Apostolic canons (81)

The Order of the Apostles with Clement, which was sent to the Gentiles, the Law of the Church 1. A bishop is to be ordained by two or three bishops on the Lord's day of the Christians. 2. A priest by one bishop, and likewise a deacon and a subdeacon, on the Lord's day of the Christians. 3. If a bishop or a priest, without the ordinance of the Lord, offers a sacrifice with a hand that has become [unclean], or with honey and wine mixed, or with birds, or with an animal that has become [unclean], or with a wild beast without ordinance, he commits a sin. 4. At the time it is permitted, without leavened bread and wheat, it shall not be; they shall bring something to the altar, and place it within the holy sanctuary, and incense at the time of the mystery of the Eucharist. 5. And by hand, all the wheat within the house is sent first to the bishop and to the priests, for they distribute to the deacons and to the subdeacons who are appointed.

6. A bishop, or a priest, or a deacon who is a man of the world shall not perform the service of the offering; and if he does, he shall be deposed. 7. A bishop, or a priest, or a deacon who celebrates the holy day of the Lord, Pascha, with the Jews shall be deposed. 8. A bishop, or a priest, or a deacon, or one who has been among the clergy, who does not approach the prayer of the Eucharist for any reason, if he is found to be in good health, they shall admonish him; and if he does not give a reason, they shall suspend him according to the law which the people and the congregation have established for those who approach. 9. All those who are in the church, both the great and those who read the scripture, and who do not endure the prayer and the holy communion, shall be expelled from the church, according to the law which does not permit them. 10. If someone who is with a catechumen prays at home, he shall be expelled as such. 11. If someone prays with one who has been deposed, while he himself is as one deposed, he also shall be deposed.

12. If a bishop is ordained, or if he is from the laity, a cleric, or if he is not a cleric, and he goes into another city, they shall not receive him without a letter of commendation. Those who receive him, and the one who receives him, if he is a cleric, he shall be subject to the penalty of the law which he transgressed, and he shall restore the church of God. 13. A bishop shall not abandon his own see and go to another diocese to dwell; but if he is compelled by many, he may do so only for a just cause, as this shall be done. For those who are there, on account of the fear of God, he shall assist; and this is not for himself, but for the calling of many and for a great purpose. 14. If a priest, or a deacon, or another of the ordained, abandons his own see and goes into another, and completes his service there, and then dwells in another diocese in such a way that he completes his service, he shall not be ordained. And if again, while the bishop summons him to return, he does not obey, while he remains in schism like a layman, he shall dwell only there, while he is excommunicated.

15. And if a bishop, where there are those who have received a crown, has taken away the authority over them and abolished the ordinance, he shall be deposed like the deposed ones, according to the law of the chief of the physicians. 16. He who has taken two wives after baptism, and if he has cut off the foreskin, cannot be a bishop, nor a priest, nor a deacon, nor any one who is at the altar. 17. He who has taken a wife and if he has divorced her, and if he has taken another wife, cannot be a bishop, nor a priest, nor a deacon, nor any one who is at the altar. 18. He who has taken two sisters, and if she is not the daughter of his brother or the daughter of his sister, cannot be ordained. 19. A deposed person who gives a bribe is to be anathematized. 20. A eunuch, if he has been made so by men, or if he has been castrated by disease, or if he was born thus, and he is worthy, a bishop may ordain him. 21. He who has cut off his own head is not to be ordained, for he is a murderer of himself, and a despiser of the work of God.

22. If a bishop, while he is ordained, cuts off his own head, he shall be deposed, because he is a murderer of himself. 23. A layman who cuts off his own head shall stand for three rainy seasons, because he is an enemy of his own life. 24. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, if he is found in adultery, or in false witness, or in theft, he shall be deposed and shall not stand, because the book says: The Lord does not forgive a second time for one sin. 25. And likewise, other ordained ones who are in the laity, who do not impose the imposition of hands on those who wish to impose anagnosts and cantors, only them. 26. A bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, who ordains faithful ones who have sinned, or faithful ones who have been excommunicated, and by the fear they cause, they wish to depose the imposition of hands, because there is no Lord who has commanded thus. Moreover, he himself, while he ordains, has not ordained, and while he excommunicates, has not excommunicated, and while he anathematizes, has been anathematized.

