THE
APOSTOLIC CANONS
Translated by Henry R.
Percival, 1899.
The Canons of the Holy and Altogether
August Apostles [Latin version adds: set forth by Clement, Pontiff of
the Roman Church]
Canon I.
Let a bishop be ordained by two or
three bishops.
Canon II.
Let a presbyter, deacon, and the rest
of the clergy, be ordained by one bishop,
Canon III. (III. And IV.)
If any bishop or presbyter offer any
other things at the altar, besides that which the Lord ordained for the
sacrifice, as honey, or milk, or strong-made drink instead of wine, [the
text here varies] or birds, or any living things, or vegetables, besides
that which is ordained, let him be deposed. Excepting only new ears of
corn, and grapes at the suitable season. Neither is it allowed to bring
anything else to the altar at the time of the holy oblation, excepting
oil for the lamps, and incense.
Canon IV. (V.)
Let all other fruits be sent home as
first-fruits for the bishops and presbyters, but not offered at the
altar. But the bishops and presbyters should of course give a share of
these things to the deacons, and the rest of the clergy.
Canon V. (VI.)
Let not a bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
put away his wife under pretence of religion; but if he put her away,
let him be excommunicated; and if he persists, let him be deposed.
Canon VI. (VII.)
Let not a bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
undertake worldly business; otherwise let him be deposed.
Canon VII. (VIII.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
shall celebrate the holy day of Easter before the vernal equinox, with
the Jews, let him be deposed.
Canon VIII (IX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or
any one on the sacerdotal list, when the offering is made, does not
partake of it, let him declare the cause; and if it be a reasonable one,
let him be excused; but if he does not declare it, let him be
excommunicated, as being a cause of offence to the people, and
occasioning a suspicion against the offerer, as if he had not made the
offering properly.
Canon IX. (X.)
All the faithful who come in and hear
the Scriptures, but do not stay for the prayers and the Holy Communion,
are to be excommunicated, as causing disorder in the Church.
Canon X. (XI.)
If any one shall pray, even in a
private house, with an excommunicated person, let him also be
excommunicated.
Canon XI. (XII.)
If any clergyman shall join in prayer
with a deposed clergyman, as if he were a clergyman [this phrase omitted
in Hammond's edition], let him also be deposed.
Canon XII. And XIII (XIII.)
If any one of the clergy or laity who
is excommunicated, or not to be received, shall go away, and be received
in another city without commendatory letters, let both the receiver and
the received be excommunicated. But if he be excommunicated already, let
the time of his excommunication be lengthened.
Canon XIV.
A bishop is not to be allowed to leave
his own parish, and pass over into another, although he may be pressed
by many to do so, unless there be some proper cause constraining him. as
if he can confer some greater benefit upon the persons of that place in
the word of godliness. And this must be done not of his own accord, but
by the judgment of many bishops, and at their earnest exhortation.
Canon XV.
If any presbyter, or deacon, or any
other of the list of the clergy, shall leave his own parish, and go into
another, and having entirely forsaken his own, shall make his abode in
the other parish without the permission of his own bishop, we ordain
that he shall no longer perform divine service; more especially if his
own bishop having exhorted him to return he has refused to do so, and
persists in his disorderly conduct. But let him communicate there as a
layman.
Canon XVI.
If, however, the bishop, with whom any
such persons are staying, shall disregard the command that they are to
cease from performing divine offices, and shall receive them as
clergymen, let him be excommunicated, as a teacher of disorder.
Canon XVII.
He who has been twice married after
baptism, or who has had a concubine, cannot become a bishop, presbyter,
or deacon, or any other of the sacerdotal list.
Canon XVIII.
He who married a widow, or a divorced
woman, or an harlot, or a servant-maid, or an actress, cannot be a
bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any other of the sacerdotal list.
Canon XIX.
He who has married two sisters, or a
niece, cannot become a clergyman.
Canon XX.
If a clergyman becomes surety for any
one, let him be deposed.
Canon XXI.
An eunuch, if he has been made so by
the violence of men [some mss. add: or if his virilia have been
amputated] in times of persecution, or if he has been born so, if in
other respects he is worthy, may be made a bishop.
