TheEastern Catholic canon law is the law of the 23 Catholicsui juris (autonomous)particular churches of theEastern Catholic tradition. Eastern Catholic canon law includes both the common tradition among all Eastern Catholic Churches, now chiefly contained in theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches, as well as the particular law proper to each individualsui juris particular Eastern Catholic Church. Oriental canon law is distinguished from Latin canon law, which developed along a separate line in the remnants of theWestern Roman Empire, and is now chiefly codified in the1983 Code of Canon Law.
Anomocanon is a collection ofecclesiastical law, consisting of the elements from both thecivil law and thecanon law. Collections of this kind were found only in Eastern law. The Greek Church has two principal nomocanonical collections.
The first nomocanon is the "Nomocanon of John Scholasticus" of the sixth century. He had drawn up (about 550) a purely canonical compilation in 50 titles, and later composed an extract fromJustinian'sNovellae Constitutiones in 87 chapters[a] 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.[1]
The second nomocanon dates from the reign of the ByzantineEmperor Heraclius (r. 610–641). It was made by fusion of theCollectio tripartita (collection of Justinian's imperial law) and "Canonic syntagma" (ecclesiastical canons). Afterwards, this collection would be known as "Nomocanon in 14 titles". This nomocanon was long held in esteem and passed into the Russian Church, but it was by degrees supplanted by "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.[2]
Basically it was nomocanon in 14 titles with the addition of 102 canons ofTrullan Council (see Canon law), 17 canons of theCouncil of Constantinople held in 861,[3] and 3 canons substituted by Photios for those of the Council of Constantinople in 869. Nomocanon in 14 titles was completed with the more recent imperial laws.
Nomocanon of Photios was retained in the law of the Greek Church and it was included in a collection calledSyntagma, published by Rallis and Potlis (Athens, 1852–1859). Even though calledSyntagma, the collection of ecclesiastical law ofMatthew Blastares in 1335 is the real nomocanon, in which the texts of the laws and the canons are arranged in alphabetical order.[4]
Following the example of the famous council of Lebanon for theMaronites held in 1730, and that of Zamosc for theRuthenians in 1720, the Eastern Churches, at the suggestion of Leo XIII, drew up in plenary assembly their own local law: theSyrians at Sciarfa in 1888; the Ruthenians at Leopol in 1891; and a little later, theCopts.[5]
Until 1917, theSacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith had a division for the "Affairs of the Oriental Rite", which ceased to exist on 30 November 1917.Benedict XV founded the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church by themotu proprioDei Providentis.[6]
The Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church was presided over by theSupreme Pontiff himself and included severalcardinals of the Holy Roman Church, one of which functioned in the capacity of Secretary. There were also Councillors, chosen from among the more distinguished clergy and those experienced in things oriental.[7]
A commission was established in 1929 byPius XI to draw up a schema for an Oriental Catholic canon code,[8][9] theCommissionem Cardinalitiam pro Studiis Praeparatoriis Codificationis Orientalis.[10] In 1935, the same pope established another commission with the same goal, thePontificia Commissio ad redigendum Codicem iuris canonici orientalis, to replace the former.[11]
With his concern for theEastern Catholic Churches and their combined ten million members, Pope Pius continued the initiatives of his predecessors, especiallyPope Leo XIII andPope Pius XI. These Churches, not unlike theLatin Church before theCode of 1917, had their own ancient laws, which were not codified. The reform of Oriental Church laws, theCIC Orientalis for the Oriental Churches, was completed during the pontificate of Pius XII. The new, very comprehensive Church laws governed matrimonial law,[12] Church trials,[13] administration of Church properties and religious orders,[14] and individual rights.[15]
TheCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) is the 1990 codification of the common portions of theCanon Law for the 23 of the 24sui iuris Churches in theCatholic Church. It is divided into 30 titles and has a total of 1540 canons,[16] with an introductory section of preliminary canons.Pope John Paul II promulgated the CCEO on 18 October 1990 by the documentSacri Canones,[17] and the CCEOcame into force on 1 October 1991.[18] The 23sui iuris Churches which collectively make up theEastern Catholic Churches have been invited by the Catholic Church to codify their own particular laws and submit them to thepope so that all canon law within Catholicism may be fully and completely codified. TheLatin Church is guided by its own particular canons found in the1983Code of Canon Law.
The Congregation for the Oriental Churches is adicastery of theRoman Curia and thecurial congregation responsible for contact with theEastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of theLatin Church, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions. It "considers those matters, whether concerning persons or things, affecting the Catholic Oriental Churches"[19] and was founded by themotu proprioDei Providentis ofPope Benedict XV as the "Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church" on 1 May 1917.
Patriarchs andMajor Archbishops of the Oriental Churches, and the president of thePontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, are members of this Congregation by virtue of the law itself.[20] The consultors and officials are selected in such a way that reflects as far as possible the diversity of rites.[21]
This congregation has authority over
This congregation's competence does not include the exclusive competence of theCongregations for the Doctrine of the Faith andfor the Causes of Saints, of theApostolic Penitentiary, theSignatura, and theRota (including what pertains to dispensations for a marriageratum sed non consummatum.[b] In matters which affect the Eastern as well as the Latin Churches, the Congregation operates, if the matter is important enough, in consultation with theDicastery that has competence in the matter for the Latin Church.[23]
The Congregation pays special attention to communities of Eastern Catholic faithful who live in the territory of the Latin Church and attends to their spiritual needs by providing visitors and even their own hierarchs, so far as possible and where numbers and circumstances require, in consultation with the Congregation competent to establish Particular Churches in the region.[25]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1908). "Photian Synods of Constantinople (861, 867, 879)".Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Walter George Frank Phillimore (1911). "Canon Law". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
