Canons of the Holy Fathers. Canons of the Orthodox Church

Saint Gregory of Nyssa was the younger brother of Saint Basil the Great. He, like his great brother, received an excellent education, was eloquent and distinguished by great zeal for the Orthodox confession of Christianity. Peru owns many creations. In 372 he was made bishop of Nissa in Cappadocia. He attended the 2nd Ecumenical Council and is credited with compiling the addition to the Nicene Creed regarding the Holy Spirit. He died after 394. The Book of Rules included his letter to Litoy, Bishop of Melitinsky in Armenia, divided into 8 canons.

1.

And this is one of the attributes of the holy feast, so that we understand the lawful and correct way of acting in relation to those who have sinned, so that any disease of the soul resulting from any sin will be healed. This universal festival of creation, according to the established conversion of the annual circle, celebrated annually throughout the world, is celebrated because of the resurrection of the fallen. But the fall is sin, and the resurrection is the resurrection from the sinful fall. So, it will be proper on this day not only to lead to God those who are renewed by rebirth, through the grace of the font, but also by repentance and turning from dead deeds to the path of life, they will again lead to the saving hope, from which they are alienated through sin. It is no small matter to arrange words about this according to the law of a righteous and tested judgment, according to the commandment of the Prophet, commanding words to arrange in judgment, but according to the saying of Scripture: the righteous will not move forever, and the righteous will be in eternal memory (Ps. 111:5,6) . For just as in bodily healing the goal of medical art is one: the return of health to the sick, and the way of healing is different, because, according to the difference in ailments, an appropriate method of treatment is attached to each disease, so in mental illnesses, due to the multitude and variety of passions, a diverse healing care, which, according to the disease, produces healing. But in order to consider the presenting subject with some correctness, let's arrange the word like this. In our soul, according to the initial division, three forces are seen: the power of the mind, the power of desire and the power of irritation. In these there are the exploits of those who live virtuously, and the fall of those who incline to evil. Therefore, he who wants to apply decent medicine to the ailing part of the soul must, firstly, consider in which part the disease occurred, then to the suffering one, according to decency, apply medicine so that, due to ignorance of the healing method, the healing of one part is given when the disease is located in another, just as we really see many doctors who, not recognizing the initially diseased part of the body, intensify the disease with their medicines. Disease often occurs from excess heat, but since those who are disturbed by excessive cold are useful for warm and warming, the same thing, naturally beneficial to them, imprudently using excessive heat for those who are scorched, makes the disease incurable. Thus, just as it is recognized as the most necessary for physicians to know the properties of the bodily principles, so that from the parts that suffer or not suffer, that which is not in a natural state receives correction, so we, referring to this division of the forces seen in the soul, are the beginning and basis of the corresponding healing. passions, let us put a common contemplation. So, according to the threefold division, as we have said, of the movements peculiar to the soul into the forces of the mind, desire and irritation, the good actions in the soul of the power of the mind are the following: a pious concept of the Divine, the art of distinguishing between good and evil, a clear and unmixed judgment about the property of objects, which of those who are worthy of election, and that of rejection and disgust. In opposition, no doubt, an evil direction of this ability of the soul will also be seen, when in it, in relation to things Divine, there will be wickedness, in relation to truly good, - imprudence, a perverted and false conception of the nature of things, so that they will consider light as darkness, and darkness light, as Scripture says (Isaiah 5:20). The virtuous direction of the power of desire is the striving of desire towards the essentially desired and truly beautiful, and all the strength and disposition of love, which is only in us, the occupation of the certainty that there is nothing else by nature desirable, except virtue, and the nature that exudes virtue. Deviation and sinful movement of this ability occurs when someone turns lust to dreamy vanity or to blossoming bodily beauty. Hence comes the love of money, love of glory, voluptuousness, and all the like vices that have the beginning of this kind of evil. Finally, the good action of the power of irritation is hatred of evil, war against the passions and strengthening of the soul in courage, so that he who strives for faith and virtue is not afraid of what seems terrible to many, but struggles against sin to the point of blood, despise the threat of death, severe torment and separation from what what is most pleasant - and, in a word, was above everything that keeps many captive to passions, out of habit and prejudice. The perverse movements of this force are obvious to everyone: envy, hatred, enmity, slander, conspiracies, quarrelsome and vindictive dispositions, which for a long time extend memory of malice and lead many to murder and bloodshed. For an untrained thought, not finding how to use the weapon with benefit, turns the edge of iron against itself, and the weapon given to us by God for protection becomes fatal to those who misuse it.

6 Universe 102.

2.

So, according to the division of sins in the above way, the sins concerning the mental ability of the soul are recognized by the Fathers as the most grave and requiring a greater, longer and stricter repentance. For example: if someone denied faith in Christ and appeared to have betrayed himself or Judaism, or idolatry, or Manichaeism, or another similar kind of wickedness, such, if he voluntarily rushed to this evil, but then repented, all the time of his life should have a time of repentance. For such a person is never honored, during the performance of a mysterious prayer, to bow to God together with the people, but let him pray in private, and let him be completely excommunicated from the communion of the Holy Mysteries. But at the hour of his departure from this life, let him be rewarded with the communion of the Holy Mysteries. If, in excess of what was expected, he happens to stay alive, then let him live again in the same condemnation, not being worthy of the Holy Mysteries until his end. And those who are compelled by torments and cruel tortures are subjected to penance for a certain time. For the Holy Fathers showed them such philanthropy because it was not their soul that fell, but the infirmity of the body could not resist the torment. Therefore, after a violent and torment forced retreat, upon conversion, the measure of penance is determined according to the example of those who have sinned by fornication.

Ap. 62; 1 Universe 10. 11, 12 and 14; 6 Universe 102; Ankir. 1-9 and 21; Laod. 2; Karf. 52; Gregory of Nyssa 2 and 11; Basil the Great 3, 73, 74, 75, 81 and 84; Peter of Alexandria 2 and 3; Gregory of Nyssa 3.

3.

But those who come to sorcerers or soothsayers, or to those who promise through demons to perform some kind of purification or aversion of harm, let them be asked in detail and tested: whether, remaining in faith in Christ, they are drawn by some need to such a sin, in the direction given to them by what - either by misfortune or unbearable deprivation, or completely despising the confession entrusted to them from us, they resorted to the help of demons. For if they did this with a rejection of the faith, and in order not to believe that God is worshiped by Christians, then without a doubt they will be subject to condemnation with apostates. But if unbearable need, having taken possession of their weak soul, has brought them to this point, seducing them with some kind of false hope, then let philanthropy also be shown over these, in the likeness of those who, during confession, were not able to resist the torment.

6 Universe 61 and 65; Ankh. 24; Laod. 36; Basil the Great 65, 72 and 83.

4.

The sins that come from lust and voluptuousness are divided as follows; one is called adultery, and the other is fornication. Some of the finest researchers have taken it into their heads to call the sin of fornication adultery, since one is the legal union of a wife with her husband, and a husband with his wife. So, everything that is illegal is already illegal, and he who takes up what is not his own will obviously take up someone else's. For man has been given one helper from God, and one head has been set over the woman. So, if anyone has acquired for himself, according to the expression of the divine Paul, his own vessel (1 Thess. 4:4), the natural law provides him with the righteous use of it. But if someone turns to someone other than his own, such a one will undoubtedly delight someone else. For every alien is that which is not his own, even if the owner who appropriates it was not in mind. Therefore, to those who studied this subject more rigorously, fornication seemed to be not far removed from the sin of adultery, for even Divine Scripture says: Do not be too many with strangers (Prov. 5:20). (And why should you, my son, be carried away by strangers and hug someone else's breasts? From the context it is quite clear that we are talking about adultery, since having your own, you turn to another. Note ed.) But since the Fathers showed some kind of indulgence to the weaker , then there is a general difference in this sin: fornication is the fulfillment of lust, done with someone without offense to another, and adultery is slander and offense to someone else's union. This includes bestiality and sodomy, because these sins are adultery against nature. Since an insult is caused to a strange race, and, moreover, contrary to nature. With such a division of species, and this sin, the general healing consists in the fact that a person, through repentance, becomes pure from passionate fury to such carnality. Since, among those who have been defiled by fornication, resentment is not associated with this sin, for the sake of this, a special time of repentance is determined for those who have defiled themselves with adultery or other adulterous acts, such as: mixing with cattle or madness towards the male sex. For in these cases, as I have said, the sin becomes severe: one consists in unlawful voluptuousness, and the other in offense to another. Let there be some difference in the image of repentance for the sins of voluptuousness. He who aroused himself to confession of sins, as having already begun the healing of his illness by the very fact that he decided, on his own impulse, to be a denouncer of his secrets, and as having shown a sign of his change for the better, let him be under penance more indulgent, and caught in evil or on some suspicion or accusation unwittingly exposed is subjected to the most prolonged correction, so that with severity having been cleansed, in this way he was accepted into the communion of the Holy Mysteries. The rule about this is this: let those who have been defiled by fornication for three years be completely removed from church prayer, for three years let them participate in the mere hearing of the Scriptures, for other three years let them pray with those who bow down in repentance - and then let them partake of the Holy Mysteries. For those who pass, repentance is more zealous, and by their life they show a return to the good, which is permissible to organize useful in church economy to shorten the time of hearing and bring them to conversion more quickly; likewise, to shorten the time of this, and to allow him to commune more quickly, in accordance with how he, by his own test, inquires into the condition of the doctor. For just as it is forbidden to cast pearls before swine, so it would be without place to deprive a precious pearl of one that, through removal from sin and purification, has already become a man. But lawlessness committed by adultery or other types of uncleanness, as mentioned above, will be healed by the same judgment, like the sin of fornication, but with the aggravation of time. At the same time, let the disposition of the one being healed be observed, as well as those possessed by impurity fornication, so that either earlier or later the communion of good is given to them.

Ap. 48 and 81; 6 Universe 87, 93; Ankir. twenty; Neokes. eight; Vasily Vel. 3, 7, 9, 21, 31, 39, 58, 59, 62, 63 and 77.

It should be noted that, contrary to the custom noted by St. Basil the Great, and with which he, as if reluctantly, agreed, as with an existing fact, St. Gregory in adultery recognizes the equal responsibility of both the sinning husband and the wife who has sinned. Further, he doubles the penance for adultery, because here “slander and insult to someone else’s union” is inflicted.

5.

Therefore, it remains to examine the spiritual power of irritation when, having evaded the good use of indignation, it falls into sin. Much happens from the irritation of sinful deeds and all sorts of evils. But our Fathers did not want to go into many details about some of them, and they did not recognize the healing of all sins, from irritation occurring, requiring much care. Scripture forbids not only a slight wound, but also any slander or blasphemy (Col. 3:8; Eph. 4:31), and everything like that, which happens from irritation, but they only put protection in penances against the crime of murder. This atrocity is divided according to the difference between voluntary and involuntary murder. Free murder, in the first place, is that on which the one who decided on this very atrocity deliberately dared to commit it; secondly, and this is due between free killings, when someone in confrontation, beating and being beaten, strikes with his hand in a certain dangerous place. For once embraced by rage and given over to the desire of anger, during the time of passion, he does not accept into his mind anything that can stop evil. Thus, a murder resulting from confrontation is attributed to the action of arbitrariness, and not to chance. Involuntary murders, on the other hand, have certain signs, when someone, having something else in mind, accidentally commits a grave evil. Of these, voluntary murder requires a threefold extension of time for those who heal an arbitrary crime by treatment. For them, three nine years are supposed, with the appointment of nine years for each, the degree of repentance. Let the penitent spend 9 years in perfect excommunication, with his entrance to the church barred. Let the same number of other years remain in the degree of those who hear, being worthy only of listening to teachers and Scriptures; in the third nine years, let him pray with those who fall down in repentance - then let him begin the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Obviously, it is that the steward in the Church will have the same supervision over such, and at the discretion of the conversion, the continuation of penances will be reduced for him, so that instead of nine, each degree of repentance will rely on either eight, or seven, or six, or only five years, if by the greatness of repentance he forestalls the time, and by zeal in correcting himself he surpasses those who in a long time less actively purify themselves from defilements. Involuntary murder is recognized as worthy of indulgence, but not laudable. I said this in order to make it clear that if someone, although unwittingly, is defiled by murder, such as has already been made unclean through an unclean deed, the rule recognized as unworthy of priestly grace. What time is appointed for the cleansing of simple fornication, the same is prudent to set for unwitting murderers, moreover, with consideration here of the disposition of the penitent. Thus, if there is a true conversion, then let the number of years not be observed, but with a reduction in time, let the penitent be led to return to the Church and to partake of the Holy Mysteries. If someone, having not fulfilled the time of repentance determined by the rules, departs from life, then the philanthropy of the Fathers commands that he partake of the Holy Mysteries, and let him go on his last and distant journey not without parting. But if, having communed the Holy Mysteries, he returns to life again, then let him await the fulfillment of the appointed time, being at that stage at which he was before the communion given to him, out of need.

Ap. 66; 6 Universe 91; Ankir. 22 and 23; Basil the Great 8, 11, 56 and 57.

6.

Another type of idolatry, for this is how the holy Apostle calls covetousness (Colossians 3:5) (according to 1 Timothy - the same as the love of money; ed.), I do not know how our Fathers omitted without indicating healing. This evil is, as I think, a disease of the soul in three respects: for reason, erring in its judgment of good, dreams as if good were in matter, and does not look at immaterial beauty; lust tends to the bottom, falling away from the truly lustful; and a quarrelsome and irritable disposition of the soul takes many cases for itself for this reason. In general, we can say that such a disease corresponds to the Apostolic description of covetousness. For the Divine Apostle recognized it not only as idolatry, but also as the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). But, however, this type of sin is omitted without special consideration and healing, which is why this ailment multiplies in the churches, and no one tests those who are acceptable to the clergy, whether they have been defiled by this type of idolatry. However, since our Fathers did not mention this, we consider it sufficient to heal this, as far as possible, with the popular word of teaching, and purify the ailments of covetousness, as if some diseases from an excess of moisture, by reasoning. Only theft, grave-digging and sacrilege are considered a serious illness, because such is our tradition inherited from the Fathers about this. And according to the Divine Scripture, interest and growth, and joining to one's acquisition of someone else's, through a certain predominance, even if it was under the guise of a contract, belong to the number of forbidden deeds. So, since our opinion is not so worthy of faith that it has the power inherent in the rules, then we will already add judgment to what has been said, according to the rules about things that are undeniably forbidden. Theft is divided into robbery and digging, the goal of both is the same - taking away someone else's, but between them there is a great difference in the disposition of the spirit. For the robber, in order to achieve his intention, also uses homicide, and prepares for this both with weapons, and with a crowd of his kind, and with the ability of places, why such a one is subject to the judgment of murderers, if through repentance he returns to the Church of God. And he who appropriated to himself someone else's through secret abduction, and then through confession declared his sin to the priest, let him heal the disease with an exercise opposite to his passion, that is, by distributing property to the poor, and having squandered what he has, he will show himself cleansed from the disease of covetousness. Having nothing but the body, the Apostle commands the passion to heal this passion with bodily labor. The command reads like this: let him who steals not steal, but rather let him work, doing good, so that he has the means to give to the one who requires (Eph. 4:28).

Ap. 25 and 72; Karf. 5; Gregory of Nyssa 2, 3, 4 and 5; Basil the Great 61.

Bishop Nikodim gives an explanation of the terms “excess and growth, and the appropriation of someone else’s to one’s acquisition through some addition.” Interest happens, according to his explanation, when someone lends something to a well-known person and demands that it be returned to him in a much larger amount; growth - when the lender requires high interest on borrowed money. The third group of appropriation of other people's things refers to when someone himself does not use either force or means to obtain someone else's thing, however, he does this through another person, or through abuse of his official position and power.

7.

