ancient third-, fourth- and fifth-century councils, excerpts from a (probably) confected collection of African canons (which Dionysius calls theRegistrum ecclesiae Carthaginensis, cf.Church of Carthage), and a collection of (38) papal letters (Epistolæ decretales) dating from the reign ofPope Siricius (384–398) to that ofAnastasius II (died 498). The influence of this Italian collection grew enormously during the seventh and eighth centuries, especially in England and France. It was continuously enlarged and modified, the most famous modification being a version supposedly send by PopeAdrian I toCharlemagne in 774 and therefore known today as theCollectio Dionysio-Hadriana.
Besides theDionysiana, Italy also produced two 5th-century Latin translations of the Greek synods known as theCorpus canonum Africano-Romanum andCollectio prisca, both of which are now lost though large portions of them survive in two very large Italian collections known as theCollectio canonum Quesnelliana andCollectio canonum Sanblasiana respectively. In Italy was also produced a popular fifth-century collection of forgeries known today as theSymmachean forgeries. Africa possessed a late fourth-century collection known as theBreviarium Hipponense as well as an early fifth-century collection known as theCodex Apiarii causae; also theBreviatio canonum, or digest of the canons of the councils byFulgentius Ferrandus (died c. 546), and theConcordia canonum ofCresconius Africanus, an adaptation of theDionysiana (about 690). In Gaul many important collections were produced, like the collection known today as theConcilium Arelatense secundum and, at the beginning of the 6th century, theStatuta Ecclesiæ antiqua, erroneously attributed to Africa. Also from Gaul/France are the collections known today as theCollectio canonum quadripartita and theLibri duo de synodalibus causis composed byRegino of Prüm. Gaul/France also produced two immensely important collections known as theCollectio canonum vetus Gallica (compiled in Lyons about 600) and theCollectio canonum Dacheriana (about 800), the latter so called from the name of its editor, Luc d'Achéry. TheCollectio canonum Hibernensis or Irish collection of canons, compiled in the 8th century, influenced bothEngland,Gaul and (though much later) Italy.[5] Unlike almost every other region, England never produced a 'national' collection, though English personnel played an important role in copying and disseminating Irish and Italian collections in Germany and France.[6] Around the year 700 there developed in either England or Germany acollection of penitential canons attributed toTheodore of Tarsus,Archbishop of Canterbury (died 690). This collection marked a major advance in the development of penitential-canonical collections, which had already been in development for centuries especially within the Irish church. Collections like the one attributed to Theodore were known aspenitentials, and were often rather short and simple, most likely because they were meant as handbooks for the use of confessors. There were many such books circulating in Europe from the seventh to the eleventh century, each penitential containing rules indicating exactly how much penance was required for which sins. In various ways these penitentials, mainly Insular in origin, came to affect the larger canon law collections in development on the continent.[7]
Iberia (i.e. Spain) possessed theCapitula Martini, compiled about 572 by Martin, Bishop of Braga (in Portugal), and the immense and influentialCollectio Hispana dating from about 633, attributed in the 9th century toIsidore of Seville. In the 9th century arose several apocryphal collections, viz. those ofBenedictus Levita, ofPseudo-Isidore (alsoIsidorus Mercator, Peccator, Mercatus), and theCapitula Angilramni. An examination of the controversies which these three collections give rise to will be found elsewhere (seeFalse Decretals). The Pseudo-Isidorian collection, the authenticity of which was for a long time admitted, has exercised considerable influence on ecclesiastical discipline, without however modifying it in its essential principles. Among the numerous collections of a later date, we may mention theCollectio Anselmo dedicata, compiled in Italy at the end of the 9th century, theLibellus de ecclesiasticis disciplinis of Regino of Prum (died 915); theCollectarium canonum ofBurchard of Worms (died 1025); the collection of the youngerAnselm of Lucca, compiled towards the end of the 11th century; theCollectio trium partium, theDecretum and thePanormia ofYves of Chartres (died 1115 or 1117); theLiber de misericordia et justitia of Algerus of Liège, who died in 1132; the Collection in 74 Titles – all collections which Gratian made use of in the compilation of hisDecretum.
The period of canonical history known as theJus Novum ("new law") ormiddle period covers the time fromGratian to theCouncil of Trent (mid-12th century–16th century).[2]
The various conciliar canons and papal decrees were gathered together into collections, both unofficial and official. In the year 1000, there was no book that had attempted to summarized the whole body of canon law, to systematize it in whole or in part.[8] There were, however, many collections of the decrees of councils and great bishops. These collections usually only had regional force and were usually organized chronologically by type of document (e.g. letters of popes, canons of councils, etc.), or occasionally by general topic.[8] Before the late 11th century, canon law was highly decentralized, depending on many different codifications and sources, whether of local councils, ecumenical councils, local bishops, or of theBishops of Rome.[8]
The first truly systematic collection was assembled by theCamaldolese monkGratian in the 11th century, commonly known as theDecretum Gratiani ("Gratian's Decree") but originally calledThe Concordance of Discordant Canons[9] (Concordantia Discordantium Canonum). Canon law greatly increased from 1140 to 1234. After that it slowed down, except for the laws of local councils (an area of canon law in need of scholarship), and was supplemented by secular laws.[10] In 1234PopeGregory IXpromulgated the first official collection ofCanons, called theDecretalia Gregorii Noni orLiber Extra. This was followed by theLiber Sextus (1298) ofBoniface VIII, theClementines (1317) ofClement V, theExtravagantes Joannis XXII and theExtravagantes Communes, all of which followed the same structure as theLiber Extra. All these collections, with theDecretum Gratiani, are together referred to as theCorpus Juris Canonici. After the completion of theCorpus Juris Canonici, subsequentpapal legislation was published in periodic volumes calledBullaria.