27. If a bishop, or if a presbyter, or if a deacon, who has been ordained righteously, in a state of sin knowingly, and fears and trembles at that which was formerly given to him, for a sin of this kind, he is cut off; he shall be expelled from the church. 28. If a bishop, for gold, has become an accomplice to this sin, and if a presbyter, or if a deacon, performs it, he also, and those who consent with him, shall be expelled, and he shall be cut off from his office, like Simon from Peter. 29. If a bishop, having been bribed by worldly magnates, and has become an accomplice with them against the church, he also performs it and stands, and all those who are in office with him. 30. If a presbyter who has concealed his own bishop, and alone performs the service of prayer and the Eucharist, without anyone to inform the bishop, with good conduct and righteousness, he performs the law of the love of the judge, because he is a mediator; and the laity also, who are appointed with him, are equal in measure with him. And the laypeople stand, this from after one, two, and three, at the visitation of the bishop, it shall be.

31. If a presbyter, or if a deacon, from a bishop who was established for this, it is not permitted that he be received from another, except by the one who established him. If he who established him is dead, the bishop who established him [is the one to receive him]. 32. And no one from among the foreign bishops, presbyters, and deacons shall be received without a letter of recommendation. And those who bring them shall be examined. And if they are preachers of good worship, they shall be received. But if their testimony is false, do not receive them, for there is much that is false. 33. The bishops of each and every people shall know the first of their number, and they shall respect his law. And they shall do nothing whatsoever of division without his permission. Only this one, each one in his measure, may be entrusted with a journey for his sake. And for those under him in the region, he shall do nothing without the counsel of all, for thus there will be unity, and the Lord will be praised in Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

34. A bishop shall not transfer from his own place to another place for the sake of benefices, into a region and country that is not his own. And if he transgresses, having done thus without the counsel of those who govern the region and country, he shall be punished, both he and those who appointed him. 35. If a bishop who was appointed has not yet received the throne and the intelligence of the people that was given to him, he shall remain standing thus until he receives it. And likewise a presbyter and a deacon. And if he has delayed and not received it, not by his own will but by the wickedness of the people, he shall be bishop and the governors of the city shall stand, for the people of this kind are not to be ruled by teachers. 36. Again, a synod of bishops shall be held twice a year, and they shall discuss among themselves the ordinance of good worship. And also the affairs of the churches shall be discussed there. One, however, on the fourth Sabbath of Pentecost, and the second in the month of Nahase, on the 12th.

37. All the property of the church, the bishop shall administer with wisdom, and he shall ordain the law of God, and he shall see that it is not lacking; they shall be expelled from among them, and they shall be deprived of the grace of God. And if there is a need, he shall appoint, but not by reason of these, the property of the church, and he shall not be deceived. 38. Priests and deacons, without the counsel of the bishop, and nothing whatsoever, shall they do, for he is the one who has been entrusted with the people of God, and concerning their souls, he shall give account. 39. Let the property of the bishop be known to him, if he has any, and let the property of the church also be known, so that he may be a steward of what is his. After the death of the bishop, for the one who wishes, he shall give, and not by reason of the church’s property shall the bishop’s property be mingled. And if he has a wife and children, and if he has relatives, and if he has no heir, for justice is due before God and before men, and the church shall suffer no loss, nothing shall be found in the ignorance of the bishop’s property. And the bishop and his relatives shall not be disturbed by reason of the church’s property, and by the administrations they shall not oppress his people, and his death shall not be by violence.

