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Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod,
ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...
') 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 internal ecclesiastical law, or operational policy, governing the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(both the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
and the Eastern Catholic Churches), the
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the individual national churches within the Anglican Communion. The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these four bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
was originally a rule adopted by a church council; these canons formed the foundation of canon law.


Etymology

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
/ grc, κανών,
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
/ ,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
/ , 'straight'; a rule, code, standard, or measure; the root meaning in all these languages is 'reed'; see also the Romance-language ancestors of the English word ''
cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...
''. In the fourth century, the
First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
(325) calls canons the disciplinary measures of the church: the term canon, κανὠν, means in Greek, a rule. There is a very early distinction between the rules enacted by the church and the legislative measures taken by the state called ''leges'', Latin for laws.


Apostolic Canons

The '' Apostolic Canons'' or ''Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles'' is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees (eighty-five in the
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
, fifty in the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
Church) concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Church, incorporated with the Apostolic Constitutions which are part of the
Ante-Nicene Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
.


Catholic Church

In the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
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 ...
is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the church's hierarchical authorities to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the church., p. 3 It was the first modern Western legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West. Dr. Edward N. Peters
CanonLaw.info Home Page
accessed June-11-2013
In the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
, positive ecclesiastical laws, based directly or indirectly upon immutable divine law or
natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
, derive formal authority in the case of universal laws from the supreme legislator (i.e., the Supreme Pontiff), who possesses the totality of legislative, executive, and judicial power in his person, while particular laws derive formal authority from a legislator inferior to the supreme legislator. The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-encompassing of the human condition, and therefore extending beyond what is taken as revealed truth. The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
also includes the main five rites (groups) of churches which are in full union with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
and the Latin Church: # Alexandrian Rite Churches which include the Coptic Catholic Church, Eritrean Catholic Church, and
Ethiopian Catholic Church The Ethiopian Catholic Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን; la, Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica) is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' Eastern particular church within the Catholic Church, established in 1930 in Eth ...
. #
West Syriac Rite The West Syriac Rite, also called Syro-Antiochian Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in the West Syriac dialect. It is practised in the Maronite Church, the Syriac Orthodox ...
which includes the
Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...
, Syriac Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. # Armenian Rite Church which includes the Armenian Catholic Church. # Byzantine Rite Churches which include the Albanian Greek Catholic Church, Belarusian Greek Catholic Church,
Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church ( bg, Църква на съединените с Рим българи; la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Bulgarica), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic C ...
,
Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia sr, Гркокатоличка црква у Хрватској и Србији , native_name_lang = sh , image = Coat of arms of Đura Džudžar.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = ...
,
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church ( el, Ελληνική Βυζαντινή Καθολική Εκκλησία, ''Ellinikí Vizantiní Katholikí Ekklisía;'') or the Greek Catholic Church is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic particular church of ...
, Hungarian Greek Catholic Church, Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, Macedonian Greek Catholic Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Romanian Greek Catholic Church, Russian Greek Catholic Church, Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, Slovak Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. # East Syriac Rite Churches which includes the Chaldean Catholic Church and
Syro-Malabar Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...
. All of these church groups are in full communion with the Supreme Pontiff and are subject to the ''
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...
''.


History, sources of law, and codifications

The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
has what is claimed to be the oldest continuously functioning internal legal system in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, much later than
Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
but predating the evolution of modern European civil law traditions. What some might describe as "canons" adopted by the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem in the first century would later be developed into a highly complex legal system encapsulating not just norms of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, but some elements of the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
( Old Testament), Roman, Visigothic, Saxon, and Celtic legal traditions. The history of Latin canon law can be divided into four periods: the ''jus antiquum'', the ''jus novum'', the ''jus novissimum'' and the ''Code of Canon Law''.Ramstein, pg. 13, #8 In relation to the Code, history can be divided into the ''jus vetus'' (all law before the Code) and the ''jus novum'' (the law of the Code, or ''jus codicis''). The canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which had developed some different disciplines and practices, underwent its own process of codification, resulting in the
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...
promulgated in 1990 by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.