And grave-digging itself is divided into forgivable and unforgivable. For if someone, sparing the honor of the dead and not touching the body hidden in the tomb, let the unseemly nature of nature not appear before the sun, some stones laid on the tomb, use for any construction, then this, although not laudable, however, as usual became excusable when this substance is turned to something better and most useful to all. And to torture the ashes of a body that has resolved into the ground, and to disturb the bones in the hope of acquiring some kind of decoration buried with the deceased, this is subject to the same judgment as simple fornication, observing the distinction shown in the previous word, that is: let the primate see the healing of the healed from his life itself in such a way that it can shorten the continuation of penances, determined by the rules.

Basil the Great 66.

8.

Sacrilege in the Old Testament Scriptures is recognized as worthy of condemnation no less than murder. For both the accused of murder and the one who stole what was consecrated to God were equally subject to stoning (Joshua ch. 7). In church custom, I don’t know how, a certain indulgence and indulgence followed, and the cleansing of this ailment was accepted easier. For according to the tradition of the fathers, penance is defined as such for a shorter time than for adultery. In every kind of crime, first of all, one should look at the disposition of the one who is being healed, and for healing it is not enough time (for what kind of healing can be from time?), but the will of the one who heals himself through repentance. This is for you, man of God, having collected with great care from what we have in our hands, we send it with care, since we must be obedient to the commands of the brethren. But you must not cease to bring to God the usual prayers for us, for you must, as a well-thought son, according to Bose, who gave birth to you, feed you in old age with your prayers, according to the commandment that commands you to honor your parents, so that your days will be long on the earth, which the Lord your God gives you (Ex. 20:12). It is true that you will accept this scripture as a sacred sign, and you will not despise the gift, even if it is lower than your high spirit.

Ap. 72 and 73; Dvukr. ten.

Saint Gregory the Theologian on the books of the Old and New Testaments.

Saint Gregory the Theologian, also called Nizianzen, was the son of a bishop. While studying in Athens, he became friends with Saint Basil the Great, with whom he lived in the same room. Indulging in ascetic exploits, Saint Gregory wanted to avoid the priesthood and, moreover, the bishopric, but he had to yield to the insistence of Saint Basil. He gained particular fame after being elected to the See of Constantinople, where heresy was at that time dominating. The Orthodox did not have a single church in the capital, and St. Gregory had to start with divine services in a private house. However, his virtue and eloquence won him the hearts of his flock. Despite the opposition of heretics, who also used violence, Saint Gregory defeated them especially with his inspired sermons and creations. Saint Gregory presided over the Second Ecumenical Council after the death of Meletios of Antioch. But since some bishops began to challenge the see of St. Gregory, he begged the Council to release him from the see and the remaining 8 years of his life he lived in retirement in Nazianza. Saint Gregory died in 389. The Book of Rules included only one of his rules, extracted from his writings and written in poetic form.

Lest your mind be deceived by foreign books, for many false scriptures are found, wrongly inscribed, then accept, beloved, this is my correct reckoning. There are twelve historical books of ancient Jewish wisdom. The first is Genesis, then Exodus, Leviticus, then Numbers, then Deuteronomy; then Jesus and the Judges, the eighth Ruth. The ninth and tenth books are the Acts of the Kings, Chronicles, and the last you have is Ezra. There are five books of poetry: the first is Job, then David, then three Solomons: Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Parables. Also five books of the spirit of the Prophet. These twelve are copulated into one book: Hosea, Amos and the third - Micah, then Joel, then Jonah, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Haggai, then Zechariah and Malachi. This is one book, the second is Isaiah, then Jeremiah, called from infancy, then Ezekiel and Daniel's grace. I offered twenty-two books of the Old Testament, equal in number to the Hebrew letters. After this, number the books and the New Sacrament. Matthew wrote about the miracles of Christ for the Jews, and Mark for Italy, Luke for Achaia. For all the same - John, the great preacher and celestial. Then follow the Acts of the wise Apostles, the fourteen epistles of Paul. Seven Catholics, of which one is James, two are Petrovs, then three are Johns, the seventh is Judas - so you have everything. If there are any beyond these, they do not belong to the recognized ones.

Ap. 85; Laod. 60; Karf. 33; Afanasia Vel. 3; Amphilochia.

St. Gregory does not mention the Apocalypse, which in his time was not yet widespread in all the Churches. It is listed in 33 Carth. and Athanasius the Great.

And so with regard to the question of the Kafars, and it was said before, and you judiciously mentioned that it is fitting to follow the custom of each country, because their baptism was thought differently by those who judged this subject in their time. The baptism of the Pepusians, in my opinion, has nothing in its defense: and I was surprised that the Great Dionysius, being skilled in rules, did not notice this. For the ancients decided to accept baptism, in no way deviating from the faith: therefore they called something heresy, another a schism, and another a self-made assembly. They called heretics those who were completely torn away, and estranged in the very faith: schismatics, divided in opinions about certain subjects of the church, and about issues that allow healing: and self-organized assemblies they called meetings composed by rebellious presbyters, or bishops, and unlearned people. For example, if anyone, having been convicted of sin, removed from the priesthood, did not submit to the rules: but he himself kept the stand and the priesthood behind him, and some others retreated with him, leaving the Catholic Church: this is an unauthorized assembly. There is a schism about repentance to think otherwise than as those who are in the church. Heresies are, for example, Manichaean, Valentinian, Marcionite, and these same Pepusians. For here there is a clear difference in the very belief in God. Why, from the beginning, the former fathers, it was pleasing to completely sweep aside the baptism of heretics: accept the baptism of schismatics, as if not yet alien to the church, and correct those in unauthorized assemblies with decent repentance and conversion, and again join the church. Thus, even those in the ranks of the Church, having departed together with the disobedient, when they repent, packs are often accepted into the same rank. The Pepusians are obviously heretics. For they blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, impiously and shamelessly giving the title of comforter to Montana and Priscilla. Therefore, whether they idolize people, they are subject to condemnation for this: whether they insult the Holy Spirit, comparing Him with people, and in this case they are guilty of eternal condemnation, for the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not released. What would be the appropriateness of recognizing the baptism of those who baptize into the Father, and the Son, and into Montana or Priscilla? for those who are baptized into that which is not delivered to us are not baptized. Therefore, although the Great Dionysius did not notice this, we should not observe the imitation of what is wrong: for the absurdity itself is obvious, and clear to everyone who has at least a little reasoning. Kafars are among the schismatics. However, it was pleasing to the ancients, like Cyprian and our Firmilian, to subject all of these to a single definition: Kafars, Encratites, Hydroparastats, and Apotaktites. For although the beginning of the apostasy took place through a schism, those who apostatized from the church no longer had the grace of the Holy Spirit upon them. For the teaching of grace has become impoverished, because the lawful succession has been cut short. For the first apostates received consecration from the fathers, and through the laying on of their hands, they had a spiritual gift. But those rejected, having become laymen, had no power either to baptize or ordain, and could not impart to others the grace of the Holy Spirit, from which they themselves had fallen away. Why did the ancients command those who came from them to the church, as if baptized by the laity, to be cleansed again by true church baptism. But inasmuch as it was decidedly desired by some in Asia, for the sake of the edification of many, to accept their baptism, let it be acceptable. It behooves us to see the malice of the Encratites. They, let them make themselves unacceptable to the church, contrived to hasten their own baptism, through which they also changed their own custom. And so, since nothing is clearly said about them, I think that it is proper for us to reject their baptism: and if someone would accept it from them, such a person coming to the church, baptize. But if this has to be an obstacle to the general well-being: then again it is fitting to keep the custom, and follow the fathers who prudently arranged our affairs. For I am afraid that if we want to keep them from hasty baptism, we will not raise up those who are being saved by the severity of delay. But if they keep our baptism, let this not put us to shame: for we are obliged not to give thanks to them for this, but to obey the rules with accuracy. By all means, let it be established that, after their baptism, those who come to the church should be anointed by the faithful, and thus approach the sacraments. However, I know that we have accepted the brothers Zoin and Satornin, who were in their company, to the episcopal chair: why we can no longer alienate those united with their society from the church by a strict court, having decided, by accepting bishops, as if some kind of rule of communication with them.

(Ap. 46, 47; II evn. 8; II evn. 7; Trul. 95; Laod. 7; Basil Vel. 47).

The present and the following Canons up to and including the 16th constitute the first canonical epistle (επιστολή κανονική) of Basil the Great of 374 to Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium in Phrygia, in which Basil gives answers to various canonical questions posed to him by Amphilochius, and explains, according to his the same request, some passages of Scripture. The present epistle of St. Basil begins with the following words: To the foolish, as the Scripture says, who asks about wisdom, wisdom will be imputed (), but the questioning of the wise seems to make the foolish also wiser. This, by the grace of God, happens to us every time we receive the writings of your industrious soul. For I am becoming wiser and more judicious than myself, learning from the question itself much that I did not know before. The care of the answer is done for me by the teacher. Truly, even now, never preoccupied with the subjects of your questions, I am compelled to examine them with accuracy, and to bring to memory, If I heard from the elders, and from myself to invent in accordance with what I have learned.".

The first question posed by Amphilochius to Basil was the question of how one should judge baptisms performed in individual non-Orthodox communities: should people who pass from these communities to the Orthodox Church be rebaptized? Saint Basil's answer constitutes the present 1st canon.

In order to be able to judge the reality of the baptism performed in non-Orthodox communities and, consequently, to know how persons converting from these communities should be received into the Orthodox Church, Basil the Great points out how the holy fathers of former times established that attention should be paid to how far these communities deviate from the Orthodox Church, and act accordingly. All apostates from the Orthodox Church are divided into 1) heretics, 2) schismatics and 3) parasynagogues. Saint Basil clearly and definitely distinguishes between these apostates, based on the decrees of the ancients (τών παλαιών). Heresies (αίρέσεις, haereses) are those who have completely separated from the Church and have lost faith itself (κατ αύτήν τήν πίστιν άπηλλοτριωμένους).

Referring to this rule of St. Basil, Zonara expressed this in more detail, saying: “heretics are all who think not in accordance with the Orthodox faith (παρά τήν όρθόδοξον πίστιν δοξάζοντας), even if long ago, even if recently they were excommunicated from the church, even if they were ancient, at least they held on to new heresies. This teaching, which is contrary to the Orthodox faith, should not, however, necessarily concern the foundations of the Orthodox dogma, in order for a given person to be considered a heretic - it is enough that he erred in at least one dogma, and because of this he is already a heretic. “By the name of heretics, we mean those who accept our sacrament (μυστήριον), but in some parts of the teaching they err and disagree with the Orthodox” (διαφερομένους τοϊς ορθόδοξοις), says Zonara in his interpretation of canon 14 of IV cosm. cathedral. In general, according to the canonical teaching of the Orthodox Church, whoever is not Orthodox is a heretic: αίρετικός εστί πάς μή ορθόδοξος.

Schisms (σχίσματα) are those who think differently about certain ecclesiastical subjects and questions, which, however, can easily be reconciled. This is what Basil the Great says in this canon: speaking of the need to recognize the baptism of schismatics, he refers to the fact that they belong to the church (ώς έτι έκ τής εκκλησίας όντων). In the interpretation of canon 6 of II universe. Cathedral Zonara repeats these words of Basil the Great about the schism, but in the interpretation of Canon 33 of the Laodicean he supplements them: “Schismatics (σχισματικοί) are those who think sensibly regarding faith and dogmas, but for some reason (διά τίνας δέ αίτίας) move away and arrange their own separate meetings. In general, the church has always regarded schisms as one of the greatest crimes against the church. Thus, for example, the Milevitic Optatus (4th century) considered schism one of the greatest evils, greater than homicide and idolatry. Catholicam (ecclesiam) - writes Optat - facit simplex et verus intellectus, intelligere singulare ac verissimum sacramentum, et unitas animorum. Schisma vero, sparso coagulo pacis, dissipatis sensibus generatur, livore nutritur, aemulatione et litibus roboratur, ut deserta matre catholica, impii filii dum foras exeunt, et se separant (ut vos fecistis) a radice matris ecclesiae, invidiae falcibus amputati, errandoun rebelles .

A parasynagogue (παρασυναγωγή, falsa synagoga, illicitus conventus, unauthorized assembly) is when any of the recalcitrant bishops or presbyters, together with the common people, gather separately from the church for prayer meetings (συνάξεις), for example, when a clergyman forbidden in priestly service subject to spiritual authority and unwilling to submit to it, will gather others around him, separate from the Catholic Church (καταλιπόντες τήν καθολικήν έκκλησίαν) and begin to perform the priesthood without authority. This definition of the parasynagogue of Basil the Great is reminiscent of those disobedient clerics who, bypassing their legitimate bishops, arbitrarily want to serve in the church and against whom many rules were issued (Ap. 31; IV evn. 18; trul. 31, etc.) . As you can see, the parasynagogue is a little different from the schismatics, as they are characterized by St. Basil, why in Canon 7 I settled. Cathedral, parasynagogues are not mentioned, but only it is said how it is necessary to accept heretics and schismatics into the Orthodox Church, meaning by the latter also parasynagogues, which, however, include the prescriptions of many other rules.

Having enumerated all the types of apostates from the Orthodox Church, Saint Basil instructs Amphilochius how to receive these apostates into the Orthodox Church, if they apply to her. Essentially, this was subsequently adopted and approved by the Council of Trulli (right. 95), and the prescription of this council is still valid in our church.

In his present Canon, Saint Basil enumerates by name all the apostates from the Orthodox Church: the Pepusians, Manicheans, Valentinians, and Marcionites as heretics, and the Cathars, Encratites, Hydroparastatians, and Apotactites as schismatics.

We have already mentioned the Pepusians in the interpretation of 7 rights. II universe. cathedral (I, 269-271). The Manichaeans descend from Manes (lat. Manichaus), who lived in the 3rd century and preached his doctrine first in Persia, from where it subsequently spread throughout Europe. Manes belonged to that group of Gnostics who were against Judaism and sought to restore, allegedly in all purity and independence, the Christian doctrine, and make it the only world religion. Manes built his system on the basis of the old Persian Zoroaster dualism: light and darkness, with related zones in a certain gradualness. He considered himself a comforter, sent to purify the science of Christ, perverted by the apostles; consequently, he threw out from the New Testament writings everything that did not agree with his system. Manichaeism existed until the 7th century, although secretly and in recent times (trul. 95).

The Marcionites were of the same anti-Jewish Gnostic trend, descending from Marcion of Pontus, who preached his doctrine first in Rome in the second half of the 2nd century, which subsequently spread throughout Italy, Egypt and, finally, in the east.

The opposite, i.e. Jewish, the direction was the Gnostics, the Valentinians, leading their origin from the Egyptian Valentine, about half of the II century. In the Valentinian system there was no dualism in the Eastern sense, but he developed the parallelism of the heavenly, ideal world with the visible, earthly, in a form that can be considered the most complete and perfect of all gnostic systems. The system of Valentine, as such, was respected in its time; not a few famous people came out of his school, who seduced many and were dangerous to Christianity.

Of the schismatics mentioned by St. Basil in this canon, we spoke about the Kafars in the interpretation of canon 8 of the first epoch. Council (I, 207-210), and about hydroparastats - in the interpretation of the 32nd Rule of Trullo (I, 515). The rest - Encratites and Apotaktites - were sects that emerged from the Gnostic school of the Assyrian Tatian in the second half of the 2nd century. Along with the Gnostic doctrine of the origin of the world, similar in essence to the system of Valentine, Tatian preached the strictest asceticism, so that the human soul could be freed from matter and come closer to God. According to his teaching on morality, a true Christian is obliged to strictly refrain from everything earthly, especially from marriage, meat and wine, as evil and unclean things that only alienate a person from God and bind him to matter. As a result of this abstinence (έγκράτεια) from everything, the disciples of Tatian were called έγκρατϊται, and because, literally following the teachings of Christ about the renunciation (αποτάσσεται) of everything worldly (), they were called άποτακτΐται and, finally, due to the same use in St. communion, instead of wine, water, were called ύδροπαραστάται.