Johannes Gratian was a monk who taught theology at a monastery inBologna.[11] He produced a comprehensive andcomprehensible collection of canon law. He resolved contradictions and discrepancies in the existing law.[12] In the 1140s his work became the dominant legal text.[13] The papacy appreciated and approved theDecretum of Gratian. TheDecretum formed the core of thebody of canon law upon which a greater legal structure was built.[12][clarification needed] Before Gratian there was no "jurisprudence of canon law" (system of legal interpretation and principles). Gratian is the founder of canonical jurisprudence, which merits him the title "Father of Canon Law".[14]
The combination of logical, moral, and political elements contributed to a systematization that was quite different from a merely doctrinal or dogmatic analysis of legal rules, however complex and however coherent. The canon law as a system was more than rules; it was a process, a dialectical process of adapting rules to new situations. This was inevitable if only because of the limits imposed upon its jurisdiction, and the consequent competition which it faced from the secular legal systems that coexisted with it.[15]
In the thirteenth century, the Roman Church began to collect and organize its canon law, which after a millennium of development had become a complex and difficult system of interpretation and cross-referencing. The official collections were theLiber Extra (1234) of PopeGregory IX, theLiber Sextus (1298) ofBoniface VIII and theClementines (1317), prepared forClement V but published byJohn XXII. These were addressed to the universities by papal letters at the beginning of each collection, and these texts became textbooks for aspiring canon lawyers. In 1582 a compilation was made of the Decretum, Extra, the Sext, the Clementines and theExtravagantes (that is, the decretals of the popes fromPope John XXII toPope Sixtus IV).
After theCouncil of Trent, an attempt to secure a new official collection of church laws was made about 1580, whenGregory XIII charged three cardinals with the task. The work continued during the pontificate ofSixtus V, was accomplished underClement VIII and was printed (Rome, 1598) as:Sanctissimi Domini nostri Clementis papæ VIII Decretales, sometimes alsoSeptimus liber Decretalium. This collection, never approved either by Clement VIII or byPaul V, was edited (Freiburg, 1870) by Sentis. In 1557 the Italian canonistPaul Lancelottus attempted unsuccessfully to secure from Paul IV, for the four books of hisInstitutiones juris canonici (Rome, 1563), an authority equal to that which its model, theInstitutiones of EmperorJustinian, once enjoyed in the Roman Empire. A private individual, Pierre Mathieu of Lyons, also wrote aLiber Septimus Decretalium, inserted in the appendix to the Frankfort (1590) edition of theCorpus Juris Canonici. This work was put on the Index.
At theFirst Vatican Council several bishops asked for a new codification of the canon law, and after that several canonists attempted to compile treatises in the form of a full code of canonical legislation, e.g. de Luise (1873), Pillet (1890), Pezzani (1894), Deshayes (1894), Collomiati (1898–1901).Pius X determined to undertake this work by his decree "Arduum sane munus" (19 March 1904), and named a commission of cardinals to compile a new "Corpus Juris Canonici" on the model of thecodes of civil law. The1917Codex Iuris Canonici (CIC, Code of Canon Law) was the first instance of a new code completely re-written in a systematic fashion, reduced to a single book or "codex" for ease of use. It took effect on 29 May 1918. It had 2,414 canons.
In 1959,Pope John XXIII announced, together with his intention to call theSecond Vatican Council and a Synod of the Diocese of Rome, that the 1917 Code would be completely revised.[16][17] In 1963, the commission appointed to undertake the task decided to delay the project until the council had been concluded. After 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 decades of discussion and numerous drafts, the project was nearly complete upon the death ofPaul VI in 1978. The work was completed in the pontificate of PopeJohn Paul II. The revision, the1983Code of Canon Law, was promulgated by theapostolic constitutionSacrae Disciplinae Leges on 25 January 1983, taking effect on 27 November 1983.[18] The subjects of the 1983Codex Iuris Canonici (CIC, Code of Canon Law) are the world's 1.2 billion Catholics of what the Code itself calls theLatin Church. It has 7 books and 1,752 canons.
Distinct from the canonical tradition of theLatin Church is the tradition of theEastern Catholic Churches. The earliest Oriental canon law collections were callednomocanons, which were collections of bothcanon andcivil law.
In the early twentieth century, when Eastern Churches began to come back to full communion with theHoly See,Pope Benedict XV created theSacred Congregation for the Oriental Church in order to preserve the rights and traditions of theEastern Catholic Churches.
Since the early twentieth century,Eastern Catholic canon law had been in the process of codification. Some of theseOriental canon law reforms werepromulgated byPope Pius XII. The codification effort culminated with thePope John Paul II's 1990 promulgation of theCodex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (CCEO,Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches) which incorporates certain differences in the hierarchical, administrative, and judicialfora for the 23sui juris particularEastern Catholic Churches, which were each encouraged to issue codes of particular law peculiar to each church, so that all of theCatholic Church's canon law would becodified.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Francis J. Schaefer (1913). "Influence of the Church on Civil Law". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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