Catholic canon law as legal system

Roman Catholic canon law is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code, principles of legal interpretation, and coercive penalties, though it lacks civilly-binding force in most secular jurisdictions. One example where conflict between secular and canon law occurred was in the English legal system, as well as systems, such as the U.S., that derived from it. Here criminals could apply for the benefit of clergy. Being in holy orders, or fraudulently claiming to be, meant that criminals could opt to be tried by ecclesiastical rather than secular courts. The ecclesiastical courts were generally more lenient. Under the
Tudors The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its ...
, the scope of clerical benefit was steadily reduced by Henry VII, Henry VIII, and
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
. The papacy disputed secular authority over priests' criminal offenses. The benefit of clergy was systematically removed from English legal systems over the next 200 years, although it still occurred in South Carolina in
1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, be ...
. In English Law, the use of this mechanism, which by that point was a legal fiction used for first offenders, was abolished by the
Criminal Law Act 1827 The Criminal Law Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo IV c. 28) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, applicable only to England and Wales. It abolished many obsolete procedural devices in English criminal law, particularly the benefit of clergy. I ...
. The academic degrees in Catholic canon law are the J.C.B. (''Juris Canonici Baccalaureatus'', Bachelor of Canon Law, normally taken as a graduate degree), J.C.L. (''Juris Canonici Licentiatus'',
Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiat ...
) and the J.C.D. (''Juris Canonici Doctor'', Doctor of Canon Law). Because of its specialized nature, advanced degrees in civil law or theology are normal prerequisites for the study of canon law. Much of Catholic canon law's legislative style was adapted from the Roman Code of Justinian. As a result, Roman ecclesiastical courts tend to follow the
Roman Law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
style of continental Europe with some variation, featuring collegiate panels of judges and an investigative form of proceeding, called "
inquisitorial An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...
", from the Latin "inquirere", to enquire. This is in contrast to the adversarial form of proceeding found in the common law system of English and U.S. law, which features such things as juries and single judges. The institutions and practices of Catholic canon law paralleled the legal development of much of Europe, and consequently, both modern civil law and
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
bear the influences of canon law. As Edson Luiz Sampel, a Brazilian expert in Catholic canon law, says, canon law is contained in the genesis of various institutes of civil law, such as the law in continental Europe and Latin American countries. Indirectly, canon law has significant influence in contemporary society. Catholic Canonical jurisprudential theory generally follows the principles of Aristotelian-
Thomistic Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physica ...
legal philosophy Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...
. While the term "law" is never explicitly defined in the Catholic Code of Canon Law, the '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' cites Aquinas in defining law as "an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who is in charge of the community" and reformulates it as "a rule of conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of the common good".


Code for the Eastern Churches

The law of the Eastern-rite Churches in full communion with the Roman papacy was in much the same state as that of the Latin or Western Church before 1917; much more diversity in legislation existed in the various Eastern Catholic Churches. Each had its own special law, in which custom still played an important part. One major difference in Eastern Europe however, specifically in the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, was in regards to divorce. Divorce started to slowly be allowed in specific instances such as adultery being committed, abuse, abandonment, impotence, and barrenness being the primary justifications for divorce. Eventually, the church began to allow remarriage to occur (for both spouses) post-divorce. In 1929 Pius XI informed the Eastern Churches of his intention to work out a Code for the whole of the Eastern Church. The publication of these Codes for the Eastern Churches regarding the law of persons was made between 1949 through 1958 but finalized nearly 30 years later. The first Code of Canon Law (1917) was exclusively for the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
, with application to the Eastern Churches only "in cases which pertain to their very nature". After the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
(1962 - 1965), the Vatican produced the ''
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...
'' which became the first code of Eastern Catholic Canon Law.


