Theodore Balsamon, also called Balsamo, () was a

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

of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and 12th-century Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.

Biography

Born in the second half of the 12th century at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

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

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

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

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

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

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

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

Scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

" (Greek: Σχόλια) (c. 1170), a commentary on the Nomocanon 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 (; 9/10 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 dynasty, Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. He ...

.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'') and wrote other works, many of which concern the ongoing debate between the Eastern and Western Churches following the schism of 1054. Two of his letters were published: one treating of

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

, 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 which m ...

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. 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, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

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 , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

which contains Balsamon's commentary. Migne published his commentaries in his '' Patrologia Graeca'', CIV, 441.

References

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