Canon XXII.
He who has mutilated himself, cannot
become a clergyman, for he is a self-murderer, and an enemy to the
workmanship of God.
Canon XXIII.
If any man being a clergyman shall
mutilate himself, let him be deposed, for he is a self-murderer.
Canon XXIV.
If a layman mutilate himself, let him
be excommunicated for three years, as practising against his own life.
Canon XXV. (XXV. And XXVI.)
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon be
found guilty of fornication, perjury, or theft, let him be deposed, but
let him not be excommunicated; for the Scripture says, "thou shall
not punish a man twice for the same offence." In like manner the
other clergy shall be subject to the same proceeding [or, in like manner
with respect to the other clergy].
Canon XXVI. (XXVII.)
Of those who have been admitted to the
clergy unmarried, we ordain, that the readers and singers only may, if
they will, marry.
Canon XXVII. (XXVIII.)
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon shall
strike any of the faithful who have sinned, or of the unbelievers who
have done wrong, with the intention of frightening them, we command that
he be deposed. For our Lord has by no means taught us to do so, but, on
the contrary, when he was smitten he smote not again, when he was
reviled he reviled not again, when he suffered he threatened not.
Canon XXVIII. (XXIX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
having been justly deposed upon open accusations, shall dare to meddle
with any of the divine offices which had been intrusted to him, let him
be altogether cut off from the Church.
Canon XXIX. (XXX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
shall obtain possession of that dignity by money, let both him and the
person who ordained him be deposed, and also altogether cut off from all
communion, as Simon Magus was by me, Peter.
Canon XXX. (XXXI.)
If any bishop obtain possession of a
church by the aid of the temporal powers, let him be deposed and
excommunicated, and all who communicate with him.
Canon XXXI. (XXXII.)
If any presbyter, despising his own
bishop, shall collect a separate congregation, and erect another altar,
not having any grounds for condemning the bishop with regard to religion
or justice, let him be deposed for his ambition; for he is a tyrant; in
like manner also the rest of the clergy, and as many as join him; and
let laymen be excommunicated. Let this, however, be done after a first,
second, and third admonition from the bishop.
Canon XXXII. (XXXIII.)
If any presbyter or deacon has been
excommunicated by a bishop, he may not be received into communion again
by any other than by him who excommunicated him, unless it happen that
the bishop who excommunicated him be dead.
Canon XXXIII. (XXXIV.)
No foreign bishop, presbyter, or
deacon, may be received without commendatory letters; and when they are
produced let the persons be examined; and if they be preachers of
godliness, let them be received. Otherwise, although you supply them
with what they need, you must not receive them into communion, for many
things are done surreptitiously.
Canon XXXIV. (XXXV.)
The bishops of every nation must
acknowledge him who is first among them and account him as their head,
and do nothing of consequence without his consent; but each may do those
things only which concern hisown parish, and the country places which
belong to it. But neither let him (who is the first) do anything without
the consent of all; for so there will be unanimity, and God will be
glorified through the Lord in the Holy Spirit [some mss. read: through
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father through the Lord by the Holy
Spirit, even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit].
Canon XXXV. (XXXVI.)
Let not a bishop dare to ordain beyond
his own limits, in cities and places not subject to him. But if he be
convicted of doing so, without the consent of those persons who have
authority over such cities and places, let him be deposed, and those
also whom he has ordained.
Canon XXXVI. (XXXVII.)
If any person, having been ordained
bishop, does not undertake the ministry, and the care of the people
committed to him, let him be excommunicated until he does undertake it.
In like manner a presbyter or deacon. But if he has gone and has not
been received, not of his own will but from the perverseness of the
people, let him continue bishop; and let the clergy of the city be
excommunicated, because they have not corrected the disobedient people.
Canon XXXVII. (XXXVIII.)
Let there be a meeting of the bishops
twice a year, and let them examine amongst themselves the decrees
concerning religion and settle the ecclesiastical controversies which
may have occurred. One meeting to be held in the fourth week of
Pentecost [i.e., the fourth week after Easter], and the other on the
12th day of the month Hyperberetaeus [i.e., October].