Regarding the latter (Catars and other schismatics), Basil the Great in this canon says that the baptism performed in these communities by a priest should be considered a baptism performed by a layman, and emphasizes one of the main canonical thoughts about the sacred hierarchy in the church, namely, when this hierarchy may be considered legal.

Regarding the schismatics mentioned in the canon, Saint Basil says: “For although the beginning of the apostasy happened through a schism, those who apostatized from the church no longer had the grace of the Holy Spirit upon them. For the teaching of grace has become impoverished, because the lawful succession has been cut short. For the first apostates received consecration from the fathers, and, through the laying on of their hands, had a spiritual gift. But those who were rejected, having become laymen, had no power either to baptize or ordain, and could not impart to others the grace of the Holy Spirit, from which they themselves had fallen away.

Thus, the power of a bishop to ordain others, to communicate to them the grace of the priesthood, depends on succession, i.e. on the extent to which he, the subject bishop, accepted, inherited this power from persons who could legally transfer it to him, and insofar as he knows how to keep this inherited power and, in turn, pass it on to others. Once a bishop loses this power, whether as a result of a schism or heresy, then, of course, he is not in a position to transfer it to others, so that in this bishop the succession has ceased, i.e. he lost the inheritance, in which he became a partner through consecration, along with other Orthodox bishops. This canonical idea about the sacred hierarchy in the church, touched upon by Basil the Great in this canon, is nothing more than a briefly formulated teaching about this from the Holy Scriptures, the holy fathers and teachers of the church.

In the interpretation of 47 and 68 of the Apostolic Canons it has already been said that the basis of the legitimate priesthood is the continuous succession of hierarchical authority from the Apostles to this day. This power the Apostles transferred to the bishops, their immediate successors, and these latter, in turn, to their successors, and so, through all the ages, until now; thus the bishop is an apostolic successor (αποστολικός διάδοχος, apostolorum successor), having received from the Apostles successively (άλληλοδιαδόχως, successione continua) the same authority.

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ teaches his Apostles about their great mission in the world (;), gives them the power to forgive sins (), gives the commandment to go and teach all nations and, through baptism, introduce everyone into His kingdom, and promises to be with them in all days until the end of time (). When Christ ascended, the Apostles then chose a new co-apostle, in place of the deceased Judas, to replenish their former number (), and, having then received the Holy Spirit promised to them (), they immediately began to fulfill the service entrusted to them by Christ, starting from Jerusalem, where founded and approved the first Christian community (). At the head of this first community was the Apostle James (; ); the rest of the Apostles went to found other communities outside of Palestine, having care and concern for all of them unceasingly (). When subsequently, little by little, Christianity spread far, so that the Apostles themselves were not able to personally take care of the communities they founded, then they chose, from people tested in the faith, helpers for these churches and gave them the authority to fulfill, on their behalf , everything possible to strengthen the faith and streamline the Christian life (; ). These apostolic helpers (συνεργοί) of the individual churches are called επίσκοποι; there were only one of them in each church; each of them was considered an authorized and heir to a famous apostle, and he himself was called an apostle (). We meet several such bishops, apostolic heirs, in the Holy Scripture itself: Titus on Fr. Crete, to whom the apostle Paul writes that he left him in Crete to put presbyters (), Timothy in Ephesus (), Epaphroditus in Philippi (), Diotrephes (), bishops of the seven churches of Asia Minor () in all cities. On the basis of everything that is only partly given from the Holy Scriptures, the canonical teaching of our church on the succession of the power of bishops from the Apostles is built.

The teaching of Holy Scripture about this was later interpreted in the most perfect way by the fathers and teachers of the Church. Так, апостольский ученик, епископ римский Климент, в своем посланник Коринфянам, пишет: Οι απόστολοι ημών έγνωσαν δια τοδ Κυρίου ημών Ιησού Χρίστου, ότι έ"ρις εσται επί του ονόματος της επισκοπής. Δια ταύτην ουν την αιτιαν πρόγνωσιν ειληφότες τελείαν κατέστησαν τους προειρημένους, και μεταςί έπινομήν δεδώκασιν, όπως, εάν κοιμηώ; σιν, διαδέeption έ τεροι δεδοκιμασμενοι τιτοργιαν αυτών.

The ecclesiastical writer of the 2nd century, Hegesippus, preserved, in his "Υπομνήματα", mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, traces of the actual application in the life of the church of the apostolic teaching on episcopal succession (διαδοχή) from the Apostles, he preserved, precisely, a list of bishops of several churches in the order they followed one after another, beginning with the Apostles, and as a succession of apostolic authority passed uninterruptedly to the bishops of a certain church.

Irenaeus of Lyon, refuting the heretics of his time, invites them to prove that their bishops also received their power by succession from the Apostles, just as the Orthodox bishops received it. In one place of his famous essay against heresies, Irenaeus writes: Traditionem apostolorum in toto mundo manifestatam, in omni ecclesia adest respicere omnibus, qui vera velint viderë et habemus annumerare eos, qui ab apostolis instituti sunt episcopi et successores eorum usque ad "nos ... , More: Obaudire oportet his, qui... cum episcopatus successione charisma veritatis certum, secundum placitum Patris acceperunt: reliquos vero, qui absistunt a principali successione et quocunque loco colligunt, suspectos habere; – vel quasi haereticos, et malae sententiae ... And again: Agnitio vera est apostolorum doctrina, et antiquus ecclesiae status, in universo mundo, et character corporis Christi secundum successiones episcoporum, quibus illi eam, quae in unoquoque loco est, ecclesiam tradiderunt .... Besides Irenaeus, the same is said by Tertullian, who, rebuking heretics, invites them to prove the succession (continuatam successionem) of their bishops from any Apostle, or at least a teaching apostolic, as the churches professing the Orthodox faith can prove.

The classic church writer on the unity of the church, the famous Cyprian writes: Hoc enim vel maxime et laboramus et laborare debemus, ut unitatem a Domino et per apostolos nobis successoribus traditam, quantum possumus, obtinere curemus. Potestas peccatorum remittendorurn apostalis data est et ecclesiis, quas illi a Christo missi constituerunt, et episcopis, qui eis ordinatione vicaria successerunt. Hostes autem unius catholicae ecclesiae, in qua nos sumus..., qui apostolis successimus. Jerome: Apud nos apostolorum locum tenent episcopi. Omnes episcopi apostolorum successores sunt. Augustine: In apostolorun loco constituit nos. We could cite many more testimonies from patristic literature showing that episcopal authority in the church is legitimate because it preserves an uninterrupted succession from the Apostles, or apostolic disciples, to the present. The symbolic teaching of our church about this is set forth in chapter 10 of the Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs. It also has decisive power even now in the Orthodox Church, as soon as the question is raised of whether to recognize or not to recognize the priesthood of one or another heterodox religious society, as we saw in the interpretation of 47 Ap. regulations.

The holy fathers of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, who gathered in Constantinople mainly to affirm the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, did not draw up special canons relating to church deanery, as is clear from the second canon of the sixth ecumenical council, in which, when referring to the canons of other holy councils, about rules of the fifth ecumenical council is not mentioned.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council, which compiled 102 canons, is also called the Fifth-Sixth or Trulla. It is called the fifth or sixth because it was a direct continuation of the Fifth Council, convened by Emperor Justinian II. The council began its meetings on November 7, 680 and ended in September of the following year. Since the first part of the Council dealt exclusively with dogmatic questions in connection with the Monothelite heresy, it was convened again on September 1, 691 to draw up rules and ended on August 31, 692. The meetings of both Councils took place in the part of the Imperial Palace, which was called Trulla and therefore these canons are also called the canons of the Council of Trullo. The Council was attended by 227 fathers and the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem were personally present. There were also representatives of the Pope Agathon.

1. At the beginning of any word and deed, the best order is from God to begin and end with God, according to the words of the Theologian. Therefore, even now - when piety is already clearly preached by us, and the Church, of which Christ is the foundation, is constantly growing and prospering, so that it rises higher than the cedars of Lebanon - laying the foundation of sacred words, we define God's grace: to us from witnesses and ministers of the Word, God-chosen Apostles; also - from three hundred and eighteen saints and blessed fathers, under Constantine, our king, on the impious Arius, and on the pagan otherness he invented, or, more characteristic of the speech, polytheism, gathered in Nicaea, who, by the unanimity of faith, revealed to us and clarified consubstantial in three hypostases The divine nature, not allowing this to be hidden under the veil of ignorance, but having clearly taught the faithful to worship, with a single worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, they overthrew and destroyed the false teaching about the unequal degrees of the Godhead, and to the heretics from the sand, the childish constructions built against Orthodoxy were destroyed and overthrown. Thus, even under the great Theodosius, our king, by one hundred and fifty holy fathers gathered in this reigning city, we contain the proclaimed confession of faith, theologically about the Holy Spirit, the sayings are acceptable; and wicked Macedonia, together with the former enemies of truth, as violently daring to consider the Master a slave and impudently wanting to cross an unseen unit, so that the mystery of our hope would not be completely. Along with this - the most vile and raging against the truth, we condemn Apolinarius, the secret leader of malice, who unholy vomited, as if the Lord would take the body without a soul and mind, in this way introducing the thought, as if salvation had been done for us imperfect. Thus, under Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, our king, gathered for the first time in the city of Ephesus, two hundred God-bearing fathers expounded the teaching, as an indestructible power of piety, we seal with consent, the one Christ the Son of God and preaching incarnate, and who gave birth to Him without seed, the Immaculate Ever-Virgin Mary confessing actually and truly the Theotokos, and we reject the insane division of Nestorius, as excommunicated from the lot of God: for he teaches that Christ alone is a separately man, and separately God, and renews Jewish wickedness. Orthodoxy we also affirm in the regional city of Chalcedon, under Marcian, our king, by six hundred and thirty God-chosen fathers, the confession inscribed by the ends of the earth, which proclaimed the one Christ the Son of God, consisting of two natures, and glorified in these very two natures; but the super-wise Eutyches, who said that the great sacrament of salvific dispensation was accomplished by a ghost, like something monstrous, and like an infection, from the sacred walls of the Church cast out, with him Nestorius and Dioscorus, of whom one was the defender and champion of division, and the other of confusion, and who, from opposite countries of wickedness, plunged into a single abyss of death and godlessness. Also, one hundred and sixty-five God-bearing fathers, gathered in this reigning city, under Justinian, blessed in the memory of our king, pious verbs, as if uttered by the Spirit, we know, and we teach our descendants this. They are Theodore of Mopsuet, the Nestorian teacher, and Origen, and Didymus, and Evagrius, who renewed the Hellenic fables, and the passages and transformations of some bodies and souls were presented to us for shame, in the sleepy dreams of a wandering mind, and against the resurrection of the dead impiously and unreasonably rebelled, so written by Theodoret against the right faith and against the twelve chapters of the blessed Cyril, and the so-called letter of Iva, were conciliarly cursed and rejected. And recently, during the reign of our Tsar, Constantine blessed in memory, in this reigning city of the descended Sixth Council, the confession, which received a great fortress, when the pious Emperor of the decree of this Council, with his seal, for the sake of certainty, affirmed for all time, we again pledge to keep inviolably. It God-lovingly explained how we should confess two natural desires, or two wills, and two natural actions in the incarnation, for the sake of our salvation, our only Lord Jesus Christ, the true God; and those who perverted the right dogma of truth and one will and one action in the one Lord our God Jesus Christ preached to people, were accused by the court of piety, like Theodore Bishop of Faran, Cyrus of Alexandria, Honorius of Rome, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul, Peter, who were in this in the God-saved city by the primates, Macarius the Bishop of Antioch, a disciple of our Stephen, and the insane Polychronius, thus keeping the common body of Christ our God inviolable. Briefly, we decree that the faith of all the men of glory in the Church of God, who were luminaries in the world, containing the word of life, be observed firmly and remain unshakable until the end of time, together with their God-given writings and dogmas. We sweep aside and anathematize all whom they swept aside and anathematized as enemies of the truth, who in vain gnashed at God, and intensified to raise untruth to the heights. If anyone of all does not contain and does not accept the aforementioned dogmas of piety, and does not think and preach like that, but attempts to go against them: let him be anathema, according to the definition previously decreed by the aforementioned holy and blessed fathers, and from the Christian estate, as a stranger, let him be excluded and cast out. For we, in accordance with what has been determined before, have completely decided not to add anything, not to subtract, and could not in any way.

Wed 2 Universe one; 3 Universe 7; 7 Universe one; Karf. 1 and 2.

2. This holy Council recognized as beautiful and worthy of extreme diligence that from now on, for the healing of souls and for the healing of passions, those accepted and approved by the holy and blessed fathers who were before us, and also betrayed to us in the name of the holy and glorious Apostles, remain firm and inviolable, eighty five rules. Since in these rules we are commanded to accept the same holy Apostles’ decrees, through Clement, the faithful, into which those who once thought differently, to the detriment of the Church, introduced something false and alien to piety, and darkened for us the magnificent beauty of Divine teaching: then we, for the sake of edification and protection The Christian flock, these Clement's decrees prudently postponed, by no means allowing the offspring of heretical false talk, and without interfering with the pure and perfect Apostolic teaching. With our consent, we seal all other sacred rules set forth from our holy and blessed fathers, that is, three hundred and eighteen God-bearing fathers who gathered in Nicaea; so also from the fathers who gathered in Aghvir, and in Neocaesarea, as well as in Gangra; besides this, in Syrian Antioch and Phrygian Laodicea; also one hundred and fifty fathers who came together in this God-protected and reigning city; and two hundred fathers who gathered for the first time in the regional city of Ephesus; and six hundred and thirty holy and blessed fathers gathered in Chalcedon; and from those assembled at Sardica and at Carthage; and still gathered packs in this God-saving and reigning city under Nectarios, the primate of this reigning city, and under Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria; so ruled Dionysius, archbishop of the great city of Alexandria; Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria and Martyr; Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea, miracle worker; Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria; Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa; Gregory the Theologian; Amphilochius of Iconium; First Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria; Theophilus, archbishop of the same great city of Alexandria; Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria; and Gennady, patriarch of this God-protected and reigning city; also Cyprian, the archbishop of an African country, and a martyr, and the Council under him, the former stated rule, which in the places of the aforementioned primates, and only with them, according to the faithful custom, was preserved. Let no one be allowed to change or cancel the above-mentioned rules, or, in addition to the proposed rules, accept others, with false inscriptions, compiled by certain people who dared to feed on the truth. But if someone is convicted, as some rule from the above mentioned, he attempted to change or stop: such a person will be guilty against that rule of incurring penance, which it determines, and through it he will heal from what he stumbled.

Rule 2 6 The Council is especially important because it enumerates the canons of Local Councils and Sts. Fathers, which from that time acquire the same significance as other canons of the Ecumenical Councils. These rules, according to the expression 1 p. 7 of the Universe. Councils serve for all Orthodox as “testimony and guidance.” About all those who issued these rules, beginning with the Holy Apostles, the rule says that they “having been enlightened from one and the same Spirit, legitimized the useful.” 6 Universe The Council, approving all previously adopted rules, forbids them “to change or cancel.” Anyone who attempts to pervert them will be subjected to the penance indicated in the rule that he would attempt to change.

