Apostolic canons (56)

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. The Synod of the Church, which the Apostles gave through the hand of Clement, first of his fellows. Canon 1. Concerning the ordination of bishops: there shall be in the province of a bishop. A bishop shall be ordained by two or three bishops. A priest and a deacon and the rest of the clergy shall be ordained by one bishop. Canon 2. Concerning what is brought to the altar. If a bishop or a priest brings anything to the altar of God other than what we have commanded, who bring and offer the Eucharist, or bring oil, or milk, or from birds, or other animals, besides what our Lord commanded, let him be deposed. And they shall not bring anything to the altar without bread and wine at their proper times, and pure water, and incense at the time of the pure Eucharist. And the rest of the fruits they shall send to the house, and they shall be for the bishop and the clergy, and they shall not bring them to the altar. And the bishops and the clergy shall share them, and the rest of the laity.

Canon 3. And a bishop, a priest, and a deacon shall not divorce his wife on the pretext of a commandment of God. And if they separate, they shall be separated. And if they do not bring her in and do not bring her [into his house?], they shall be deposed. Canon 4. Concerning the day on which they should celebrate Passover. And if a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon celebrates the holy Passover with the Jews before the night and day of the [Passover?] feast, they shall be deposed. Canon 5. And bishops, priests, and deacons shall not engage in the business of this world. And if they engage [in it], they shall be separated. Canon 6. If a bishop or one of the priests does not receive the offering at the time of the liturgy without declaring his reason for this, and if it is that he is not worthy, they shall forgive him. And if he declares his reason, he shall be expelled, because he has become a leader [such that] he would be a sin for the people. And they shall be excommunicated over him who raised the offering, as one who did not raise it in purity.

Canon 7. Every believer who enters into the church and hears the scriptures and does not stand until they perform the prayer and does not receive the holy communion and does not pray over him, they shall expel him, he shall be expelled, because he has committed a sin and an offense against the church. Canon 8. And if anyone prays with one who does not partake of the mystery of his wife, he shall be expelled from the house. Canon 9. And they shall not pray with one who has been expelled. And if one of the clergy prays with a priest who has been expelled, he also shall be expelled. Canon 10. And if one of the clergy or a layman who has been expelled goes into a city as if he were not expelled, and enters that city without permission and is appointed, he also shall be expelled, and the one who appointed him. And if there is a place, he who placed him there shall be expelled, because he has betrayed the church of God. Canon 11. It is not permitted for a bishop to leave his see and be appointed to another. And if the people request him without a reason of profit, and they request him, he shall do likewise, because he is able to increase them there in matters of righteousness. And this also he shall not do alone, but by the judgment of many bishops and by a great assembly together.

Canon 12. If a bishop or a presbyter or a deacon or one of the order of the clergy abandons his see and goes to another see and resides in that place for a long time, without the permission of the bishop, we command that he shall not serve for life; and moreover, if the bishop to whom he has gone receives him, that he may return to his place, and he does not obey him, he shall be expelled from his orders and shall approach in the place where he is as a layman. And if the bishop who is with him receives him as one of the clergy and imposes this penalty which we have relaxed, as if it were nothing, he also, that bishop, shall be expelled as a teacher of contempt for the law. Canon 13. Concerning one who marries two wives or a betrothed woman. One who marries two wives or a betrothed woman after baptism shall not be ordained a bishop or a presbyter or a deacon, nor shall he be numbered among the ordained clergy. One who marries a betrothed woman, or one who has been divorced, or one who has been dishonored, or a widow, or a maidservant, or one who goes to a theater, shall not be ordained a bishop or a presbyter or a deacon, nor shall he be numbered among the ordained clergy. Or one who has slept with two sisters or his brother's daughter shall not be a priest.

Canon 14. A priest who commits adultery with a woman shall be deposed. Canon 15. Concerning those who castrate. If a man castrates another person by force, or if he cuts off his shame in a fight, or if he is born that way, if it is done to him, he is not hindered from being a bishop. But if he castrates himself alone, he shall not be among the clergy, because he has become a killer of his own soul and an enemy of the creation of God. One of the clergy, if he cuts off his own creation, he is deposed, because he is a killer of his own soul alone. A layman who castrates himself shall be exiled for three years, because he has become an enemy of his own life alone. Canon 16. Concerning one who commits adultery, or swears falsely, or steals. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon who is found in adultery, or false oath, or theft, shall be deposed and not exiled, because the Lord says, "Do not repeat a sin a second time." Canon 17. And again, those who remain among the clergy, who are the anagnosts and the cantors, when they grow old in the priesthood and wish to marry, they may marry. And we permit them in their singleness, while they are anagnosts, to marry, but only, they shall not be after they have been ordained.

