Theodore Balsamon ( el, Θεόδωρος Βαλσαμῶν) was a

canonist Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

and 12th-century

Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch The patriarch of Antioch is one of the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, the leader of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The term "Greek" does not refer to ethnic origin; the majority of these patriarchs were not ethnic Greeks. It r ...

Biography

Born in the second half of the 12th century at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

; died there, after 1195 (Petit). He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

, appointed '' nomophylax'', and from 1178 to 1183, under Patriarch

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

, he had charge of all ecclesiastical trials or cases submitted to the Patriarchate. In 1193 he became the

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian ...

, though he remained resident in Constantinople. Balsamon's best work is his "

Scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

" (Greek: Σχόλια) (c. 1170), a commentary on the

Nomocanon A nomocanon ( gr, Νομοκανών, ; from the Greek 'law' and 'a rule') is a collection of ecclesiastical law, consisting of the elements from both the civil law and the canon law. Nomocanons form part of the canon law of the Eastern Cathol ...

of Photios, the standard work on Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical and imperial laws and decrees, commissioned by the Emperor Manuel I and the Patriarch

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

.J.M. Hussey, ''the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire'' (Oxford, 1986), p. 307. In his "Scholia", Balsamon insists on existing laws, and dwells on the relation between canons and laws — ecclesiastical and civil constitutions — giving precedence to the former. Balsamon also compiled a collection of ecclesiastical constitutions (''

Syntagma Syntagma (σύνταγμα), a Greek word meaning "arrangement" in classical Greek and "constitution" in modern Greek, may refer to: *The Constitution of Greece *Ottoman Empire Constitution of 1876 *Syntagma Square in Athens *Syntagma station of t ...

'') and wrote other works, many of which concern the ongoing debate between the Eastern and Western Churches following the

schism of 1054 A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

. Two of his letters were published: one treating of

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after co ...

, the other on the admission of novices into

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Legacy

Theodore's legacy is that he preserved the world's knowledge of many otherwise unknown source documents from early Byzantine political and theological history. His commentaries are still referenced to this day by students of

Eastern Orthodox canon law The canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church consists of the ecclesiastical regulations recognised by the authorities of the Eastern Orthodox Church, together with the discipline, study, and practice of Eastern Orthodox jurisprudence. In the Ea ...

. Theodore also standardized the liturgical practices in usage in the Antiochian Church, to adopt the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours ar ...

and to reject other Eastern Rites.

Bibliography

Balsamon's ''Scholia'' was first published by Gentian Hervet in Latin at Paris (1561), at Basle (1562); in Greek and Latin at Paris (1615), and again at Basle (1620). It is also found in Beveridge's "Pandecta Canonum", Oxford, 1672 (P. G., cxxxvii-viii). From 1852 to 1860, Rhalli and Potli published at Athens a collection of the sources of Greek

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

which contains Balsamon's commentary. Migne published his commentaries in his ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857� ...

'', CIV, 441.

References

People from Constantinople 1199 deaths Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch 12th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Year of birth unknown 12th-century Byzantine people Canon law jurists Byzantine writers Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church 12th-century Byzantine writers 12th-century jurists Byzantine jurists {{Byzantine-bio-stub