3. Since our pious and Christ-loving king proposed to this holy and ecumenical council that those who are numbered in the clergy and other Divine teachers, be represented as pure and blameless servants, and worthy of the mental sacrifice of the great God, who is both a sacrifice and a bishop, and to cleanse from the filth that clings to him from illegal marriages; and how, on this subject, those presenting to the most holy Roman Church proposed to observe a strict rule, and those subject to the throne of this God-protected and reigning city, the rule of philanthropy and indulgence: then we, paternally and together charitably uniting both into one, may we not leave even meekness weak, nor cruel severity, especially under such circumstances when the fall, out of ignorance, extends to a considerable number of people, according to we determine that those who have contacted by a second marriage, and even until the fifteenth day of the elapsed month of January, the past fourth indiction, six thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year, remaining in enslavement to sin, and those who did not want to sober up from it were subject to canonical eruption from their rank. As for those who, although they fell into such a sin of second marriage, nevertheless, before this definition of ours, they knew what was useful, and cut off evil from themselves, and rejected the unusual and illegal coitus far away, or whose wives of the second marriage have already died, and who, moreover, they looked to conversion, again learning chastity, and soon running away from their former iniquities, whether it be presbyters or deacons: it was judged about such that they would refrain from any sacred service or action, remaining under penance for a certain time, and by the honor of the seat and standing yes enjoy, being content with the presidency, and weeping before the Lord, may forgive them the sin of ignorance. For it would be incongruous to bless another who should heal his own sores. Those who were united with one wife, if the widow he christened, like those who, by ordination, joined the one doctor, that is, presbyters, deacons and subdeacons, after removal from the priesthood for a certain short time and after penance, packs are restored to their characteristic degrees, with the prohibition to raise them to another higher degree, and, moreover, obviously, after the termination of the wrong cohabitation. But we have decreed this for those who, as we have said, until the fifteenth day of the month of January, the fourth indiction, are convicted of the above-mentioned wines, and only for sacred persons; From now on, we define and renew the rule, which says: whoever, after baptism, was obliged to have two marriages, or had a concubine, he cannot be either a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or in general in the list of the sacred rank (Ap. pr. 17). Likewise, he who has married a widow, or a woman rejected from marriage, or a harlot, or a slave, or a disgrace, cannot be either a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or in general in the list of the sacred rank (Ap. Pr. 18).

Repeating those requirements for those who receive the priesthood, which were already previously established (see Ap. Prop. 17 and 18 with their interpretation), 6 Ecc. The Council clarifies and adds the prohibition, which has always existed in the Church from the beginning, for presbyters, deacons, and subdeacons to marry after ordination (cf. 6 Prop. 6 Ecumenical Council). The indulgence granted by the Council to certain categories of clerics who are in marriages not allowed by the canons now have no effect, for it was only granted for a certain time with an action limited by a certain period.

4. If anyone - a bishop, presbyter, deacon, subdeacon, reader, singer, or doorkeeper - copulates with a woman consecrated to God: let him be cast out of his rank, as having scolded Christ's bride; if he is a layman, let him be excommunicated from the communion of the Church.

The “wife consecrated to God,” referred to in this canon, called “the bride of Christ,” are virgins who vowed to “live in purity” (18 St. Basil the Great). The rite of consecration of these virgins was performed by the bishop (6 Ave. of the Carthaginian Sob.) and they lived under his supervision, separated from their parents. Here we are not talking about deaconesses, but rather about nuns. Wed: 6 Universe. 21; Karf. 36; Vasily Vel. 3, 6, 32, 51 and 70.

5. No one from the sacred rank, who does not have with him living unsuspicious persons, indicated in the rule (3 Prov. 1 Ecumenical Sob.), May he take a woman or a slave to him, thereby saving himself from reproach. But if anyone transgresses what we have determined, let him be deposed. Let the eunuchs observe the same thing, protecting themselves from censure. And those who transgress, if they are from the clergy, let them be cast out, but if they are worldly, let them be excommunicated.

The rule to which this rule refers is 3 Ave. 1 Cos. Cathedral. Repeating the precepts of that canon regarding persons in holy orders, the present canon adds to them the laity, indicating that this must be done, "protecting oneself from censure." T. about. this rule teaches us that we must avoid that which can cause temptation and sin of condemnation in our neighbors. Wed You. Vel. 88.

6. Since it is said in the Apostolic Canons that of those who are celibate, only readers and singers can marry (Ap. Pr. 26), then we, observing this, determine: yes, from now on, neither a subdeacon, nor a deacon, nor a presbyter, has permission, after ordination over him, to enter into marital cohabitation; if he dares to do this, let him be deposed. But if anyone who enters the clergy wants to be united with a woman according to the law of marriage: let such one do this before consecration as a subdeacon, or a deacon, or a presbyter.

In the present canon, the attention of the interpreters was focused on the fact that here the word “ordination” is applied not only to deacons, but also to subdeacons, as if the latter were not members of the lower degrees of the clergy, contrary to the dogmatic teaching of the Church about the existence of three, and not more, degrees of priesthood. To explain this bewilderment, one can cite the words of St. Patriarch Tarasius on the 7th Universe. Council on the same term in 8 Ave. 1 Vs. Cathedral: "Word ordination could have been said here simply about blessing, and not about ordination.” Wed Ap. 26; 4 Universe fourteen; 6 Universe 13; Ankh, 10; Neokes. one; Carthaginian 20.

7. Since we have learned that in some churches deacons have ecclesiastical offices, and therefore some of them, allowing themselves insolence and self-will, preside over presbyters, for this we determine: a deacon, if he had the dignity, that is, any church position, would not take places above the presbyter, unless, presenting the person of his patriarch or metropolitan, he arrives in another city for some business, for then, as he who takes his place, he will be honored. But if anyone, with violence and arrogance, dares to do this: such, having been brought down from his degree, let him be the last of all in the rank to which he is numbered in his church. Therefore, our Lord convinces us not to love presidency in the teaching offered by the holy Evangelist Luke, on behalf of our Lord and God Himself. For He told the following parable to those who were invited: when you are called by someone for marriage, do not sit in the front place, but who will be more honest than you in those who are invited, and whoever comes who called you and him, he says, give him a place; and then start with shame to keep the last place. But when you are called, sit in the last place, and when the one who calls comes, he says to you: friend, sit higher; then glory will be to you before those who sit with you. For everyone who ascends will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:7-12). Let the same thing be observed in other degrees of the sacred rank - for we know that spiritual merits or positions are more excellent than positions related to the world (i.e., the position of a presbyter is more important than the position of a great economy or Eudicus).

See the explanation for 18 Prop. 1 Universe. Cathedral. The rule allows for deviations from the norm only in those cases when the deacon would arrive in some city as a representative of the Patriarch or the bishop, which happened in antiquity, since the deacons had more participation in the diocesan administration than the presbyters. However, in this case, honor to the deacon, as a representative of the bishop, was not in worship, but in meetings outside the church. Wed Laod. twenty

8. Desiring to preserve everything established by our holy fathers, we also renew the rule (4th Ecumenical Council canon 10), commanding that there should be annual councils of bishops in every region where the bishop of the metropolis sees the best. But since, due to the raid of the barbarians and due to other random obstacles, the primates of the churches do not have the opportunity to hold councils twice a year, then it is reasoned: for the possible, as likely to arise church affairs, in every area, there should be a council of bishops spoken once a year in every way. , between the holy feast of Pascha, and between the end of the month of October of each year, in the place which, as mentioned above, the bishop of the metropolis will choose. And the bishops who do not come to the council, although they are in their cities, and, moreover, are in good health, and are free from all necessary and urgent occupation, brotherly to express censure.

See the explanation for 37 Ap. rule. This canon emphasizes that participation in a Council for bishops is not the exercise of a right, but is the fulfillment of a duty. Therefore, those of them who would not come to the Council out of unwillingness, and not because of important obstacles, were decided to “brotherly reprimand.”

9. No one is allowed to keep a tavern. For if such a person is not allowed to enter the tavern, then all the more so to serve others in it, and to practice what is indecent for him. But if anyone does such a thing, either let him stop, or let him be cast out.

Wed Ap. 54 with an explanation.

10. A bishop, a presbyter, or a deacon who collects interest, or so-called hundredths, or let him cease, or let him be deposed.

See the explanation of 44 Ap. regulations.

11. None of those belonging to the sacred order, or from the laity, should by any means eat the unleavened bread given by the Jews, or enter into fellowship with them, nor call upon them in illnesses, and take medicine from them, nor bathe in baths with them. But if anyone dares to do this, let the clergy be deposed, and the layman be excommunicated.

See explanation of 7 rights. Holy Apostles. In common parlance, the unleavened bread referred to in this rule is called matzo.

12. It has also come to our attention that in Africa, Libya, and in other places, some of the most God-loving primates (primate - instead of the name of the Bishop), and according to the ordination that took place over them, do not leave to live together with their spouses, believing that stumbling and temptation to others. Having therefore great diligence, in order to arrange everything for the benefit of the entrusted flocks, we recognized it as good, but from now on there will be nothing of the kind. This is a verb not to the postponement, or transformation of the Apostolic statute, but applying care for the salvation and prosperity of people for the best, and that we do not allow any criticism of the sacred title. For the Divine Apostle speaks: Do all things for the glory of God; be blameless to the Jews, and Greeks, and the Church of God, just as I please everyone in everything, not seeking their own benefit, but many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ (1 Corinth. 10:31–33; 11:1). But if anyone is foreseen who does not do this, let him be cast out.

Fathers 6 Universe. The councils, in prescribing celibacy to bishops, did not introduce anything new, but fixed a custom that had already entered the life of the Church. Thus, the life of some bishops in Africa and Libya in marriage was an exception, “thus considering it a stumbling and a stumbling block to others.” Bliss. Theodoret in his commentary on 1 Tim. 3:2 explains that in his time the Apostle had to admit the married to the episcopacy, for the preaching of the gospel was in its infancy; the pagans had no concept of virginity, while the Jews did not allow it, since the birth of children was considered a blessing. However, the Apostle Paul wrote about the superiority of virginity over married life. Monasticism that arose later gave the Church the most prominent hierarchs, and already at the beginning of the 4th century, the celibacy of a bishop was looked upon as a phenomenon underlying the church structure. Emperor Constantine greeted those gathered at the 1st Universe. Synod of bishops as representatives of virginal purity. “Without any law,” writes Prof. V. V. Bolotov, “the practically celibacy of bishops became more and more common” (Lectures on the History of the Ancient Church. History of the Church during the Ecumenical Councils, St. Petersburg, 1913, 3, p. 145). That. Canon 12 introduces into the written law what has already existed in the practice of the Church for several centuries and has become its tradition. Wed 6 Universe 30 and 48.

13. Since we have learned that in the Roman Church, as a rule, it is committed that those who have to be awarded the ordination to the deacon, or presbyter, pledge themselves no longer to communicate with their wives: then we, following the ancient rule of the Apostolic order and order, deign, so that the cohabitation of the clergy according to the law will continue to be inviolable, not by any means terminating their union with their wives, and not depriving them of their mutual connection at a decent time. And so, whoever appears worthy of ordination as a subdeacon, or as a deacon, or as a presbyter, let such one by no means be an obstacle to raising to such a degree cohabitation with a lawful spouse; and from him at the time of the appointment yes no obligation is required that he refrain from lawful communication with his wife; lest we be compelled in this way to offend the blessed marriage established by God and by Him at His coming. For the voice of the Gospel cries out: What God has joined together, let no man separate (Matt. 19:6). And the Apostle teaches: marriage is honorable, and the bed is not filthy (Heb. 13:4). Likewise: Thou hast become attached to a woman, do not seek permission (1 Cor. 7:27). We know that those who gathered in Carthage, having concern for the purity of the life of the clergy, decided that subdeacons who touch the sacred mysteries, and deacons, and presbyters, in their appointed times, abstain from their concubines. Thus, both what was handed down from the Apostles and observed from antiquity itself, let us likewise preserve, knowing the time of every thing, and especially fasting and prayer. For those who are standing at the altar, at the time when they approach the shrine, it is fitting to be temperate in everything, so that they can receive from God in simplicity what they ask for. If anyone, acting contrary to the Apostolic canons, dares any of the priests, that is, presbyters, deacons, or subdeacons, to deprive the union and treatment of a lawful wife: let him be deposed. Similarly, if anyone, a presbyter or a deacon, under the guise of reverence, casts out his wife: let him be excommunicated from the priesthood, but remaining steadfast, let him be cast out.

This rule is taken against the Roman practice of forced celibacy of the entire clergy. Because of this rule, however, still included in the Corpus juris canonici, Cardinal Humbert called the Orthodox Church heretical, infected with the Nicolaitan heresy (Acts 6:6), known for its dissolute life. At present, contrary to such an extreme view, which was especially expressed in 385 by Pope Siricius, who absolutely did not allow married clergy to serve, the marriage of the clergy is allowed not only among the Uniates, but with special permission in the Western Rite of the Catholic Church. Wed Ap. 5, 26 and 51; 6 Universe thirty; Gangra. four; Karf. 3.4, 34, and 81.

14. Let the rule of our saints and God-bearing fathers be observed in this too: so that one should not ordain a presbyter before the age of thirty, if the person were very worthy, but defer until the appointed years. For the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the thirtieth year and began to teach. Similarly, a deacon before the age of twenty-five, and a deaconess before the age of forty, shall not be ordained.

In the Russian Church, out of necessity, the earlier ordination of clergy has long been allowed. Wed Neokes. eleven; Karf. 22.

15. Yes, a subdeacon is appointed not before twenty years of age. But if anyone, in any sacred degree, is placed before a certain age: let him be cast out.

Wed Neokes. eleven; Karf. 22.

16. Since it is transmitted in the book of the Acts of the Apostles that seven deacons were appointed from the Apostles: the fathers of the Neocaesarea Council, in the rules they decreed, clearly reasoned that the seven deacons should be according to the rule, even if it were in this great city, certifying this by the book of Acts: that for our sake, having compared the thought of the fathers with the saying of the Apostles, we found that they had a word not about men serving the sacraments, but about serving the needs of meals. For in the book of Acts it is written thus: in the days of the disciples who have multiplied, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Jews, who were despised in the daily service of their widows. And he called the twelve multitude of disciples, deciding: it is not pleasing for us to eat, who have left the word of God, to serve meals; See then, brethren, seven men testified by you, filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will appoint them over this service; but we will continue in prayer and the ministry of the Word. And this word was pleasing before all the people; and Ibrasha Stefan, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Paramen, and Nicholas, a stranger of Antioch, you put them before the Apostles. Explaining this, the teacher of the Church, John Chrysostom, speaks like this: it is worthy of surprise that the people were not divided when choosing husbands; how the Apostles are not rejected by him. But one must know what dignity these men had, and what ordination they received: to the degree of deacons? - but these were not in the Churches: in the office of presbyters? - but there was still no bishop, but only the Apostles; For this reason, I think that neither the name of the deacons nor the presbyters was known and used. Based on this, we also preach that the aforementioned seven deacons should not be acceptable as ministers of the sacraments, according to the teaching set forth, but are those who were entrusted with the dispensation for the common need of those who were then assembled; and they were for us in this case a model of philanthropy and care for the needy.

Canon 15 of the Neo-Caesarean Council decreed that there should not be more than seven deacons in one city. In order to harmonize it with the existing practice, when one great church in Constantinople had 100 deacons, the fathers of the Council explained the difference in the ministry of the deacons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and the deacons who now serve in the Church.

17. Therefore, the clerics of various churches, leaving their churches in which they were placed, went over to other bishops, and, without the will of their bishop, were appointed in foreign churches, and through this they turn out to be rebellious: for this reason we determine, so that from the month of January of the past fourth indict no one of the clergy, to whatever extent anyone was, had no right, without a letter of dismissal from their bishop, to be assigned to another church. Whoever does not observe this from now on, but shames with himself the one who laid hands on him, may he himself be cast out, and he who received him wrongly.

Wed Ap. 12 and its explanation.