Canon 18. Concerning a priest who strikes. A bishop or a priest who strikes a Christian or an unbeliever, when he becomes angry and intends by this deed to destroy people, we command that he be deposed, for our Lord commanded us to do this. And there is no one place, for when they strike him, he struck; and when they curse him, he cursed; and when they cause him pain, he was pained. Canon 19. Concerning one who is deposed justly from the clergy. If a bishop or a priest or a deacon who is deposed justly on account of a known sin, and he presumes and approaches to take his office, which is forbidden during the time of penance, this one shall be removed completely from the church. Canon 20. Concerning one who obtains office by gifts. If a bishop or a priest or a deacon who takes the rank of ordination by gifts, he shall be deposed; and he who gave (the gifts) shall also be deposed; and he shall be cut off from the ordinance of the priesthood, and they shall not partake with him in anything, as I, Peter, have decreed for Simon the Magician, who was separated from me.

Canon 21. Concerning one who is reconciled, as one who takes a church. If a bishop is reconciled with the princes of this world and rules a church from among them, let him be deposed and excommunicated, he and all those who follow him. Canon 22. Concerning a priest who judges a bishop. And if a priest judges a bishop and separates and makes a schism for him, while no fault is found against the bishop in a judgment concerning the work of God, while he strives to correct him as a lover of the people, he is a transgressor, and all the priests who follow him, for he is a transgressor; and the laypeople who follow him shall be excommunicated. And this shall be when the bishop asks them once, twice, and thrice. Canon 23. Concerning a priest or deacon whom a bishop excommunicates. If another bishop excommunicates a priest or deacon, he shall not receive him unless the one who excommunicated him has died or is dead.

Canon 24. A bishop shall not ordain a presbyter or deacon unless they are examined like the junior clergy, except that if they have a blemish they are anointed and they serve. And if they are found to be just in their ways, they are appointed; and if not, they are not given what they desire, and they do not serve, because there are many who are like this. Canon 25. The archbishop knows all the bishops of every region, and he appoints them; he knows who is first among them, and he names him archbishop. And they do not do great business without the counsel of the one who is greater, and each one does his own work which is appointed to him for his diocese and for the people who are within his jurisdiction. And only the one who is appointed over them does nothing without the counsel of all the bishops. And thus there is one communion, and God is praised in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. A bishop shall not be permitted to go from his jurisdiction to one which is not his own diocese. And if he is found to have done this without the counsel of the head, he is deposed, and his diocese and his people are given to another, and those who ordained him are also [deposed].

Canon 26. And if a bishop is ordained and does not shepherd and does not discern concerning the people entrusted to him, he shall be separated until he shepherds. And likewise a presbyter and a deacon. And if he goes away, he shall not leave so that he may enter again; and it is not by his own counsel but by the counsel of the people. And he himself shall remain, while he is bishop. And the priests of the city shall be separated, for they did not teach the people likewise. Canon 27. And there shall be a council of bishops twice a year, and they shall inquire concerning the ordinance of the message of the Lord, and they shall correct error and transgression that occurs in the church. And the first council shall be in the middle of Pentecost, and the second council on the 12th of Ṭeqemt. Canon 28. And a bishop shall administer for the church, and he shall serve them as the Lord looked upon him. And it is not permitted for him to take from them more for himself, and he shall not give the property of the Lord to his relatives; and if they are poor, it is not permitted for him to trade with the property of the church on their account.

Canon 29. Concerning the counsel of the bishop. No one among the presbyters and deacons, nor any other, shall act without the counsel of the bishop, for he is the one entrusted with the people of God, and he is also the one who judges concerning their souls. Canon 30. And they shall administer the property of the bishop separately from the property of the church. And they shall administer the property of God. When the bishop dies, his property shall be inherited, and he shall give to whomever he wishes. For the property of the bishop shall not be mingled with the property of the church. Or if the bishop has a wife and children and relatives or servants, for it is not right that the property of the church be mingled. For they shall not administer the property of the bishop, and the property of the bishop and his relatives shall not be mingled on account of the property of the church. And they shall fall under the fast and be deprived at his death.

Canon 30. Concerning the trust of the bishop over the property of the church. We command that the bishop be one who administers the property of the church, for he is the one entrusted with the souls of the people, which is honorable. How much more, then, all the property that is given to him, that he may command it according to his will, and he shall distribute to the poor from it through the hands of the presbyters and deacons, with the fear of God and with trembling. And he himself shall also receive from it for his own sustenance, if he is firm in what they desire from him, the brothers who are merchants who bring him gifts, that he may not hinder them from all that they have desired from him. For the law of God commands those who are firm to give for the altar, and they are served from the altar, for they do not betray the king’s secret to his enemies for the sake of their own souls. Canon 31. Concerning those who go to the theatre. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon who goes to the theatre, and plays, and drinks much wine, shall be dismissed; and if not, he shall be excommunicated. Half of a deacon, and a subdeacon, and a cantor, if they do this deed, shall be dismissed; and if not, they shall be excommunicated. And likewise the laity. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon who knows and dismisses, shall be restrained; and if not, he shall be cut off.