38. The bishop shall have authority over the property of the church. And if there are among you honorable persons of the people who have entrusted their souls to him, he may, with discretion, administer the property as he sees fit, as by his authority he acts for those who are in need, for the clergy and the deacons. And it shall be given with fear and with all freedom. And he himself may also take what he wishes, if he desires, for the poor and for those who are governed, for the brothers of the poor, as it is not permitted to transgress in anything, because the law of God has ordained that those who are entrusted with the common fund shall be deprived of the common fund, for there is no freedom in his own property, and he shall not take anything beyond what is necessary. 39. A bishop, and also a priest and a deacon, who is found in drunkenness and intoxication, shall be deposed; and if not, he shall be punished. 40. A subdeacon, and also a reader and a cantor, who does likewise, shall be deposed; and if not, he shall be suspended. Likewise also a layman. 41. A bishop, and also a priest and a deacon, who takes usury from those who have borrowed, shall be deposed; and if not, he shall be punished.

44. The bishop, and also the presbyter and deacon, together with the elders, if they pray, shall stand. And if they have brought them in as ordained, they shall act, they shall celebrate. 45. The bishop, and also the presbyter, and also the deacon who are elders, if he has received baptism, and also the Eucharist, he shall celebrate. We command: What is the fellowship of Christ with Belhor? And what is the communion of the faithful with the unfaithful? 46. If a layman abandons his wife and takes another, and also if from a foreign place an abandoned woman stands. 47. If a bishop, and also a presbyter and deacon and monk, who has been, who from the market, who has bought flesh and wine for the sake of not fasting, but for the sake of gluttony, has abandoned righteousness, like all good strongly, and like a man and a woman, a servant of God, a man, not while he is contemptuous, he shall make known the work of the world, he shall be rebuked. And if not, he shall celebrate outside the church; he shall be expelled. Likewise also a layman.

48. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, or also a deacon, who enters from his sin and is not rebuked, but rather he acts, he celebrates, because he grieves Christ, for him who says, "Forgiveness will be in heaven on account of one sinner who repents." 49. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, and a deacon, during the season of feasts, who does not taste flesh and wine, he celebrates, a law of great wisdom and reason for the binding of a person has become. 50. If a ordained one, in the house of the sanctuary, who is found while eating, he shall stand, except at a meal and on a journey, in the work of the harvest. 51. If a ordained one, who has lied to the bishop, in anger he celebrates, because he says, "The governor of your people, you have destroyed, evil." 52. If a ordained one, who has lied to a presbyter and a deacon, he shall stand. 53. If a ordained one, a leper, and also a blind one, and a crippled one, and a blind one who sees, he shall stand. Likewise also a layperson. 54. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who ordains ordained ones, and also the people, and does not teach them good worship, he shall stand. And if he was while ordaining, he celebrates.

55. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother. 56. If one who has written a writing of the heretics, like a holy book in the church, which leads the people to corruption, he shall be excommunicated. 57. If one has made a false accusation against the faithful concerning fornication, or also concerning a woman of a man, or also another who has done a forbidden deed and has transgressed, and it is not so, he shall be excommunicated. 58. If a bishop, out of fear of people, whether for a Jew, or also for a pagan, or also for heretics, who has denied the name of Christ, he shall be expelled from the name of the church; he shall be excommunicated. 59. If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, and if it is not that which is from the sacrifice, eats meat with the blood of a living being, or also that which has died from a wild beast, and that which has died, he shall be excommunicated, because this law forbids it. But if a layperson does so, he stands. 60. If a bishop is found on the Christian Sabbath, or also on the Jewish Sabbath, while fasting, except for one, he shall be excommunicated.

61. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother. 62. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother. 63. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother. 64. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother. 65. If a bishop, or also a presbyter, who has been firm from the beginning, and does not give what is his own, he stands against the law of him who killed his brother.