18. Clerics who, due to the invasion of the barbarians, or for some other reason, left their places, we command, when the circumstances, or the barbarian invasions that were the reason for their removal, leave, return to their churches again, and they should not be left for a long time without a reason. But if anyone continues to be absent, contrary to this canon, let him be excommunicated until he returns to his church. Let the bishop who holds him be subject to the same.

Wed Ap. 15 and the parallel rules indicated to it.

19. The primates of the churches must on all days, and especially on Sundays, instruct the entire clergy and people in the words of piety, choosing from the Divine Scripture the understanding and reasoning of the truth, and not transgressing the already established limits and traditions of the God-bearing fathers; and if the word of scripture is studied, then they do not explain it otherwise, except as the luminaries and teachers of the Church have stated in their writings, and by this they are more convinced than by the composition of their own words, so that, with a lack of skill in this, they do not deviate from what is proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of the good and worthy of election, and of the unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but, listening to the teaching, urge themselves to move away from evil, and, fear of threatening punishments, work out their salvation.

20. May it not be allowed for a bishop in another city that does not belong to him to teach publicly. But if anyone is foreseen who does this, let him cease from the bishop, and let him do the works of presbytery.

This rule is one of the others that protect the dioceses from the interference of third-party bishops. As for the punishment indicated to him, Bishop John of Smolensk explains: “This does not mean that a bishop guilty of violation of the rules should be reduced to the rank of presbyter (which would be contrary to the general rules of the Church - 4 Ecum. Sob. Rights 29), but it means that he is deprived of the power of the episcopal (or, more precisely, the chair) and becomes in the ranks of subordinate clergy, without losing only the holy dignity.” Wed Ap. 14 and 35; Ankir. eighteen; Antioch. 13 and 22; Sardik. 3 and 11.

21. Those who have been found guilty of crimes contrary to the rules and for this subjected to a perfect and permanent eruption from their rank, and expelled to the state of the laity, if, coming voluntarily to repentance, they reject the sin for which they have lost grace, and completely eliminate themselves from it: let them cut their hair in the image clear. If they do not spontaneously wish this: let the hair grow like the laity, as those who prefer conversion in the world of heavenly life.

This rule states that a person who has been deprived of holy orders cannot be restored to it. The greatest indulgence allowed by this rule, subject to sincere repentance, is to allow such a person to retain the appearance of a cleric. The form of clothing and cutting hair in different eras were different, but from a very long time the principle was observed that the clergy differed in appearance from the laity. Wed 27 Ave of the same Cathedral.

22. To bishops or to any degree of clergy appointed for money, and not by trial and election for a way of life, we command to expel, also those by whom they are appointed.

See the interpretation on 29 Ap. rule. Wed pr. 4 Universe. Inc. 2; 7 Sun. Inc. 5 and 19; St. Basil Vel. 90; Last Patr. Gennady and St. Tarasia.

23. None of the bishops, presbyters, or deacons, when administering Holy Communion, demands money or anything else from the recipient for such communion. For grace is not for sale, and we do not teach the sanctification of the Spirit for money, but without cunning we must teach it to those worthy of this gift. If, however, one of those among the clergy is seen as requiring some kind of retribution from the one to whom he gives Holy Communion: let him be cast out as a zealot of Simon's error and deceit.

This rule has a broader meaning than just the prohibition to demand money for communion. It generally prohibits extortion of money for any sacraments taught to believers. Such a sin is always something close to simony, for the latter is not the only possible form of action in which the priest “turns unsaleable grace into sale” (4 Ecum. 2).

24. None of those in the sacred rank, nor the monk, is allowed to go to horse races or attend shameful games. And if someone from the clergy is called to marriage, then when games appear that serve to seduce, let him get up and immediately leave, for the teaching of our fathers commands us so. If anyone is convicted of this, either let him stop, or let him be cast out.

Wed 6 Universe 51 and 62; Laod. 54; Karf. eighteen.

25. Together with all the others, we also renew that canon (4 All-Union Council of Rights 17), which commands that for each church, parishes existing in villages or suburbs should invariably remain under the authority of the bishops ruling them, and especially if these for thirty years immaculately had them in their control and management. If there has been or will be some dispute about them no later than thirty years, then it is permissible for those who consider themselves offended to start a case about this before the regional council.

See 17 Ave. 4 Universe. Cathedral and explanations to it.

26. The presbyter, unknowingly undertaking an unlawful marriage, let him use the presbyter's seat, in accordance with the law laid down for us in the sacred rule (Neokes. Council of Rights 9), but refrain from other actions of the presbyter: for such is enough forgiveness. Blessing another, who is supposed to heal his own ulcers, is not befitting. For blessing is the giving of sanctification: but whoever does not have it, because of the sin of ignorance, how will he teach it to another? For this reason, let him not bless either publicly or especially, and let him not share the body of the Lord with others, or perform any other service, but be content with a priestly place, and ask the Lord with tears to forgive him the sins of ignorance. In itself, it is clear that such a wrong marriage will be destroyed, and the husband will by no means have cohabitation with the one through whom he has lost the priesthood.

See Vasily Vel. 27 and interpretation.

27. Let none of those who are in the clergy put on indecent clothes, either while in the city or on the way, but each of them uses clothes that are already determined for those who are in the clergy. If anyone does this, let him be excommunicated from the priesthood for one week.

Ep. Nicodemus remarks about this rule: “The rule is clear. Just as at the time of the Trulsky Council a uniform was prescribed for clergy, so now this issue is regulated by the legislation of the local Churches, and therefore every clergyman must obey; otherwise, according to this rule, he is subject to excommunication from the priesthood for one week.” Wed 21 Ave. 6 Universe. Cathedral; 7 Universe Inc. 16; Gangra. 12 and 21.

28. Later, we learned that in various churches, according to a certain growing custom, grapes are brought to the altar, and the clergy, combining it with the bloodless sacrifice of the offering, in this way both are shared by the people, for the sake of it we recognize it as necessary, but none of the clergy will continue to do this, but let the people be given one offering, for quickening and remission of sins, but let the priests accept the offering of grapes as the firstfruits, and, blessing it especially, let them teach those who ask, in thanksgiving to the Giver of fruits, with which, according to God's decree, our bodies return and feed. But if anyone from the rank does contrary to what was commanded: let him be cast out of his rank.

See interpretation of 3 Ap. regulations.

29. The Rule of the Fathers of the Carthaginian Council commands that the sanctification of the altar (Liturgy) should be performed only by people who have not eaten, except for a single day in the year on which the Lord's Supper is served (Carth. Sobor rights. 48). The holy fathers, perhaps for some local reasons useful to the Church, issued such an order. And since nothing induces us to leave reverent strictness, then following the Apostolic and patristic traditions, we determine: what is not appropriate on Quatecost, on Thursday of the last week, to stop fasting, and thereby dishonor Quatecost.

This rule is an amendment to Karf. fifty.

30. Desiring to do everything for the building up of the Church, we decided to arrange well in the churches of other tribes the priests who are found. For this reason, if they are duly imputed to continue to act in the Apostolic canon (5), which forbids expelling one’s wife under the guise of piety, and they think it is more established to create, and for this reason, in agreement with their spouses, they will move away from communication with each other: we determine, yes they no longer have cohabitation with them, under any guise, so that in this way they show us the perfect proof of their answer. This was allowed to them, for nothing else, except for the sake of their faint-hearted thought, and still alien and unsettled customs.

This rule had a temporary and local significance for some churches that were outside the boundaries of the Greco-Roman state.

31. We determine that the clergy who perform clergy or baptize in prayer churches located inside houses do this only at the behest of the local bishop. For this sake, if any cleric does not observe this in such a way, let him be deposed.

58 Ave. of the Council of Laodicea forbade celebrating the Liturgy “in houses,” that is, not in consecrated churches. This rule speaks of “prayer temples located inside houses,” which have not been consecrated by bishops. In abolition of the decision of the Council of Laodicea, they allow the celebration of worship, but only with the permission of the bishop.

32. It has come to our attention that in the Armenian country, those who make a bloodless sacrifice bring only wine at a holy meal, without diluting it with water, citing in their justification the teacher of the Church, John Chrysostom, who in his interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew speaks this: why did the resurrected Lord drink water for nothing? but wine? - in order to root out other impious heresy. For how are some who use water in the sacrament: for this reason he indicates that he used wine both when he gave the sacrament, and after the resurrection, when he offered a simple meal, without the sacrament, and, pointing to this, he speaks: from the fruit of the vine (Matt. 26:29), but the vine produces wine, and not water. From this it is deduced that this teacher rejects the addition of water in the holy sacrifice. For this reason, so that such people would not be obsessed with ignorance from now on, we reveal the Orthodox understanding of this father. There was an ancient evil heresy of hydroparastats, that is, water-bearers, who in their sacrifice, instead of wine, used only water: then this God-bearing man, refuting the lawless teaching of such heresy, and showing that they go directly against the Apostolic Tradition, used the above words. For he also gave his Church, over which he was entrusted with pastoral rule, to add water to the wine, when it is necessary to make a bloodless sacrifice, pointing to the combination of blood and water, from the most pure rib of our Redeemer and Savior Christ God, which has flowed to the revival of the whole world and to redemption from sins. And in all the churches where the spiritual luminaries shone, this God-devoted order is preserved. Later, both Jacob, Christ our God according to the flesh, brother, to whom the first throne of the Church of Jerusalem was entrusted, and Basil of the Church of Caesarea, archbishop, whose glory has flowed throughout the universe, having handed over to us in writing the sacramental rite, put in the Divine Liturgy, from water and wine to make a holy cup. And in Carthage, the venerable fathers who gathered in Carthage uttered these exact words: let nothing more be offered in the holy sacrament than the body and blood of the Lord, as the Lord himself gave, that is, bread and wine dissolved in water. But if anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, works, not according to the order handed down from the Apostles, and does not combine water with wine, in this way he brings an immaculate sacrifice: let him be cast out, as one who imperfectly proclaims the sacrament, and who betrays innovation by innovation.

33. Later, we learned that in the Armenian country they accept into the clergy only those who are from the priestly family, in which the Jewish customs will be followed by those who do so, and some of these, even without receiving clerical tonsure, are supplied as priests and readers of the Divine Temple: then we believe, from now on, it will not be allowed for those who wish to raise some to the clergy, henceforth to look at the kind of production; but testing whether they are worthy, according to the definitions depicted in the sacred rules, to be numbered among the clergy, let them be promoted to ministers of the church, even if they come from dedicated ancestors, even if not. Thus, let no one be allowed to proclaim Divine words from the ambo to the people, according to the rank of those numbered among the clergy, unless one is awarded consecration with tonsure and receives a blessing from his pastor, in accordance with the rules. But if anyone is seen to do things contrary to what has been prescribed, let him be excommunicated.

The rule was caused by the fact that only persons of spiritual origin were accepted into the clergy among the Armenians. In addition, persons of this origin were allowed to be readers and singers without initiation. The canon condemns such an order as contrary to 15th Ave. of Laodicea. Wed 7 Universe fourteen.

34. Later, the sacred rule (4 Ecumenical Council, 18) clearly proclaims this, that the crime of conspiracy, or gathering together, is completely forbidden by external laws: much more must be forbidden, but this does not happen in the Church of God, then we strive to observe Yes, if certain clerics or monks are seen as entering into conspiracies or assemblies, or building covens for bishops or co-clerics, yes, they are completely thrown down from their degree.

Wed Ave. Ap. 31; 4 Universe eighteen; Karf. ten; Dvukr. 13, 14 and 15.

35. May none of the metropolitans, after the death of a bishop subject to his throne, be allowed to take away or appropriate his property, or his church, but let it be under the protection of the clergy of the church of which the present person was the primate, even before the creation of another bishop; unless there are no clerics left in that church. Then let the metropolitan keep it intact and give everything to the bishop who will be appointed.

Wed Ave. Ap. 40; 4 Universe 22 and 25; Antioch. 24; Karf. 31 and 92.

36. Renewing the legislature of one hundred and fifty Holy Fathers who have gathered in this God-protected and reigning city (2 All. Council of Rights, 3), and six hundred and thirty gathered in Chalcedon (4 All. Council of Rights. 28), we determine: yes, the throne of Constantinople has equal advantages with the throne ancient Rome, and like this one, let him be exalted in church affairs, being second after him; after this, let the throne of the great city of Alexandria be listed, then the throne of Antioch, and behind this the throne of the city of Jerusalem.

Wed pr. 1 Universe. 6 and 7; 2 Universe 2 and 3; 4 Universe 28.

37. Later, at different times, there were barbarian invasions, and because of this, the most numerous cities became enslaved by the lawless, and for this reason it was impossible for the primate of such, after ordination over him, to accept his throne, establish himself on it in a state of ordination and everything that it is proper for a bishop to produce and accomplish, for this reason, we, observing honor and respect for the priesthood and wishing that enslavement from the pagans would not in any way act to the detriment of church rights, decided: yes, those ordained and, for the above reason, on their thrones those who enter are not subject to prejudice for this; why they also perform ordinations to different degrees of the clergy, according to the rules, and let them use the advantage of presidency, and let every commanding action proceeding from them be recognized as firm and lawful. For the need of the time and the obstacles to the observance of accuracy should not be constrained by the limits of control.

Wed Ave. Ap. 36; 6 Universe 39; Ankir. eighteen; Antioch. eighteen.

38. Our fathers preserve what was laid down, and we also have a rule that reads as follows: if a city is built again by royal power, or henceforth a city will be built: then the distribution of church affairs should also be civil and zemstvo distribution (4 Ecumenical Council of Rights. 17).

Wed 2 Universe 3; 4 Universe 17.

39. Later, our brother and co-servant John, the primate of the island of Cyprus, along with his people, due to barbarian invasions, and in order to free himself from pagan slavery, and faithfully submit to the scepter of Christian power, moved from the aforementioned island to the Hellespont region by the providence of a philanthropic God and the diligence of a Christ-loving and pious our king, then we decree: let the privileges given to the throne of the above-named man, from the God-bearing fathers who once gathered in Ephesus, be preserved unchanged, let the new Justinianopolis have the rights of Constantinople, and the most God-loving bishop established in it, let him rule over all the bishops of the Hellesponian region, and let it be delivered from our bishops according to the ancient custom. For our God-bearing fathers also judged that the customs of every Church should be observed, and the bishop of the city of Cyzicus is subordinate to the primate of the said Justinianopolis, following the example of all other bishops who are subject to the above-mentioned most God-loving primate John, from whom, when necessary, and Cyzicus himself, the bishop of the city should be appointed.

This canon serves as the basis for the existence of the Russian Church Abroad. It justified the acceptance of the Supreme Church Administration of the South of Russia in Constantinople and giving it the rights of jurisdiction over Russian refugees there, and then to justify the Russian Church Administration in the form of Councils and Synods on the territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

40. Since joining God, through the removal from the rumors of life, is very saving, then we must not without trial untimely accept those who choose the monastic life, but also in relation to them observe the decree handed down to us from the fathers: and for this we must take the vow of life according to God, as already solid and proceeding from knowledge and reasoning, after the full opening of the mind. And so, he who intends to enter under the yoke of monasticism, let him be no less than ten years old, but even for such, it is in the power of the ruler to consider whether he does not recognize it as most useful to extend the time for him, before entering the monastic life and establishing himself in it. For although the great Basil, in his sacred rules, legislates that she who voluntarily consecrates herself to God and chooses virginity, after she has reached seventeen years of age, should be ranked among the rank of virgins; however, we, following the example of the rules about widows and deaconesses, according to the definition: for those who have chosen the life of the monastic above, the number of years. For it is prescribed by the Divine Apostle: to choose a widow in the Church for sixty years (1 Tim. 5:9); and the sacred canons gave the deaconess to appoint forty years: it is foreseen that the Church, by the grace of God, has received great strength and progress, and the faithful in keeping the Divine commandments are firm and trustworthy. Having fully comprehended this, we, in accordance with this, determined: he who intends to begin feats according to God, will soon be marked with a sign of grace, as with a kind of seal, thereby helping him not to stagnate for a long time, not to hesitate, more encouraging him to choose good and to establish himself in it.