Canon XXXVIII. (XXXIX.)
Let the bishop have the care of all the
goods of the Church, and let him administer them as under the inspection
of God. But he must not alienate any of them or give the things which
belong to God to his own relations. If they be poor let him relieve them
as poor; but let him not, under that pretence, sell the goods of the
Church.
Canon XXXIX. (XL.)
Let not the presbyters or deacons do
anything without the sanction of the bishop; for he it is who is
intrusted with the people of the Lord, and of whom will be required the
account of their souls.
Canon XL. (XL. Continued.)
Let the private goods of the bishop, if
he have any such, and those of the Lord, be clearly distinguished, that
the bishop may have the power of leaving his own goods, when he dies, to
whom he will, and how he will, and that the bishop's own property may
not be lost under pretence of its being the property of the Church: for
it may be that he has a wife, or children, or relations, or servants;
and it is just before God and man, that neither should the Church suffer
any loss through ignorance of the bishop's own property, nor the bishop
or his relations be injured under pretext of the Church: nor that those
who belong to him should be involved in contests, and cast reproaches
upon his death.
Canon XLI.
We ordain that the bishop have
authority over the goods of the Church: for if he is to be intrusted
with the precious souls of men, much more are temporal possessions to be
intrusted to him. He is therefore to administer them all of his own
authority, and supply those who need, through the presbyters and
deacons, in the fear of God, and with all reverence. He may also, if
need be, take what is required for his own necessary wants, and for the
brethren to whom he has to show hospitality, so that he may not be in
any want. For the law of God has ordained, that they who wait at the
altar should be nourished of the altar. Neither does any soldier bear
arms against an enemy at his own cost.
Canon XLII.
If a bishop or presbyter, or deacon, is
addicted to dice or drinking, let him either give it over, or be
deposed.
Canon XLIII.
If a subdeacon, reader, or singer,
commits the same things, let him either give over, or be excommunicated.
So also laymen.
Canon XLIV.
Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who
takes usury from those who borrow of him, give up doing so, or be
deposed.
Canon XLV.
Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who
has only prayed with heretics, be excommunicated: but if he has
permitted them to perform any clerical office, let him be deposed.
Canon XLVI.
We ordain that a bishop, or presbyter,
who has admitted the baptism or sacrifice of heretics, be deposed. For
what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath a believer with
an infidel?
Canon XLVII.
Let a bishop or presbyter who shall
baptize again one who has rightly received baptism, or who shall not
baptize one who has been polluted by the ungodly, be deposed, as
despising the cross and death of the Lord, and not making a distinction
between the true priests and the false.
Canon XLVIII.
If any layman put away his wife and
marry another, or one who has been divorced by another man, let him be
excommunicated.
Canon XLIX.
If any bishop or presbyter, contrary to
the ordinance of the Lord, does not baptize into the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, but into three Unoriginated Beings, or three Sons,
or three Comforters, let him be deposed.
Canon L.
If any bishop or presbyter does not
perform the one initiation with three immersions, but with giving one
immersion only, into the death of the Lord, let him be deposed. For the
Lord said not, Baptize into my death, but, "Go, make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost."
Canon LI.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or
any one of the sacerdotal list, abstains from marriage, or flesh, or
wine, not by way of religious restraint, but as abhorring them,
forgetting that God made all things very good, and that he made man male
and female, and blaspheming the work of creation, let him be corrected,
or else be deposed, and cast out of the Church. In like manner a layman.
Canon LII.
If any bishop or presbyter [some mss
add: or deacon] does not receive him who turns away from his sin, but
rejects him, let him be deposed; for he grieveth Christ who said, "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth."
Canon LIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
does not on festival days partake of flesh and wine, from an abhorrence
of them, and not out of religious restraint, let him be deposed, as
being seared in his own conscience, and being the cause of offence to
many.
Canon LIV.
If any of the clergy be found eating in
a tavern, let him be excommunicated, unless he has been constrained by
necessity, on a journey, to lodge in an inn.
Canon LV.
If any of the clergy insult the bishop,
let him be deposed: for "thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of
thy people."
Canon LVI.