Eastern Orthodox Church

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 ...
, principally through the work of 18th-century Athonite monastic scholar
Nicodemus the Hagiorite Nicodemus the Hagiorite or Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain ( el, Ὅσιος Νικόδημος ὁ Ἁγιορείτης; 1749 – July 14, 1809) is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was an ascetic monk, mystic, theologian, and philos ...
, has compiled canons and commentaries upon them in a work known as the ( grc-gre, Πηδάλιον, 'Rudder'), so named because it is meant to "steer" the church in her discipline. The dogmatic determinations of the Councils are to be applied rigorously since they are considered to be essential for the church's unity and the faithful preservation of the Gospel.


Anglican Communion

In the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, the ecclesiastical courts that formerly decided many matters such as disputes relating to marriage, divorce, wills, and defamation, still have jurisdiction of certain church-related matters (e.g. discipline of clergy, alteration of church property, and issues related to churchyards). Their separate status dates back to the 12th century when the
Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
split them off from the mixed secular/religious county and local courts used by the Saxons. In contrast to the other courts of England, the law used in ecclesiastical matters is at least partially a civil law system, not
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
, although heavily governed by parliamentary statutes. Since the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, ecclesiastical courts in England have been royal courts. The teaching of canon law at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge was abrogated by Henry VIII; thereafter practitioners in the ecclesiastical courts were trained in civil law, receiving a
Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...
(D.C.L.) degree from
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, or a Doctor of Laws (
LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
) degree from
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
. Such lawyers (called "doctors" and "civilians") were centered at " Doctors Commons", a few streets south of St Paul's Cathedral in London, where they monopolized probate, matrimonial, and admiralty cases until their jurisdiction was removed to the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
courts in the mid-19th century. Other churches in the Anglican Communion around the world (e.g., the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada) still function under their own private systems of canon law. In 2002 a Legal Advisors Consultation meeting at Canterbury concluded:
(1) There are principles of canon law common to the churches within the Anglican Communion; (2) Their existence can be factually established; (3) Each province or church contributes through its own legal system to the principles of canon law common within the Communion; (4) these principles have strong persuasive authority and are fundamental to the self-understanding of each of the member churches; (5) These principles have a living force, and contain within themselves the possibility for further development; and (6) The existence of the principles both demonstrates and promotes unity in the Communion.


Presbyterian and Reformed churches

In Presbyterian and Reformed churches, canon law is known as "practice and procedure" or "church order", and includes the church's laws respecting its government, discipline, legal practice, and worship. Roman canon law had been criticized by the Presbyterians as early as 1572 in the
Admonition to Parliament The reign of Elizabeth I of England, from 1558 to 1603, saw the start of the Puritan movement in England, its clash with the authorities of the Church of England, and its temporarily effective suppression as a political movement in the 1590s by j ...
. The protest centered on the standard defense that canon law could be retained so long as it did not contradict the civil law. According to Polly Ha, the Reformed church government refuted this, claiming that the bishops had been enforcing canon law for 1500 years.


Lutheranism

The Book of Concord is the historic
doctrinal statement A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
since the 16th century.Bente, Friedrich., ed. and trans., ''Concordia Triglotta'', (St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...
, 1921), p. i
However, the Book of Concord is a confessional document (stating orthodox belief) rather than a book of ecclesiastical rules or discipline, like canon law. Each Lutheran national church establishes its own system of church order and discipline, though these are referred to as "canons".


United Methodist Church

The Book of Discipline contains the laws, rules, policies, and guidelines for The United Methodist Church. Its last edition was published in 2016.