Based on the fact that Orthodoxy has been strengthened, this canon lowers the age for monastic tonsure compared to that specified in canon 18 of Basil the Great. Wed Karf. 140.

41. Those who wish to retire to seclusion in cities or villages and listen to themselves in solitude should first enter a monastery, accustom themselves to the life of a hermit, obey for three years the head of the monastery in the fear of God, and in everything, as it should, fulfill obedience, and thus express their will for such a life and be tested from the local abbot: from the bottom of their hearts they voluntarily join it. Therefore, even during the year, they must patiently remain outside the lock, so that more of their intention will be revealed. For then they will give perfect evidence that it is not for the sake of seeking vain glory, but for the sake of the truest good, that they strive for this silence. After the fulfillment of a lot of time, if they remain in the same intention, let them enter into seclusion; but they are no longer allowed to proceed, at will, from such a stay; except when this is required by public service or benefit, or other necessity, which is repugnant even by death, and then with the blessing of the local bishop. Those who dare, without stated reasons, to proceed from their dwellings, firstly, to conclude in the aforementioned gate and against their desire; then fix them with fasts and other strictness; we know, as it was said in Scripture: no one who lays his hand on the ralo and turns back, is led into the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 9:62).

Wed 4 Universe four; Dvukr. four.

42. About the named hermits, who, in black robes and with grown hair, go around the city, turning among worldly husbands and wives, and dishonor their vows, we determine: if they want, having tonsured their hair, take the image of other monastics, then determine them to the monastery and rank them among the brethren . If they do not want this, then completely drive them out of the cities, and live in the deserts, from which they made up their names.

Wed 4 Universe four; Dvukr. four.

43. It is permissible for a Christian to choose an ascetic life, and, after leaving the many-rebellious storm of worldly affairs, enter a monastery, and take tonsure in the image of a monastic, even if he were convicted of some kind of sin. For our Savior, the God of the rivers, said: He who comes to Me I will not cast out (John 6:37). Since the monastic life depicts for us the life of repentance, then we approve those who sincerely join it; and no previous way of life will prevent him from fulfilling his intention.

Wed 4 Universe four; Dvukr. 2 and 4.

44. A monk who has been convicted of fornication or who has taken his wife into the communion of marriage and cohabitation is subject to the rules of penance for those who commit fornication.

Wed 4 Universe 16; Ankir. 19; Vasily Vel. 6, 18, 19 and 60.

45. Later, we learned that in certain nunneries, those who bring those who are worthy of this sacred image, they first clothe them with silk multi-colored clothes, spotted with gold and precious stones, and from those approaching the altar in this way, they remove such a magnificent garment, and at the same hour over them the blessing of the monastic image is performed, and they are clothed in black attire, for this we determine: yes, from now on this does not happen at all. For it is indecent that, of her own free will, she who has already put aside all the pleasures of life, who has loved life according to God, who has established herself in it with unbending thoughts, and thus approaches the monastery, through such a perishable and vanishing adornment, returns to the memory of what she has already betrayed into oblivion, and from this would appear wavering and indignant in the soul, in the likeness of drowning waves, turning back and forth, so that, sometimes shedding tears, it does not show contrite heart; but if, as is typical, a small tear falls, then those who see it will imagine that it is happening not only from zeal for the monastic feat, but from separation from the world and from what is in the world.

46. Those who have chosen an ascetic life and are assigned to monasteries, by no means leave. If, however, some inevitable need prompts them to this: let them do this with the blessing and permission of the abbess; but even then they should go not alone on their own, but with some elders, and with leaders in the monastery, at the command of the abbess. They are not allowed to spend the night outside the monastery at all. Likewise, men who are going through a monastic life, let them go when the need arises, with the blessing of the one to whom the authorities are entrusted. Therefore, let those who transgress this decreed by us, men or women, be subjected to decent penances.

Wed 6 Universe 47.

47. Neither the wife in the male monastery, nor the husband in the women's monastery, let him sleep. For the faithful must be free from all stumbling and temptation, and arrange their lives well in accordance with propriety and graceful approach to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:35). If anyone does this, whether a cleric or a layman: let him be excommunicated.

Wed 7 Universe 18 and 20.

48. The wife of one who is made episcopal, is previously separated from her husband, by common consent, upon his ordination to the bishop, and may enter a monastery, far from the habitation of this bishop, and may receive support from the bishop. If she appears worthy, let her be elevated to the dignity of a deaconess.

Wed 6 Universe 12.

49. Renewing this sacred rule (4 All-Union Council of the Rights, 24), we determine that once consecrated, by the permission of the bishop, monasteries remain forever monasteries, and the property belonging to them is observed by the monastery, and so that they can no longer be worldly dwellings, and by no one could not be given to worldly people. But if until now this has happened to some of them, then we determine: let them not be held back at all; but those who dare from the present time to do this, let them be subject to penance according to the rules.

Wed Ap. 38; 4 Universe 24; 7 Universe 12, 13 and 17; Dvukr. one.

50. Let none of the laity and clergy henceforth indulge in a reprehensible game. But if anyone is seen doing this, let the clergy be deposed, and let the layman be excommunicated from the communion of the Church.

Wed Ap. 42 and 43.

51. This Holy Ecumenical Council completely forbids being laughers, and their spectacles, as well as animal spectacles and dancing on disgrace. But if anyone despises the present rule and indulges in any of these forbidden amusements: then let the cleric be expelled from the clergy, and let the layman be excommunicated from church communion.

Wed 6 Universe 24; Laod. 54; Karf. eighteen.

52. During all the days of the fast of the holy forty days, except for Saturday and Sunday and the holy day of the Annunciation, the holy liturgy is none other than the presanctified gifts.

A good explanation of this rule is given by Ep. John of Smolensk: “Since Lent is a time of universal repentance and confession of sins for Christians, the Holy Church subjects all of them at this time, as it were, to penance, which at other times is imposed only on some, namely: it offers believers only the reading of prayers and the word of God but does not allow them to see the completion of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. But for those who are weak in spirit and body, and in general in order to be deprived of St. gifts do not weaken our spirit, the Church reveals to us in the continuation of the weeks of fasting gifts pre-sanctified .... Liturgy is a solemn ceremony... But Lent is a time of heartfelt contrition for sins…. Therefore, the Church recognizes it as indecent, and no matter how much it dares, in contrition of spirit, to celebrate the full Liturgy these days.” (Experience in the Course of Church Law, vol. 1 pp. 459-560).

53. Because affinity in spirit is more important than union in body, and we have learned that in some places, some who receive children from holy and saving baptism after this enter into marital cohabitation with their mothers, widows, then we determine: so that from the present time nothing of the kind should be we're doing. But if any, according to the present rule, are seen to do this: let such, first, depart from this unlawful marriage, then let them be subjected to the penance of fornicators.

Spiritual kinship is formed during the reception between the godchildren and the godson, the godchild and the parents of his godson. In Byzantium, by analogy between blood and spiritual kinship, there were laws prohibiting marriages with spiritual kinship up to the 7th degree inclusive, but there was no canonical basis for this. Russian imperial law in strict accordance with pr. 6 Universe. 53 prescribed that: “1) the beneficiary cannot marry his spiritual daughter (1st step) and 2) the godfather cannot marry the widowed mother of his spiritual daughter (2nd step)”.

54. Divine Scripture clearly teaches us: do not draw near to any of your neighbor's flesh, revealing his shame (Lev. 18:6). God-bearing Basil, in his rules, numbered some of the forbidden marriages, and very many passed away in silence, and through both he arranged something useful for us. For, avoiding many shameful names, so as not to defile the words with such names, he signified uncleanness by common names, through which he showed us lawless marriages in a general way. But since, through such silence and an indistinguishable prohibition of lawless marriages, nature has confused itself, then we recognized it necessary to state this openly, and we determine from now on: if someone copulates in the communion of marriage with his brother’s daughter, or if father and son with mother and daughter, or with cousins, father and son, or with cousins, mother and daughter, or cousins ​​with cousins ​​- let them undergo the rule of seven years of penance, obviously after their separation from lawless marriage.

The word "exadelphi" in the Book of Rules is translated as "cousin." However, in reality it means the daughter of a brother, that is, a niece. Wed Not OK. 2; You. Vel. 23, 78 and 87; Tim. Al. eleven.

55. Since we have learned that those who dwell in the city of Rome, on Holy Fortecost, on its Sabbaths, fast, contrary to the faithful church following, then the holy council is pleased, and in the Roman Church the rule is inviolably observed, which says: if anyone from the clergy is seen on the holy day of the Lord , or fasting on Saturday, except for the only ones, let him be deposed, but if he is a layman, let him be excommunicated (Ap. pr. 64).

Wed Ap. 64 and Gangra. eighteen.

56. We also learned that in the Armenian country and in other places on Saturdays and Sundays, holy forty days, some cheese and eggs are eaten. For this reason, this is also recognized for good, but the Church of God, throughout the whole world, following a single order, fasts and abstains from everything that is slaughtered, as well as from eggs and cheese, which are the fruit and products of that from which we abstain. If they do not observe this, then let the clergy be deposed, and let the laity be excommunicated.

Wed Ap. 64 and 69.

57. It is not proper to bring honey and milk to the altar.

Wed Ap. 3 and Karf. 46 with explanations.

58. Let no one in the ranks of the laity teach himself the Divine mysteries when there is a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon. But he who dares to do something like that, as acting against the rank, let him be excommunicated for one week from the fellowship of the Church, being thus admonished not to be philosophic any more, even if it is proper to philosophize (Rom. 12:3).

In the first centuries of Christianity, especially during times of persecution, it happened that believers carried St. communion and communed themselves, with their own hands. However, this entailed crimes of lack of reverence. In addition, as a result of this habit, some laity even in the church wanted to give communion to themselves, and not to receive it from the hands of the priests. This rule eliminates such abuse and inappropriate claim by the laity.

59. Let not baptism be performed in a prayer book, which is found inside the house: but those who want to be worthy of the most pure enlightenment, let them come to the Catholic Churches and there let them be worthy of this gift. But if anyone is convicted of not keeping what we have decreed, then let the clergy be deposed, and let the layman be excommunicated.

The strictness of this rule, in cases of necessity and undoubted, is given the power to facilitate by the Bishop, by the 31st rule of this same Council. Wed 6 Universe 31 and explanation.

60. Since the Apostle cries out that he who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), it is clear that he who assimilates himself to his adversary is one with him, by fellowship. Therefore, it is reasoned: hypocritically raging and such a mode of action, out of the anger of morals, pretending to accept punishment in every way and subjecting them to the same rigors and labors as those who are truly mad, for the sake of liberation from demonic action, they are righteously subjected.

Wed Ap. 79; Vasily Vel. 83.

61. Those who betray themselves to magicians, or the so-called hundred chiefs (eldest sorcerers), or others like them, in order to learn from them what they wish to reveal to them, in accordance with the previous fatherly decrees about them, let them be subject to the rule of six years of penance. The same penance should be applied to those who lead bears or other animals to the ridicule and harm of the simplest, and combining deceit with madness, utter fortune-telling about happiness, fate, genealogy, and many other similar rumors; as well as the so-called cloud chasers, charmers, makers of protective talismans and sorcerers. Those who become stagnant in this and do not turn and do not run away from such pernicious and pagan fictions are determined to be completely cast out of the Church, as the sacred rules command. For what a communion of light with darkness, as the Apostle speaks: or what a combination of the Church of God with idols; or what part of the right with the wrong; What is the agreement of Christ with Belial? (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

Wed 6 Universe 65; Ankir. 24; Laod. 36; Vasily Vel. 65, 72, 81 and 83; Gregory Nissk. 3.

62. The so-called kalends, vota, vrumalia and the people's gathering on the first day of the month of March we wish to completely pluck out of the life of the faithful. Likewise, national women's dances, great harm and destruction inflict mighty, equally in honor of the gods, falsely called Hellenes, dances and rituals performed by the male or female sex, performed according to some ancient and alien custom of Christian life, we reject, and define: no husband not dress in women's clothes, nor a wife in her husband's clothes; not to wear comic or satirical or tragic masks; under the pressure of grapes in winepresses, do not proclaim the vile name of Dionysus, and when pouring wine into barrels, do not laugh, and, out of ignorance, or in the form of vanity, do not do what belongs to demonic delusion. Therefore, those who from now on, knowing this, dare to do any of the above, if they are clerics, we command them to be cast out of the sacred rank, but if they are laity, to be excommunicated from church communion.

Under the name Kalends, it is forbidden to celebrate the first day of each month, with rituals and amusements originating from paganism, under the name of Vota, the remnants of a pagan celebration in honor of Pan; under the name of Vrumalia, are the remains of a celebration in honor of the pagan deity Dionysus or Bacchus, whose one of the names is Vromius. Wed 6 Universe 24, 51 and 65; Laod. 54; Karf. 55 and 74.

63. The tales of the martyrs, falsely compiled by the enemies of the truth, in order to dishonor the martyrs of Christ and lead those who hear to unbelief, we command not to make public in the churches, but to put them on fire. Those who accept them or listen to them, as if they were true, we anathematize.

Wed Ap. 60; 7 Universe 9; Laod. 59.

64. It is not fitting for a layman to pronounce a word before the people, or to teach, and thus take upon himself the dignity of a teacher, but to obey the order given by the Lord, to open the ear of those who have received the grace of the teacher's word and learn from them the Divine. For in the one Church God created different members, according to the word of the Apostle (1 Cor. 12:27), which, explaining, Gregory the Theologian clearly shows the order that is in them, saying: this, brethren, let us honor the order, this we will keep; let this one be an ear, and that one a tongue; this hand, and the other with something else; this one teaches, that one learns. And after a few words, it goes on to say: let the student be in obedience, let the one who distributes, let him distribute with joy, and let the servant serve with zeal. Let us not all be a tongue, if this is the closest, neither all Apostles, nor all Prophets, nor all interpreters. And after some words he still says: why do you make yourself a shepherd, being a sheep? Why do you become the head, being the foot? Why do you attempt to be in command, having been placed in the ranks of warriors? And in another place wisdom commands: do not be quick in words (Eccl. 531): do not spread yourself among the poor with the rich (Prov. 23:4): do not seek the wise, be the wisest. But if anyone is seen to be violating this canon, let him be excommunicated from church fellowship for forty days.

The main meaning of this rule is the prohibition to the laity of public preaching in the temple about the subjects of faith. But, at the same time, it also speaks in general about the observance by the laity of the place indicated by them in the Church in obedience to the hierarchy. The only full-fledged teacher in the Church is the bishop, and by his authority this ministry is performed by presbyters. Ep. Nicodemus believes that on the basis of this rule, even funeral speeches by the laity can only be pronounced with a special, each time, blessing of the bishop. In current practice, the blessing of the priest who performs the burial is recognized as sufficient. Wed 7 Universe fourteen; Laod. fifteen.

65. On the new moon, when some people kindle bonfires in front of their shops or houses, through which, according to some ancient custom, they madly jump, we command to abolish them from now on. Therefore, if anyone does something like this: let the cleric be deposed, and the layman be excommunicated. For in the fourth book of Kings it is written: and make Manasseh an altar to all the power of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord, and lead your sons through the fire, and doing enmity and sorcery, and created ventriloquists, and multiplied sorceresses, and multiplied to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, anger Him (2 Kings 21:5–6).

Wed 6 Universe 62

66. From the holy day of the resurrection of Christ our God until the new week, throughout the whole week, the faithful must in the holy churches constantly practice in psalms and spiritual songs, rejoicing and triumphing in Christ and listening to the reading of the Divine Scriptures, and enjoying the holy mysteries. For in this way let us resurrect with Christ and be exalted. For this reason, there is no horse racing or other folk spectacle on the said days.