If any of the clergy insult a
presbyter, or deacon, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LVII.
If any of the clergy mock the lame, or
the deaf, or the blind, or him who is infirm in his legs, let him be
excommunicated.In like manner any of the laity.
Canon LVIII.
If any bishop or presbyter neglects the
clergy or the people, and does not instruct them in the way of
godliness, let him be excommunicated, and if he persists in his
negligence and idleness, let him be deposed.
Canon LIX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
when any of the clergy is in want, does not supply him with what he
needs, let him be excommunicated; but if he persists, let him be
deposed, as one who has killed his brother.
Canon LX.
If any one reads publicly in the church
the falsely inscribed [pseudepigrapha] books of impious men, as if they
were holy Scripture, to the destruction of the people and clergy, let
him be deposed.
Canon LXI.
If any accusation be brought against a
believer of fornication or adultery, or any forbidden action, and he be
convicted, let him not be promoted to the clergy.
Canon LXII.
If any of the clergy, through fear of
men, whether Jew, heathen, or heretic, shall deny the name of Christ,
let him be cast out. If he deny the name of a clergyman, let him be
deposed. If he repent, let him be received as a layman.
Canon LXIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or
any one of the sacerdotal order, shall eat flesh, with the blood of the
life thereof, or anything killed by beasts, or that dies of itself, let
him be deposed. For the law has forbidden this. If he be a layman, let
him be excommunicated.
Canon LXIV.
If any clergyman or layman shall enter
into a synagogue of Jews or heretics to pray, let the former be deposed
and let the latter be excommunicated.
Canon LXV.
If any clergyman shall strike anyone in
a contest, and kill him with one blow, let him be deposed for his
violence. If a layman do so, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXVI.
If any of the clergy be found fasting
on the Lord's day [i.e. Sunday], or on the Sabbath [i.e. Saturday],
excepting the one only [i.e. Holy Saturday], let him be deposed. If a
layman, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXVII.
If anyone shall force and keep a virgin
not espoused, let him be excommunicated. And he may not take any other,
but must retain her whom he has chosen, though she be a poor person.
Canon LXVIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
shall receive from anyone a second ordination, let both the ordained and
the ordainer be deposed; unless indeed it be proved that he had his
ordination from heretics; for those who have been baptized or ordained
by such persons cannot be either of the faithful or of the clergy.
Canon LXIX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or
reader, or singer, does not fast the holy Quadragesimal fast of Easter,
or the fourth day, or the day of Preparation, let him be deposed, unless
he be hindered by some bodily infirmity. If he be a layman, let him be
excommunicated.
Canon LXX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or
any one of the list of clergy, keeps fast or festival with the Jews, or
receives from them any of the gifts of their feasts, as unleavened
bread, any such things, let him be deposed. If he be a layman, let him
be excommunicated.
Canon LXXI.
If any Christian brings oil into a
temple of the heathen or into a synagogue of the Jews at their feast, or
lights lamps, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXXII.
If any clergyman or layman takes away
wax or oil from the holy Church, let him be excommunicated, [some mss.
add: and let him restore a fifth part more than he took.]
Canon LXXIII.
Let no one convert to his own use any
vessel of gold or silver, or any veil which has been sanctified, for it
is contrary to law; and if anyone be detected doing so, let him be
excommunicated.
Canon LXXIV.
If any bishop has been accused of
anything by men worthy of credit, he must be summoned by the bishops;
and if he appears, and confesses, or is convicted, a suitable punishment
must be inflicted upon him. But if when he is summoned he does not
attend, let him be summoned a second time, two bishops being sent to
him, for that purpose. [Some mss. add: If even then he will not attend,
let him be summoned a third time, two bishops being again sent to him.]
But if even then he shall disregard the summons and not come, let the
synod pronounce such sentence against him as appears right, that he may
not seem to profit by avoiding judgment.
Canon LXXV.
An heretic is not to be received as
witness against a bishop, neither only one believer; for "in the
mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established."
Canon LXXVI.
A bishop must not, out of favour to a
brother or a son, or any other relation, ordain whom he will to the
episcopal dignity; for it is not right to make heirs of the bishopric,
giving the things of God to human affections. Neither is it fitting to
subject the Church of God to heirs. But if anyone shall do so let the
ordination be void, and the ordainer himself be punished with
excommunication.