See also

*
Abrogation of Old Covenant laws While most Christian theology reflects the view that at least some Mosaic Laws have been set aside under the New Covenant, there are some theology systems that view the entire Mosaic or Old Covenant as abrogated in that all of the Mosaic Laws a ...
*
Akribeia In the Eastern Orthodox Church, ''akribeia'' ( gr, ἀκρίβεια, translit=akriveia, akribia, akrivia, lit=accuracy, exactness, preciseness) is the strict adherence to the letter of the Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church, law of the Chu ...
*
Canon law (Church of England) The Church of England, like the other autonomous member churches of the Anglican Communion, has its own system of canon law. The principal body of canon law enacted since the Reformation is the ''Book of Canons'' approved by the Convocations of ...
* Canon law (Episcopal Church in the United States) * Canonical Inquisition *
Collections of ancient canons Collections of ancient canons contain collected bodies of canon law that originated in various documents, such as papal and synodal decisions, and that can be designated by the generic term of canons. Canon law was not a finished product from the ...
*'' Decretum Gratiani'' *
Doctor of both laws A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...
*
Economy (religion) In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in Eastern and Latin Catholic churches, and in the teaching of the Church Fathers which undergirds the theology of those communions, economy or oeconomy ( gr, οἰκονομία, ''oikonomia'') has several meaning ...
*
Fetha Nagast The Fetha Negest ( gez, ፍትሐ ነገሥት, fətḥa nägäśt, Justice of the Kings) is a theocratic legal code compiled around 1240 by the Coptic Egyptian Christian writer Abu'l-Fada'il ibn al-Assal in Arabic. It was later translated into ...
*''
Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
'' *'' Ius remonstrandi'' * List of canon lawyers *
Religious law Religious law includes ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, ...
* Rule according to higher law * Sharia * State religion


References


Further reading

* Baker, J.H. ''An Introduction to English Legal History'', 4th edn. London: Butterworths, 2002. * Beal, John P., James A. Coriden, & Thomas J. Green. ''New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law''. New York: Paulist Press, 2000. * Brundage, James A. ''The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession: Canonists, Civilians, and Courts''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c2008. * Brundage, James A. ''Medieval Canon Law''. London/New York: Longman, 1995. * Coriden, James A. ''An Introduction to Canon Law'', revised edn. New York: Paulist Press, 2004. * Coriden, James A., Thomas J. Green, & Donald E. Heintschel, eds. ''The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary''. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. * Coughlin, John J., O.F.M. ''Canon Law: A Comparative Study with Anglo-American Legal Theory''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. * Della Rocca, Fernando. ''Manual of Canon Law''. Trans. by Rev. Anselm Thatcher, O.S.B. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1959. * The Episcopal Church.
Constitution and Canons
together with the Rules of Order for the Government of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as The Episcopal Church''. New York: Church Publishing, Inc., 2006. * Hartmann, Wilfried & Kenneth Pennington, eds. ''The History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical Period, 1140-1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX''. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2008. *Hartmann, Wilfried & Kenneth Penningon, eds. ''The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500''. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011. * R. C. Mortimer. ''Western Canon Law''. London: A. and C. Black, 1953. * * Robinson, O.F., T.D. Fergus, & W.M. Gordon. ''European Legal History'', 3rd edn. London: Butterworths, 2000. * Ulanov, M. S., Badmaev, V. N., Holland, E. C. Buddhism and Kalmyk Secular Law in the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries. ''Inner Asia.'' no. 19. P. 297–314. * Wagschal, David. ''Law and Legality in the Greek East: The Byzantine Canonical Tradition, 381–883''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. * Witte, John, Jr. & Frank S. Alexander, eds. ''Christianity and Law: An Introduction''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. * On Armenian Oriental canon law.


External links

* * Catholic * outdated, but useful
Codex Iuris Canonici (1983)
original text in Latin (the only official text)
Code of Canon Law (1983)
but with the 1998 modification of canons 750 and 1371, English translation by th
Canon Law Society of America
, on the Vatican website
Code of Canon Law (1983)
English translation by the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, assisted by the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Canadian Canon Law Society
Codex canonum ecclesiarum orientalium (1990)
original text in Latin
"Code of canons of Oriental Churchs" (1990)
defective English translation
Codex Iuris Canonici (1917)
original text in Latin
Salvific Law1983 Code of Canon Law - Notes, Commentary, Articles, Bibliography
Anglican
"Canons of the Church of England""Ecclesiastical Law Society"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canon Law * Christian terminology Religious law