Wed Karf. 72.

67. Divine Scripture has commanded us to abstain from blood and strangles and fornication (Acts 15:29). Therefore, for the sake of a dainty womb, the blood of any animal, which is prepared by some art into food, and such eaters, we subject it prudently to penance. If anyone from now on eats the blood of an animal in any way: then let the cleric be deposed, and the layman be excommunicated.

Wed Acts. 15:29; Ap. 63; Gangra. 2.

68. The books of the Old and New Testaments, also our holy and recognized preachers and teachers, are not allowed to be damaged or cut by anyone, or by booksellers, or by so-called world-makers, or by anyone else to be handed over for destruction: except when from moths or from water, or other thus become unusable. Whoever from now on will be seen doing such a thing: let him be excommunicated for a year. Likewise, he who buys such books, if he does not keep them for his own benefit, or gives them to another for good deeds and for storage, but he dares to damage them: let him be excommunicated.

The rule prescribes a reverent attitude towards the books of Holy Scripture and the works of St. fathers.

69. No one belonging to the class of the laity shall be allowed to enter the interior of the sacred altar. But according to some ancient tradition, this is by no means forbidden to the power and dignity of the king, when he wants to bring gifts to the Creator.

This rule of need is now often violated. But also Mitrop. Moscow Filaret did not allow psalm-readers who were in a second marriage and therefore deprived of the title of reader or the right to wear a surplice to the altar. In women's monasteries, old nuns are allowed to serve at the altar.

70. It is not permissible for women to speak during the Divine Liturgy, but, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, let them be silent. Thou shalt not command them to speak, but to obey, as the law also speaks. If they want to learn something: let them ask their husbands in the house.

Wed 1 Cor. 14:34–35; 6 Universe 64; Laod. 44.

71. Students of civil law should not use Hellenic customs or be led to spectacles, or make the so-called kilistra (lots by which the teachers sorted out the students according to themselves), or dress in clothes that are not in common use, neither at the time when the teachings begin, neither when it ends, nor in general in its continuation. But if anyone from now on dares to do this, let him be excommunicated.

What "kilistra" is is not explained convincingly enough by Ep. Nicodemus, nor Greek commentators. According to Balsamon, kilistra were a kind of lot, by means of which teachers sorted out their students. The English canonist Johnson seems closest to the truth, believing that these are athletic exercises.

72. It is not worthy for an Orthodox husband to copulate with a heretical wife, nor for an Orthodox wife to marry a heretic husband. If, however, something like this is envisaged, done by someone: marriage is considered unstable, and unlawful cohabitation is terminated. For it is not befitting to confuse the unmixed, nor to mate with the sheep of the wolf, and with the part of Christ the lot of sinners. If anyone transgresses what we have decreed, let him be excommunicated. But if some, while still in unbelief and not being counted among the flock of the Orthodox, united among themselves in a lawful marriage, then one of them, having chosen the good, resorted to the light of truth, and the other remained in the bonds of error, not wanting to look at the Divine rays, and if at the same time, it is pleasing for an unfaithful wife to cohabit with a faithful husband, or, on the contrary, an unfaithful husband with a faithful wife: then let them not be separated, according to the Divine Apostle: the unfaithful husband is sanctified from the wife, and the unfaithful wife is sanctified from the husband (1 Cor. 7:14).

In marriage, there should be not only bodily, but also spiritual unity. The latter is not possible with the difference of confession. A non-Orthodox spouse can greatly influence the spiritual life of an Orthodox, and this, of course, is reflected in children. Statistics show that the lack of spiritual unity has a detrimental effect on family harmony, as a result of which the percentage of divorces of mixed marriages is especially high. Similarly, statistics show that mixed marriages lead to offspring indifference and often a complete loss of faith. However, the rule allows mixed marriages to be preserved when one of the spouses converts to Orthodoxy. The modern practice of all Orthodox Churches is more lenient and allows mixed marriages with Christians of certain confessions when they express their intention to accept Orthodoxy (14 Prov. 4 Ecumenical) and when they promise to raise their children in the Orthodox Faith. Wed Laod. 10, 31; Karf. thirty.

73. Since the Life-Giving Cross has shown us salvation, it is fitting for us to use every diligence, so that every honor will be given to him through which we are saved from the ancient fall. Therefore, in thought, and in word, and in feeling, bringing worship to him, we command: the image of the Cross, drawn by some on the ground, should be completely erased, so that the sign of our victory would not be offended by trampling those who walk. And so, from now on, we command those who draw the image of the Cross on the ground to excommunicate.

74. It should not be in places dedicated to the Lord, or in churches, to make the so-called meals of brotherly love, and eat inside the temple, and spread a bed. Those who dare to do this, either stop or be excommunicated.

Wed 6 Universe 76; Laod. 28; Karf. 51.

75. We wish that those who come to the church to sing do not use unruly cries, do not force an unnatural cry out of themselves, and do not introduce anything incongruous and unusual for the church, but with great attention and tenderness bring psalms to God, who observes the hidden. For the sacred Word taught the sons of Israel to be reverent (Lev. 15:31).

Important in this rule is the instruction for those who sing in church to do it reverently. Already Zonara, that is, in the centuries of Byzantium, in interpreting this rule, complained that something pretentious and theatrical was introduced into church singing. This is all the more common today and requires correction and constant concern of the church authorities to eliminate this phenomenon. Wed Laod. fifteen.

76. No one should supply a tavern inside the sacred fences, or supply various food, or make other purchases, while maintaining reverence for the churches. For our Savior and God, teaching us by His life in the flesh, commanded us not to make His Father's house a house of purchase. He scattered penyazniks even on penyazhniks, and expelled those who create the holy temple to a worldly place. Therefore, if anyone is convicted of the said crime, let him be excommunicated.

Wed 6 Universe 74 and 97.

77. Priests, or clerks, or monks should not bathe in the bath, together with their wives, nor even any Christian layman. For this is the first reproach from the Gentiles. If anyone is convicted of this, then let the clergy be deposed, and let the layman be excommunicated.

Wed Laod. thirty.

78. Those preparing for baptism should learn the faith, and on the fifth day of the week, make a vow to the bishop or presbyters.

Wed 6 Universe 96; Laod. 46.

79. Divine birth from the Virgin, as having been without seed, confessing painless, and preaching this to the whole statue, we subject those who create out of ignorance to correction, which is either improper. After all, some, on the day of the holy birth of Christ our God, are seen preparing bread cookies and passing them on to each other, as if in honor of the birth diseases of the all-blameless Virgin Mother: then we determine: let the faithful do nothing of the kind. For this is no honor to the Virgin, more than the mind and the word, who gave birth to the inconceivable Word in the flesh, if her inexpressible birth is determined and presented according to the example of an ordinary and peculiar birth to us. If henceforth anyone who does such things is seen, then let the clergy be deposed, and let the layman be excommunicated.

80. If anyone, a bishop or a presbyter, or a deacon, or any of those who are numbered among the clergy, or a layman, without any urgent need or obstacle, by which he would be removed from his church for a long time, but remaining in the city, on three Sundays in continuation three weeks, does not come to the church meeting: then the cleric will be expelled from the clergy, and the layman will be excommunicated.

Wed Sardik. eleven.

81. Later we found out that in some countries, in the thrice-holy song after the words: Holy Immortal, as an addition, they proclaim: crucify us, have mercy on us; but this by the ancient holy fathers, as alien to piety, was rejected from sowing the song, coupled with the lawless heretic, the innovator of these words, then we also piously decreed by our holy fathers, affirming, according to the present definition, such a word in the church of those who accept or in any other way to the thrice-holy song of those who mix, we anathematise. And if the violator of the ordinance is a sacred rank, then we command that he be stripped of his sacred dignity, but if he is a layman or a monk, we excommunicate him from church communion.

This rule, as well as several other rules of the 6th Universe. Councils (32, 33, 56 and 99), directed against the Armenians.

82. On some honest icons, the finger of the Forerunner shows the lamb, which is taken in the image of grace, showing us through the law the true lamb, Christ our God. Honoring the ancient images and canopies, devoted to the Church, as signs and predestinations of the truth, we prefer grace and truth, accepting it as the fulfillment of the Law. For this reason, so that perfection can be presented to the eyes of all by the art of painting, we command from now on the image of the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, Christ our God, to be represented on icons according to human nature, instead of the old lamb; Yes, through that, contemplating the humility of God the Word, we are brought to the remembrance of His life in the flesh, His sufferings and saving deaths, and in this way the redemption of the world has been accomplished.

83. No one teaches the Eucharist to the bodies of the dead. For it is written: take, eat (Matthew 26:26). But they cannot accept the bodies of the dead, nor can they eat.

Wed Karf. 26.

84. Following the canonical decrees of the fathers, we also define about babies: every time when worthy witnesses are not found who undoubtedly affirm that they are baptized, and when they themselves, due to their infancy, cannot give the required answer about the sacrament given to them, they must be baptized without any bewilderment : Yes, such a misunderstanding will not deprive them of the purification of such a shrine.

This rule repeats almost verbatim 83 Ave. of the Carthaginian Cathedral. The rules forbid the re-baptism, but even in cases where there is no completely reliable data that the baby was baptized, the Council finds it preferable to eliminate the doubt by baptizing him, so that a misunderstanding does not leave him completely unbaptized.

85. We have accepted from the Scripture that every word will stand with two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15). Therefore, we determine: yes, slaves released from their masters to freedom, receive this advantage in the presence of three witnesses, who, by their presence, will give legality to the release and give certainty to what has been done.

86. Those who, for the destruction of their souls, gather and keep harlots, if they are clerics, we determine to excommunicate and cast out; if the laity - excommunicate.

87. A wife who has left her husband, if she goes for another, is an adulteress, according to the sacred and divine Basil, who very decently brought this from the prophecy of Jeremiah: if the wife is to another husband, she will not return to her husband, but will be defiled by defilement (Jeremiah 3: 1) . And again: hold the adulteress, foolish and wicked (Prov. 18:23). If it is foreseen that she left her husband without guilt, then he is worthy of indulgence, and she is worthy of penance. Indulgence will be shown to him in that he will be in communion with the Church. But he who leaves a wife legally married to himself and takes another, according to the word of the Lord (Luke 16:18), is guilty of the court of adultery. It was decreed by the rules of our fathers: such a year to be in the category of weeping, two years - listening to the reading of the Scriptures, three years in the crouching and on the seventh to stand with the faithful, and thus be worthy of communion if they repent with tears.

The Church protects the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage, but the betrayal of one spouse by another destroys the marriage. The canons, however, do not provide for the procedure for dissolution of marriage. In the Byzantine Empire, this issue was regulated by civil laws. In 331 Imp. Constantine issued, in agreement with the bishops, a law restricting divorce, until that time very easy and possible by mutual agreement. Under this law, divorce was allowed on the grounds of adultery and crimes entailing the death penalty or indefinite hard labor for one of the spouses. After many changes, Justinian, in a novel of 542, in addition to these reasons for divorce, introduced others: when there are no physical conditions for marriage, and when the spouses decide to devote themselves to monastic life. Currently, each Orthodox Church has its own divorce laws. The current reasons for the termination of the marriage union, consecrated by the Church, in the Russian Church were established by the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-18.

Wed Ap. 48; 6 Universe 93; Karf. 115; Vasily Vel. 9, 21, 35 and 48.

88. No one introduces any animal into the sacred temple: unless one travels, hampered by the greatest extreme, and deprived of housing and hotels, stops in such a temple. Because the animal, not having been brought into the fence, would sometimes die, and he himself, having lost the animal, and therefore deprived of the opportunity to continue the journey, would be in danger of life. For we know that the Sabbath was for man's sake (Mark 2:27); and therefore, by all means, care must be taken for the salvation and safety of man. But if someone is seen, according to the above, without need to bring an animal into the temple: then let the clergy be deposed, and let the layman be excommunicated.

89. Faithful days of saving suffering, in fasting and prayer and in contrition of heart, see off, it is fitting to stop fasting in the middle hours of the night on Great Saturday, as the Divine Evangelists Matthew and Luke, the first saying: on Saturday evening (Matt. 28: 1), and the second saying : very early (Luke 24:1), depict us in the dead of night.

The question of when the resurrection of the Lord took place, and when it is necessary to stop the fast of Passion Week, is discussed in detail in Canon 1 of St. Dionysius, Archbishop. Alexandria.

90. From our God-bearing fathers it has been canonically transmitted to us not to kneel on Sundays for the sake of the honor of the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not be in ignorance of how to observe this, we clearly show the faithful that on Saturday, after the clergy enter the altar in the evening, according to the accepted custom, no one kneels down until the next evening on Sunday, on which, after entering the lamproom time, bowing our knees, in this way we send up prayers to the Lord. For on the Sabbath night I received as a forerunner the resurrection of our Savior; henceforth we spiritually begin songs, and bring the feast out of darkness into light, so that from now on, throughout the whole night and day, we celebrate the resurrection.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council repeats the indication of 20 Ave. 1 Ecumenical. Council on non-kneeling on Sundays, explaining exactly when they should be stopped. A detailed explanation of this is in 91 rights. St. Basil the Great.

91. Women who give medicines, produce premature fetuses in the womb, and who take poisons, killing the fetus, we subject the murderer to penance.

Wed Ankh. 21; St. Basil Vel. 2 and 8.

92. Those who kidnap wives under the guise of matrimony, or assist or help the kidnappers, the Holy Council determined: if they are clergy, overthrow them from their rank; if the laity, anathematize.

Wed 4 Universe 27 and parallel rules.

93. The wife of a husband who has gone away and is in obscurity, cohabiting with someone else before confirming his death, commits adultery. Similarly, the wives of soldiers, during the obscurity of their husbands, entering into marriage, are subject to the same reasoning; similarly, those who marry, because of the removal of their husband to foreign countries, without waiting for their return. But here you can have some indulgence for such an act, for the sake of a greater likelihood of the death of your husband. And she who, out of ignorance, entered into marriage with her wife who was left for a while, and then, because of the return of her first wife to him, she was left, although she committed fornication, but out of ignorance: therefore, marriage will not be forbidden to her. But it's better if tacos stay. But if, after some time, a warrior returns, whose wife, due to his long absence, was combined with another husband: again, let him take his wife, if he wants; and let forgiveness be given to her ignorance, and also to her husband, who cohabited with her in a second marriage.

This rule serves as the basis for the dissolution of a marriage due to an unknown absence, however, this absence is accepted as a presumption about the probability of the death of the absent spouse. Wed Vasily Vel. 31.

94. Those who swear by pagan oaths are subjected to penance by the rule: and we define excommunication as such.

St. Basil Vel. 10, 17, 28, 29, 81 and 82.

95. Those joining Orthodoxy and to the honor of being saved from heretics are acceptable, according to the following rank and custom: Arian, Macedonian, Navatian, who call themselves pure and better, fourteen-day ones, or tetradites, and appolinarists, when they give manuscripts and curse any heresy that does not philosophize, how the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of God is wise, we are acceptable, sealing, that is, anointing with holy chrism first the forehead, then the eyes and nostrils, and the mouth, and ears, and sealing them with the verb: the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. And about those who were Paulians, then who ran to the Catholic Church, it was decided: to rebaptize them without fail. But Eunomianus, who are baptized by a single immersion, and the Montanists, who are here called Phrygians, and the Sabellians, who hold the opinion of son-fatherhood, and those who do otherwise intolerant things, and all other heretics (for there are many such here, especially those who come out of the Galatian country): all who are from them wish to be joined to Orthodoxy, acceptable as pagans. On the first day we make them Christians, on the second day we make them catechumens, then on the third we conjure them, with a threefold breath in the face and in the ears: and so we declare them and make them stay in the church and listen to the scriptures, and then we already baptize them. So are the Manicheans, the Valentinians, the Marcionites, and similar heretics. The Nestorians, however, must create manuscripts and anathematize their heresy, and Nestorius, and Eutychus, and Dioscorus, and Severus, and other leaders of such heresies, and their like-minded people, and all the heresies shown above: and then let them receive holy communion.