Canon LXXVII.
If any one be deprived of an eye, or
lame of a leg, but in other respects be worthy of a bishopric, he may be
ordained, for the defect of the body does not defile a man, but the
pollution of the soul.
Canon LXXVIII.
But if a man be deaf or blind, he may
not be made a bishop, not indeed as if he were thus defiled, but that
the affairs of the Church may not be hindered.
Canon LXXIX.
If anyone has a devil, let him not be
made a clergyman, neither let him pray with the faithful; but if he be
freed, let him be received into communion, and if he is worthy he may be
ordained.
Canon LXXX.
It is not allowed that a man who has
come over from an heathen life, and been baptized or who has been
converted from an evil course of living, should be immediately made a
bishop, for it is not right that he who has not been tried himself
should be a teacher of others. Unless indeed this be done upon a special
manifestation of Divine grace in his favour.
Canon LXXXI.
We have said that a bishop or presbyter
must not give himself to the management of public affairs, but devote
himself to ecclesiastical business. Let him then be persuaded to do so,
or let him be deposed, for no man can serve two masters, according to
the Lord's declaration.
Canon LXXXII.
We do not allow any servants to be
promoted to the clergy without the consent of their masters, [ some mss.
add: to the troubling of their houses.] But if any servant should appear
worthy of receiving an order, as our Onesimus appeared, and his masters
agree and liberate him, and send him out of their house, he may be
ordained.
Canon LXXXIII.
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon,
shall serve in the army, and wish to retain both the Roman magistracy
and the priestly office, let him be deposed; for the things of Csar
belong to Csar, and those of God to God.
Canon LXXXIV.
Whosoever shall insult the King, or a
ruler, contrary to what is right, let him suffer punishment. If he be a
clergyman, let him be deposed; if a layman, excommunicated.
Canon LXXXV.
Let the following books be counted
venerable and sacred by all of you, both clergy and Laity. Of the Old
Testament, five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy; of Joshua the Son of Nun, one; of the Judges, one; of Ruth,
one; of the Kings, four; of the Chronicles of the book of the days, two;
of Ezra, two; of Esther, one; [some texts read: of Judith, one;] of the
Maccabees, three; of Job, one; of the Psalter, one; of Solomon, three,
viz.: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; of the Prophets,
twelve; of Isaiah, one; of Jeremiah, one; of Ezekiel, one; of Daniel,
one. But besides these you are recommended to teach your young persons
the Wisdom of the very learned Sirach. Our own books, that is, those of
the New Testament, are: the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John; fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter; three of John;
one of James, and one of Jude. Two Epistles of Clement, and the
Constitutions of me Clement, addressed to you Bishops, in eight books,
which are not to be published to all on account of the mystical things
in them. And the Acts of us the Apostles. [The text of this canon is
quite different in the different codices and versions.]
APPENDIX: THE BEGINNING OF CANON 2 OF
THE COUNCIL "IN TRULLO": Declaring the Apostolic Canons to be
a part of Orthodox canon law.
"It has also seemed good to this
holy Council, that the eighty-five canons, received and ratified by the
holy and blessed Fathers before us, and also handed down to us in the
name of the holy and glorious Apostles, should from this time forth
remain firm and unshaken for the cure of souls and the healing of
disorders. And in these canons we are bidden to receive the
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles [written] by Clement. But formerly
through the agency of those who erred from the faith certain adulterous
matter was introduced, clean contrary to piety, for the polluting of the
Church, which obscures the elegance and beauty of the divine decrees in
their present form. We therefore reject these Constitutions so as the
better to make sure of the edification and security of the most
Christian flock; by no means admitting the offspring of heretical error,
and cleaving to the pure and perfect doctrine of the Apostles."
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The St. Pachomius
Orthodox Library, St. Angelina of Serbia and Albania 1998.
Have mercy, O Lord, upon
Thy servant the translator Henry and on Peter, Tatiana, and Christina.
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THE END, AND TO GOD BE
THE GLORY!
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