The ''Epanagoge'' (, "return to the point"), more properly the ''Eisagoge'' (, "Introduction o the law), is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

book promulgated in 886. Begun under

Basil I the Macedonian Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...

(r. 867–886), it was only completed under his son and successor,

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, also known as Leo the Wise (; 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well read, leading to his epithet. During ...

(r. 886–912). As its name suggests, it was meant to be an introduction to the legislation of the ''

Basilika The ''Basilika'' (, "the imperial aws) was a collection of laws completed in Constantinople by order of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise during the Macedonian dynasty. This was a continuation of the efforts of his father, Basil I, to sim ...

'', published later during Leo's reign... The work, organized in 40 volumes, covers almost all spheres of law, and was explicitly meant to replace the earlier ''

Ecloga Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Orthodox Christian and Hellenistic influence. Most sources define ''Byzantine law'' as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century ...

'', dating to the

iconoclast Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

Isaurian dynasty The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Isaurian dynasty (or Syrian dynasty) from 717 to 802. The Isaurian emperors were successful in defending and consolidating the empire against the caliphates after the onslaught of the early Muslim conquests ...

. Nevertheless, it draws some inspiration from the ''Ecloga''; the main source, however, is the ''

Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, enacted from 529 to 534 by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It is also sometimes referred ...

'' of

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(r. 527–565), albeit often heavily altered.

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Photius of Constantinople worked on its compilation, and wrote the preface and the two sections dealing with the position and powers of the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

and the patriarch; notably, the powers of the patriarch appear broader than in Justinian's legislation, both with regards to the emperor and towards the other patriarchates of the

Pentarchy Pentarchy (, ) was a model of Church organization formulated in the laws of Emperor Justinian I () of the Roman Empire. In this model, the Christian Church is governed by the heads (patriarchs) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Em ...

. The ''Epanagoge'' was withdrawn from official use soon after its publication, being replaced by the '' Prochiron'' (which was earlier considered an antecessor of the ''Epanagoge'') twenty years later, but served as the basis for several private law books, such as the '' Epanagoge Aucta'' or the ''

Syntagma Canonum ''Syntagma Canonum'' is a Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church, canon law collection made in 1335 by Matthew Blastares, a Greek monk about whose life nothing certain is known. Contents The collector aimed at reducing canon law to a handie ...

''. Through its translation into Slavonic, the ''Epanagoge'' found its way into

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n canon law, including the 13th-century '' Kormchaya Kniga''. Its provisions on the patriarch's and church's position vis-a-vis the temporal ruler played a great role in the controversy around

Patriarch Nikon Nikon (, ), born Nikita Minin (; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close t ...

in the 17th century..

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Byzantine law 880s in the Byzantine Empire Law books 886 9th century in law