Anomocanon (Greek:Νομοκανών,Nomokanōn; from the Greeknomos 'law' andkanon 'a rule') is a collection ofecclesiastical law, consisting of the elements from both thecivil law and thecanon law. Nomocanons form part of the canon law of theEastern Catholic Churches (through theEastern Catholic canon law) and of theEastern Orthodox Church.
The first nomocanon, in the sixth century, is ascribed, though without certainty, toJohn Scholasticus, whose canons it utilizes and completes. He had drawn up (about 550) a purely canonical compilation in 50 titles, and later composed an extract from theJustinian'sNovellae in 87 chapters[1] that relate the ecclesiastical matters. To each of the 50 titles was added the texts of the imperial laws on the same subject, with 21 additional chapters, nearly all borrowed from John's 87 chapters.[2]
The second nomocanon dates from the reign of the ByzantineEmperor Heraclius (610–641), at which time Latin was replaced by Greek as the official language of the imperial laws. It was made through the fusion of theCollectio tripartita (collection of Justinian's imperial law) andCanonic syntagma (ecclesiastical canons). Afterwards, this collection would be known asNomocanon in 14 titles.
The Nomocanon in 14 titles nomocanon was long held in esteem and passed into theRussian Church, but it was by degrees supplanted by the Nomocanon ofPhotios in 883.
The great systematic compiler of the Eastern Church, who occupies a similar position to that ofGratian in theWest, was Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople in the 9th century. His collection in two parts—a chronologically ordered compilation of synodical canons and a revision of the Nomocanon—formed and still forms the classic source of ancient Church Law for the Greek Church.[3]
It contained the Nomocanon in 14 titles, with the addition of 102 canons ofTrullan Council, 17 canons of theCouncil of Constantinople of 861,[4] and three canons substituted by Photios for those of theCouncil of Constantinople of 869. The Nomocanon in 14 titles was completed with the more recent imperial laws.
This whole collection was commentated about 1170 byTheodore Balsamon,[5]Greek Patriarch of Antioch residing at Constantinople. The Nomocanon of Photios supplemented thePedalion (Greek:Πηδάλιον 'rudder'), a sort ofCorpus Juris of the Eastern Orthodox Church, printed in 1800 byPatriarch Neophytos VII.
The Nomocanon of Photios retained in the law of the Eastern Orthodox Church and it was included in theSyntagma, published by Rallis and Potlis (Athens, 1852–1859).[6]
The Nomocanon ofSaint Sava, or in SerbianZakonopravilo (Savino Zakonopravilo), was the firstSerbian constitution and the highest code in theSerbian Orthodox Church; it was finished in 1219. This legal act was well developed. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation ofcivil law, based onRoman law[7][8] andcanon law, based onecumenical councils. Its basic purpose was to organize functioning of the youngSerbian kingdom and theSerbian church.
During theNemanjić dynasty (1166–1371) rulersof theSerbian medieval state could not create code of laws, which would regulate the relations in the state and church. Serbian rulers reigned with single legal acts and decrees. In order to overcome this problem and organize legal system, after acquiring religious independence, Saint Sava finished hisZakonopravilo in 1219.
TheZakonopravilo was accepted inBulgaria,Romania andRussia. It was printed inMoscow in the 17th century. So, Roman-Byzantine law wastransplanting among East Europe through theZakonopravilo. In Serbia, it was considered as the code of thedivine law and it was implemented intoDušan's Code (Serbian:Dušanov zakonik).
During theSerbian Revolution, in 1804 the priestMateja Nenadović established the Nomocanon ofSaint Sava as the code of the liberated Serbia. It was also implemented in Serbian civil code in 1844. TheZakonopravilo is still used in the Serbian Orthodox Church as the highest church code.
Nomocanons of theChurch of the East by author are:
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Nomocanon".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Nomocanon".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