66. If a bishop, or also another, who fasts with the Jews, and does not celebrate the feast with them, and also takes what is theirs, he is anathema, like one who has committed murder. And if also one who is a layperson does this, he is to be deposed. 67. If a Christian takes oil from a pagan temple, or also from a Jewish synagogue, and does not repent, he is to be deposed. 68. If a bishop, or also a layperson, who has stolen a censer from a holy church, and does not return it, he is to be deposed, and he is to be counted among those who have taken it. 69. (Concerning) property of silver, and if not of gold, and of wine, and of that which has been consecrated, and also if he has not (returned it) to the treasury of his house, he is not to inherit, because it is not lawful. And if what was found is to be confiscated, and if not, he is to be deposed. 70. A bishop, if he has been accused by those who are good and faithful, is to be summoned for judgment from among the bishops. And if, when he has come, he is found trustworthy, he is to be acquitted after his correction. And if, while they summon him, he does not obey, he is to be summoned a second time, while two bishops are sent to him. And if, like this, he does not obey, he is to be summoned a third time, and again two bishops are sent to him. And if, while like this, he persists and does not come, a synod is to judge concerning one like this, who has perished like one who has not been saved, who has increased in evil.

71. If one who hears against a bishop, or a deacon, or a layperson, one word from the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word stands. 72. If it is fitting for a bishop, for his brother, and also for his son, and if not for his relatives, while they are fasting for the sake of the bishop, he shall ordain; and one who does not desire to ordain, the bishop’s ordination shall perform righteousness, which is of God, while they are fasting in the presence of the people; and one who is not of Christ’s church shall receive inheritance as a testament; and if there is one who has done this without number, his ordination and his own shall be cut off by stature. 73. If one is blind of eye and lame of foot, and they are worthy of the bishopric, he shall be ordained; for the wound of his body hinders him, but not the impurity of the soul. 74. A mute and a deaf person shall not be ordained bishop, for he is impure, not as the work of the church is not performed.

75. If a woman has a demon, she shall not be ordained, but she may enter into the great church and receive communion; and if she is worthy, let it be so. 76. One who is from the pagans and has been baptized, and also one who is from a life of fornication and righteousness—at that time he shall be ordained to the episcopate, for it is a grave matter beyond the law; and he shall not be a teacher for others who have not learned for themselves. If, however, he has become so only by the gift of the divine grace, through good dispensation. 77. We have said that a bishop should not entangle himself in worldly affairs, but he should be diligent for the care of the church; and if not, he errs, for there is no one who can serve two masters, according to the commandment of the Lord. 78. Servants shall be ordained to the diaconate without the consent of their masters, and they shall be given to the people who have chosen them, for it is a grave matter for the houses; and if a servant worthy of the diaconate is found, like Simon of ours who was found, and his masters have brought him forth and made him a servant, they shall expel him from their house.

79. A bishop, and also a presbyter and a deacon, who dwells with a pagan and performs a marriage, shall be deposed and shall take the pagan woman; and the priesthood shall be removed from him, for what is the king's is for the king, and what is God's is for God. 80. One who has wronged a king, and also a governor, without a just judgment shall be judged; and if he is a cleric, he shall be removed, and if he is a layman, he shall be put to death. 81. As for the number of the books of the Psalms, they are read in the church; and not without the law of the scriptures, but only those which are according to the law, the New and the Old. The order of the number of the books is read, and the number is revealed: the works of the world, 1; the Exodus of Egypt, 1; the Levites, 1; the Numbers, 1; the Second Law, 1; Joshua of Nineveh, 1; the Judges, 1; Ruth, 1; the Kings, 4; the Chronicles, 2; Ezra, 3; the Book of Psalms, 150; the Proverbs of Solomon, 1; Ecclesiastes, 1; the Song of Songs, 1; Job, 1; the Minor Prophets, 12; Isaiah the Prophet, 1; Jeremiah the Prophet, 1; Ezekiel the Prophet, 1; Daniel the Prophet, 1; the Gospels, 4; the Acts of the Apostles, 1; the Epistles of Paul, 14; the Epistles of the Apostles, 7. These, then, and concerning the canons, have been ordained for you by us, the bishops; and you also, as you walk in them, you will be saved and find peace. And if you do not obey, you will be judged, and you will find a judgment according to the law among yourselves, which is different. By the command of the books you will be judged, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.