CANON LAW

Latin jus canonicum body of laws made within certain Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, independent churches of Eastern Christianity, and the Anglican Communion) by lawful ecclesiastical authority for the government of both the whole church and parts thereof and of the behaviour and actions of individuals. In a wider sense the term includes precepts of divine law, natural or positive, incorporated in the canonical collections and codes. Although canon law is historically continuous from the early church to the present, it has, as a result of doctrinal and ecclesiastical schisms, developed differing, though often similar, patterns of codification and norms in the various churches that have incorporated it into their ecclesiastical frameworks. The canon law of the Eastern and Western churches was much the same in form until these two groups of churches separated in the Schism of 1054. In Eastern Christianity, however, because of doctrinal and nationalistic disputes during the 5th to 7th centuries, several church groups (especially non-Greek) separated themselves from the nominal head of Eastern Christianity, the patriarch of Constantinople, and developed their own bodies of canon law, often reflecting nationalistic concerns. Canon law in the Western churches after 1054 developed without interruption until the Reformation of the 16th century. Though other churches of the Reformation rejected the canon law of the Roman Catholic church, the Church of England retained the concept of canon law and developed its own type, which has acceptance in the churches of the Anglican Communion. Canon law has had a long history of development throughout the Christian era. Not a static body of laws, it reflects social, political, economic, cultural, and ecclesiastical changes that have taken place in the past two millennia. During periods of social and cultural upheaval the church has not remained unaffected by its environment. Thus, canon law may be expected to be involved in the far-reaching changes that have come to be anticipated in the modern world. Latin Jus Canonicum, the body of laws made within certain Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, independent churches of Eastern Christianity, and the Anglican Communion) by lawful ecclesiastical authority for the government of the whole church or of some part thereof. In a wider sense the term includes precepts of divine law, natural or positive, incorporated in the canonical collections and codes. The word canon derives from the Greek kanon, which means rule, or norm. The canon law concerns the constitution of the church, the relations between it and other bodies, and matters of internal discipline. It is not per se a formulation of dogma, although statements of the divine positive and natural law contained in the canons may be doctrinal in nature. Canon law has developed to the greatest extent in ecclesiastical bodies of the hierarchical type, and especially in the Roman Catholic Church. The development of canon law in the eastern churches was more haphazard than that in the West, largely because of the strongly autonomous character of the great eastern patriarchates. After the final break with Rome in 1054, the eastern churches were cut off from the centralizing movement in the canon law of the West and came predominantly under the influence of Constantinople. Additional reading A short introduction to canon law is provided by Ladislas M. Orsy, From Vision to Legislation: From the Council to a Code of Laws (1985). The most important modern works on the history of canon law are Hans E. Feine, Kirchliche Rechtsgeschichte: Die katholische Kirche, 5th ed. (1972); Willibald M. Plchle, Geschichte des Kirchenrechts, 2nd enl. ed., 5 vol. (196070); and Gabriel Le Bras (ed.), Histoire du droit et des institutions de l'eglise en occident (1955 ). The articles in R. Naz (ed.), Dictionnaire de droit canonique, 7 vol. (193565), although in need of updating, can still provide much historical and doctrinal information. A respected analytical commentary on the 1917 code is A. Vermeersch and J. Creusen, Epitome Iuris Canonici, 7th ed. rev. by R.P. Creusen, 3 vol. (194956), in Latin. Commentaries on the 1983 code include James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green, and Donald E. Heintschel (eds.), The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary (1985), intended mainly for practitioners; Joseph Listl, Hubert Mller, and Heribert Schmitz (eds.), Handbuch des katholischen Kirchenrechts (1983), a doctrinally elaborate, thematically organized work; and Klaus Ldicke (ed.), Mnsterischer Kommentar zum Codex Iuris Canonici (1985 ), kept up to date by frequent loose-leaf supplements concerning official pronouncements and current literature. Bibliographies are found in the series Repertoire Bibliographique des Institutions Chrtiennes (1969 ), with text in French, English, German, Italian, and Spanish. The Rev. Ladislas M. rsy, S.J.