Canon 33. Concerning a bishop, priest, or deacon who goes to the baptism of the great ones or to their Eucharist. We command that they be excommunicated. For this is the will of Christ with Satan, and not a portion for the faithful with the unbeliever. Canon 34. Concerning the error of one who practices sorcery. If a bishop, priest, deacon, or one of the chosen clergy has practiced sorcery and eaten flesh and drunk wine, and not because of fasting, but as the impure, and the book has ordained them as all good, and God created man male and female, and thus he is to be shunned, let him be dismissed; and if not, let him be excommunicated and go out from the church, and likewise the layman. Canon 35. Concerning the repentance of one who does not rebuke those who sin. If a bishop, priest, or deacon does not rebuke one who repents from his sin, let him be excommunicated, for the heart of God is grieved, who said, "There will be joy in heaven on account of one sinner who repents.

Canon 36. If a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon eats a morsel of meat or drinks a drop of wine during the days of feasts and in secret, and he causes them to be ashamed, and he was a guide for the perversion of the people, let him be deposed. Canon 37. If any of the clergy is found who eats in the taverns and drinks, let him be separated. But if it was in a place of business because of hardship, on a journey or in a lodging, and if one of the laymen accuses a bishop, let him be deposed, for he said to the judge of your people, "You shall not hear his word." And if one of the lesser clergy, a priest or a deacon, accuses, let him be expelled. If any of the clergy mocks a mute, or a lame, or a blind, or one who is crippled in his feet, let him be expelled, and likewise a layman if he does this. Canon 38. Concerning a bishop or a priest who does not teach the people the prostration to God. A bishop or a priest who silences the clergy and the people and does not teach them the message of God, let him be expelled. And if he persists in silencing, let him be anathematized.

Canon 39. If a bishop or a priest is accused concerning one who fasts from among the clergy, and he does not investigate the matter, he who gives him permission to break his fast shall be expelled. And if he was in the accusation, he shall be punished like one who killed his brother. Canon 40. Whoever introduces books which heretics wrote falsely and brings them into the church as if they were holy books for the deception of the people and the clergy shall be punished. Canon 41. Concerning a priest who is slandered concerning fornication or another matter. If he is a layman among the faithful in fornication or in sorcery or in another deed which is not fitting, and if he is slandered, he shall not be among the clergy. Canon 42. Concerning denial of Christ and denial of priesthood. One of the ordinands, if he denies because of fear of people, or from Jews, or from pagans and heretics: if it is the name of Christ which he denied, he shall be expelled; and if it is the name of priesthood which he denied, he shall be punished. And if he repents, he shall be received and enter as a layman.

Canon 43. If a bishop or a priest or a deacon or any of the remaining clergy eats meat which has blood in it, or strangled [an animal], or a wild beast or a carcass, he shall be scourged according to the law which commands it. And if he is a layman, he shall be expelled. Canon 44. If any of the clergy is found fasting on the day of the Lord [Sunday] or on the Sabbath, except the Great Sabbath alone which is Pascha, he shall be scourged. Canon 45. If any of the clergy or a layman enters a synagogue of the Jews or a place of idols, as the priests pray, they shall be scourged, and the layman shall be expelled. Concerning one who strikes a man so that he dies, and one who violates a virgin: a priest, if he is found with another who strikes and kills, he shall be scourged on account of the hardness of his heart. And if he is a layman, he shall be expelled. And if a layman violates a virgin before she is betrothed and lies with her, he shall be expelled, and he shall not take another, but he shall dwell with the one he violated. And if she is poor and needy...

Canon 44. Concerning one who is ordained a second time. If a bishop or a priest or a deacon is found to have been ordained twice, he shall be scourged, both he and the one who ordained him. But if it is known that he was ordained by heretics, because it is not complete, as are those who are baptized or ordained by a man of that sort, they are not faithful nor priests. Canon 45. Concerning one who does not fast the fast of Forty [Lent] and Wednesday and Friday. A bishop or a priest or a deacon or an anagnostes or a cantor, if he does not fast the holy Forty and Wednesday and Friday, he shall be scourged. If he is not prevented by bodily illness, and if he is a layman, he shall be excommunicated. Canon 46. If a bishop or a priest or a deacon or any of the clergy fasts with the Jews and celebrates Pascha with them, or accepts gifts from them on the occasion of their feasts, or anything like that, he shall be scourged. And if he is a layman, he shall be excommunicated. A layman, if he goes to a synagogue of the Jews or a temple of the pagans, oil and incense he shall be scourged.