About the heretics mentioned here, information is given in the explanations to the rules: 1 Cos. 8 and 19; 2 Universe 1 and 7. The Manicheans, Valentinians, and Marcionites mentioned in this canon are Gnostics, heretics of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The Eutychians were Monophysites. Eutychians, Nestorians and Severians distorted the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. According to the decree of the Council of Constantinople in 1756, all Western heretics, including Roman Catholics, were baptized in the Greek Churches, which, however, was customary in some places even before this council decision, being preserved to this day.

96. Having put on Christ by baptism, they vowed to imitate His life. For the sake of hair on the head, to the detriment of those who see, artificially arranging and removing, and thus unconfirmed souls of those who seduce, we paternally heal with decent penance, guiding them, like children, and teaching them to live chastely, but leaving the charm and vanity of the flesh, to the indestructible and blissful they constantly direct their minds of life and have a pure presence with fear, and with the purification of life, as much as possible, they approach God, and adorn the inner person more than the external person with virtues and good and immaculate morals; and let them not carry in themselves any remnant of the wickedness that came from the adversary. But if anyone acts contrary to this rule, let him be excommunicated.

97. Those who, either living with a wife or otherwise recklessly turn sacred places into ordinary ones, and casually turn around them and stay in them with such a disposition, we command to expel them from the places of the catechumens provided at the holy temples. Who will not observe this, if there is a cleric, let him be deposed; if a layman, let him be excommunicated.

“Sacred places in this rule designate not only temples, but also premises adjacent to the temple, because, according to Zonara’s remark, in the interpretation of this rule, no one can be “so bold as to live with his wife in the temple itself.”

98. A wife who has been betrothed to another, who takes in marriage, while still a betrothed, shall be subject to the guilt of adultery.

Betrothal before marriage, as a mutual promise between a man and a woman to marry, also existed in Roman law, but it did not legally bind anyone. The Church sees in betrothal a morally obligatory act that already binds future spouses, for, as Ep. Nicodemus, “it already contains the necessary condition that constitutes the essence of marriage, namely, mutual consent to the married life of the betrothed.” Bearing in mind cases like the one of which this canon speaks, the Church no longer performs the betrothal long before marriage, but does it just before the wedding.

99. In the Armenian country, as we have learned, it also happens that some, having cooked pieces of meat, bring the pieces inside the sacred altars, and share them with the priests, according to the Jewish custom. Therefore, observing the purity of the church, we determine: let none of the priests be allowed to accept the separated parts of the meat from those who offer, but let them be content with what the offerer wants to give, and let such an offering be outside the church. But if anyone does not do this, let him be excommunicated.

100. Let your eyes see rightly, and keep your spirit in every way (Prov. 4:23-25), wisdom bequeaths: for the bodily senses conveniently bring their impressions into the soul. Therefore, images on boards, or on anything other than imagined, that charm the eye, corrupt the mind, and inflame impure pleasures, we do not allow writing from now on in any way. If anyone dares to do this, let him be excommunicated.

This rule is directed against the drawing of pornographic pictures, but thereby it indicates that it is sinful to contemplate them.

101. Man, created in the image of God, the Divine Apostle eloquently names the body of Christ and the temple. For having been placed above every sensual creature, having been honored with the saving sufferings of heavenly dignity, and eating and drinking Christ, he is constantly transformed to eternal life, and sanctifying soul and body with the communion of Divine grace. Therefore, if anyone wants, during the liturgy he will partake of the most pure body, and be one with him through communion: let him put his hands together in the image of the cross, and let him dull it, and let him accept the communion of grace. For from gold, or any other substance, instead of a hand, we do not approve of certain receptacles for those who arrange for the acceptance of the Divine gift and through them become worthy of most pure fellowship, as those who prefer the image of God to a soulless substance and subject to human hands. But if anyone is foreseen to give Holy Communion to those who bring such receptacles: let this one and the one who brings them be excommunicated.

102. Those who have received from God the power to loosen and bind must consider the quality of sin, and the willingness of the sinner to be converted, and so use healing appropriate to the disease, so that, not observing the measure in both, they will not lose the salvation of the ailing. For the affliction of sin is not the same, but is different and varied, and produces many branches of harm, from which evil spills abundantly, until it is stopped by the power of the healer. Why is it appropriate for the spiritual medical art of the manifester to first consider the disposition of the sinner and observe whether he is directed towards health, or, on the contrary, attracts illness to himself by his own morals, and how, meanwhile, establishes his behavior; and if the doctor does not resist, and heals a spiritual wound through the application of prescribed medicines: in such a case, mercy should be merited upon him. For God, who has received pastoral guidance, has all the care to bring back the lost sheep and heal the wounded by the serpent. One should not drive along the rapids of despair, nor let go of the reins to relax life and neglect: but one must certainly, either in a way: either through harsh and astringent, or through milder and easier medical means, counteract the disease, and strive to heal the wound; and experience the fruits of repentance, and wisely manage a person who is called to heavenly enlightenment. It is fitting for us to know both, both appropriate to the zeal of a penitent, and required by custom: for those who do not accept the perfection of repentance, follow the faithful image, as St. Basil teaches us.

Wed 1 Universe 12; Ankir. 2, 5 and 7; Afanasia Vel. Epistle to Rufinian; Vasily Vel. 2, 3, 74, 75, 84 and 85; Gregory Nissk. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

Do not leave the rule of prayer, so as not to fall into the hands of your enemies.
Follow your prayer rule carefully. Beware! don't let yourself neglect it. From the careful execution of the rule, the soul is enlightened and strengthened.

Abba Matoy:
Better a rule that is easy, but constantly done, than a rule that is difficult at the beginning, but soon abandoned.

Rev. John of the Ladder:

There is a demon among the evil spirits, called the preliminary, which immediately upon awakening appears to tempt us and defiles our first thoughts. Dedicate the beginning of your day to the Lord, for to whom you give them first, they will be. One most skillful worker said to me this noteworthy word: “At the beginning of the morning,” he said, “I will foresee all the course of my day.”

Saint Anthony the Great:

Observe the fixed hours for prayers and do not miss any of them, so as not to be judged for this.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

Before you go to bed, spend two hours in prayer and psalmody, then go to sleep. When the Lord awakens you, get up and fulfill your rule of prayer with diligence. If you feel laziness in your body, tell him: “Do you really want to rest during this short life and then forever be plunged into pitch darkness?” Force yourself a little and soon both vigor and strength will come.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

Do not consider it idleness to increase your engagement in prayer that is not soaring (alienated from entertainment), concentrated (attentive) and prolonged, for the reason that at the same time you have reduced your psalm singing. Love prostrations in prayer more than psalmody. If prayer comes to life in you, then it replaces the rule consisting of prayers. If during the fulfillment of your prayer rule you are given the gift of tears, then do not recognize the enjoyment of them as idleness in relation to your rule, for the grace of tears is a consequence of the fullness of prayer.

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov):

Do not dare to bring to God the wordy and eloquent prayers that you have composed... they are the work of a fallen mind and... cannot be accepted on God's spiritual altar.
The rule of prayer directs the soul correctly and holily, teaches it to worship God in spirit and in truth, while the soul, being left to itself, could not follow the right path of prayer.

The prayer rules keep the worshiper in a saving disposition of humility and repentance, teaching him unceasing self-condemnation, nourishing him with compunction, strengthening him with hope in the All-Good and All-Merciful God.

The duration of prayer is determined for each by his way of life and the measure of strength - mental and bodily.

Work is required from a strong body during prayer; without it, the heart will not break, prayer will be powerless and not true.

The duration of the prayers of the saints of God is not from verbosity, but from abundant spiritual sensations.

It is necessary to learn the right prayer in order to succeed in it and through it to work out your salvation.

Prayer requires compulsion throughout life.

When you wake up... direct your thoughts to God, sacrifice to God the rudimentary thoughts of the mind, which has not yet taken upon itself any vain impressions.

Saint John Chrysostom:

Kneel, sigh, pray to your Lord to be merciful to you. He especially bows to mercy with night prayers, when you make the time of rest a time of weeping.

Let us learn to relentlessly and constantly diligently devote ourselves to prayer, both day and night; especially at night, when no one bothers us, when the mind is calm, when there is great silence, and there is no disturbance in the house, no one prevents us from engaging in prayer and does not distract us from it; when the awakened soul can express everything in detail to the Physician of Souls.

Saint Theophan the Recluse:

"And he remained all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). Here is the foundation and beginning of Christian all-night vigils. The heat of prayer drives away sleep, and the admiration of the spirit makes it impossible to notice the flow of time. Real prayer books do not even notice it; it seems to them that they have just risen to pray, and meanwhile the day has already appeared. But until someone reaches such perfection, it is necessary to raise the work of vigilance. They carried it and carry solitaries; carried it and carry cenobitic; it was carried and carried by reverent and God-fearing laity. But even though the vigil passes with difficulty, its fruit remains direct and everlasting in the soul - the peace of the soul and tenderness when the body is relaxed and exhausted. A state of great value in those who are zealous for progress in spirit! Because where the vigils are started (on Athos), they do not want to lag behind them. Everyone is aware of how difficult it is, but no one wants to cancel this rite for the sake of the benefit that the soul receives from vigils. Sleep most of all soothes and nourishes the flesh; vigil humbles her most of all. He who has had enough sleep is heavy on spiritual matters and is cold towards them; the vigilant one is swift-moving, like a chamois, and burns in spirit. If one must teach the flesh goodness as a slave, then nothing can succeed in this as much as frequent vigils. Here she fully experiences the power of the spirit over herself and learns to submit to it, and the spirit acquires the skill to rule over her.

“And in the morning, getting up very early, he went out and withdrew to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Here is a lesson to get up early and devote the first hours of the day to prayer in solitude. The soul, renewed by sleep, is fresh, light and capable of penetrating like fresh morning air; therefore, she asks herself to be let in where all her joy is, before the face of the Heavenly Father, into the community of angels and saints. At this time, it is more convenient for her to do this than after, when the cares of the day will already lay upon her. The Lord arranges everything; it is necessary to accept from Him a blessing for deeds, the necessary admonition and the necessary reinforcement. And hurry early, while nothing prevents you, alone, ascend to the Lord with your mind and heart, and confess your needs, your intentions to Him and ask for His help. Having tuned in with prayer and contemplation from the first minutes of the day, you will then spend the whole day in reverence and fear of God, with collected thoughts. Hence - prudence, degree and harmony in business and mutual relations. This is the reward for the work you force yourself to do in your morning solitude. This is also for worldly people, therefore, a measure of prudence, and not something alien to their goals.

In addition to the canons of the Holy Fathers of the pre-Nicene era, the canonical code includes the canons of 9 more Fathers mentioned in the 2nd canon of the Trullo Council: Sts. Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Amphilochius of Iconium, Cyril of Alexandria, Gennady of Constantinople, as well as Timothy and Theophilus of Alexandria and the Canonical Epistle of St. Tarasius of Constantinople, who lived after the Council of Trullo.

St. Athanasius the Great (†372), a fighter for the Nicene faith, called the father of Orthodoxy, the author of a number of dogmatic, apologetic and polemical works. Three of his epistles were included in the canonical code: to Ammun the monk about those who involuntarily defiled (356), to Bishop Rufinian about joining the Church of those who had fallen away earlier in heresy (370) and the “Epistle on the holidays” (367), in which a list of sacred books is given.

Of particular importance for ecclesiastical law are the rules of St. Basil the Great (†379) St. Basil grew up in a Christian family and received his education in Athens. After a pilgrimage to the monasteries of Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia, the saint retired with his friend St. Gregory of Nazianzus in a desert place, from where in 370 he was called to the episcopal service in Caesarea Cappadocia. St. Basil led the Orthodox bishops of the Pontic diocese and the entire East in the struggle against the Arian and semi-Arian heresies. The dogmatic creations of Basil the Great, as well as the creations of Sts. Athanasius and Gregory the Theologian, served as the basis of Orthodox Trinitarian theology.

The canonical code includes 92 canons of St. Vasily. The 16 first canons make up his First Canonical Epistle to St. Amphilochius of Iconium; Rules 17-85 - Second, and Rule 86 - Third Epistle to St. Amphilochia. Canon 87 is an epistle to Bishop Diodorus of Tarsus, canon 88 is an epistle to Gregory the Presbyter, canon 89 is to chorepiscopes, canon 90 is to bishops subordinate to him, and finally, canons 91 and 92 are taken from Basil the Great’s work “On the Holy Spirit.” Canons of St. Basil were the first of the patristic canons to be included in canonical collections. The content of these rules covers various aspects of church life, among them there are especially many penance rules. They define various punishments for sins: apostasy, murder, fornication.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (†395), the younger brother of Basil the Great, is known for his amazing theological and philosophical education and zeal in defending the truth from false teachings. St. Gregory of Nyssa took part in the Second Ecumenical Council and in the Council of Constantinople in 394. One of his writings - "Epistle to Bishop Litonius of Melitino" - was included in the canonical collections. The epistle is divided into 8 rules, in which St. Gregory, relying on the excellent knowledge of the human soul, determines the penances imposed for the healing of sinful passions.

From the works of the great Father of the Church, friend of St. Basil of Caesarea, Gregory the Theologian (1389), a list of the Holy Books of the Old and New Testament written in verse was included in the canonical code.

Similar content is contained in the letter of St. Amphilochia of Iconium (†395) to Seleucus, included in the Canonical code.

Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria, disciple of St. Athanasius, died in 385. He participated in the acts of the II Ecumenical Council. Little is known about his life, he is not numbered among the saints. The set of church rules included 18 of his answers to questions from bishops and clerics.

14 Canons of the Archbishop Theophilos of Alexandria, who was not glorified by the Church, were included in the canonical code. Archbishop Theophilus is known as the persecutor of St. John Chrysostom. The general church recognition of his rules is based, of course, not on his personal merits, but on the fact that, as the primate of the ancient, glorious and great Alexandrian Church, he was the spokesman for her tradition. The Alexandrian theological school in the II-IV centuries surpassed all other church schools in its learning. The Alexandrian see partly owes its high prestige to it. Apparently, this authority is connected with the fact that among the 13 Fathers, whose canons were included in the canonical code, six were Bishops of Alexandria: Sts. Dionysius, Peter, Athanasius, Cyril, as well as Timothy and Theophilus.

Nephew of Theophilus, St. Cyril of Alexandria (†444) was a defender of Orthodox Christology against the Nestorian heresy. Jealousy of St. Cyril on the truth was of decisive importance for the outcome of the Third Ecumenical Council. The canonical code includes his letters to the archbishop of Antioch Domnus, divided into 3 canons, and to the bishops of Libya and Pentapolis, divided into 2 canons.

The canonical collections also contain the epistle of Archbishop Gennady (†471) together with the Fathers of the Council of Constantinople of 459 on simony and the epistle of St. Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (†809), to Pope Adrian, dedicated to the same evil - simony.

The message of St. Tarasius completes the main canonical code of the Orthodox Church.

An addition to it is the "Canonicon" of St. John the Faster (†595), which, in later revision by Hieromonk Matthew Vlastar, became a guide for confessors. This manual is included in the Greek canonical collections Pidalion and The Athenian Syntagma. The "Canonicon" of John the Faster partly served as the basis for the "Nomocanon" under the Slavic "Big Trebnik".

The Pidalion, the Athenian Syntagma, and the Pilot's Book contain (but in different quantities) the canons of Patriarch St. Nicephorus the Confessor (†818). These canons are usually considered as an addition to the Canonical Code.