Canon 49. Concerning one who steals, or who finds, or who takes something from the property of the church. If a bishop, priest, or deacon steals from the church, or oil, he shall be scourged and shall repay what he stole fivefold in silver property and vestments. If it appears that he is poor, he shall not be deprived of anything except his own portion, for this deed is a sin. And if anyone has done this, they shall scourge him and depose him. Canon 50. Concerning a bishop who is accused. When a bishop is accused by faithful, righteous, and good men, it is the duty to summon him to the bishops. And if he comes and confesses his sin, they shall again rebuke him and pass judgment upon him according to what is fitting. And if they summon him and he does not come, and they summon him a second time to the two bishops, they shall send to him. And if he does not obey, they shall summon him a third time; they shall send to him again two bishops. And if he does not obey and despises and does not come, those who have assembled shall pass judgment upon him as is fitting, as if they had rebuked him, for he has fled from judgment.

Canon 50. Concerning those who do not hear the word of the Lord from a bishop, and concerning a bishop who does not hear from his fellow bishops. A bishop shall not be deposed from hearing the word of the Lord from a bishop, and a bishop shall not be deposed from hearing a fellow bishop, because from the mouth of two or three every matter stands. And it is not permitted for a bishop to give the episcopate to his brother, or to his children, or to his relatives, and it is not permitted for him to do as he wishes, because it is not right that the episcopate be inherited, and he shall not give the property of God according to human will. And it is not lawful for him to bequeath the inheritance of the church to Christ as an inheritance. If they have done thus, they shall be deprived of the episcopate, and they shall be as one who has nothing, and he himself shall be judged by the law. One who is blind in one eye, or lame in his foot, it is lawful for him to be ordained a bishop, because it is a blemish of the body, not a blemish of the soul. The mute and the blind shall not be ordained a bishop, because they are not pure, but as for one who has squandered the property of the church, he who has a demon shall not be ordained a priest, and he shall not pray with the faithful. And if he has been cleansed, they shall bring him in; and if it is lawful, he shall be ordained a priest.

Canon 52. A bishop who has been baptized anew, who has come from the pagans, or who has lived in evil and been baptized, if he is worthy, shall be made a bishop in his time. If he is worthy, he who has been consulted shall be a teacher for the foreign peoples, but this one shall not be by the grace of God. And it is not permitted for a bishop to dwell and gather a congregation, or to administer the work of the church. And if a bishop does not do this, there is no one who can, for two lords have been appointed over him according to the command of our Lord. We do not command that a priest be made a servant without the consent of their lords, so that their lords may not grieve, for by this their houses are destroyed. And if a servant is found in his time who is worthy of the rank of priesthood, as it has been shown to us, his lords shall rule over him and bring him out from their houses, and he shall be made [a priest]. Canon 53. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon who joins with a magician and desires to perform [magic] for both of them, so that he may find the priesthood of the people and find the priesthood, shall be deposed. For it is said, “Give what is God’s to God, and what is the king’s to the king.” He who belittles a king or a judge without just cause shall be punished. And if he is a priest, he shall be deposed; and if he is a layman, he shall be excommunicated.

Canon 54. Concerning how the books of the Old and New Testaments are to be received in the church. And all these books, both the priests and the laity, are holy and honorable. And these are from the ordinance of the Old Testament. Canon 55. The books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The book of Joshua son of Nun. The book of Judges. The book of Ruth. 4 books of Kings, first and second, 1 book; third and fourth, 1 book. 2 books of the Chronicles of Kings. Ezra, first and second, 1 book. The book of Job. The book of Esther. The book of Tobit. Ecclesiastes. The Psalms of David, 150. The Proverbs of Solomon. The Song of Songs. Ecclesiasticus. The Twelve Minor Prophets. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Daniel. Ezekiel. And teach these to your children, except the Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, the books of Jubilees, 3. The book of Jesus son of Sirach, the great instruction. And these are our books of the New Testament: 4 Gospels, of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke, of John. The Acts of the Apostles. 2 Epistles of Peter. 3 Epistles of John. 1 Epistle of James. 1 of Jude. 14 Epistles of Paul. And the Apostolic Canons, which is the Revelation of John. 2 Epistles of Clement.

Canon 56. Concerning the ordinance of the apostles. And this we remind you, bishops, concerning the synod. For if you are steadfast in it, you will be blessed and saved, and it will be for you a peace for this life. And if you disobey and do not accept what is in it, it will mock you and cause sorrow among you for this life, and afterward you will find a judgment that will condemn you for your transgression. And the Lord God alone, and His only Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the maker of all creation, will grant to each one of you all peace, and will guide you in all freedom, while you do not stumble and remain without fault, while you have no sin. And He will grant you strength for the place of eternal life through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our living Lord and Savior, to whom is praise—to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. This is the synod of the apostles, which they sent with Clement. And praise to the Lord God, forever and ever. Amen.