![[St. Pachomius Library]](title.gif)
The Canons of the Holy and Altogether August Apostles
[Latin version adds: set forth by Clement, Pontiff of
the Roman Church]
Canon I.
Let a bishop be ordained by two or three bishops.
Canon II.
Let a presbyter, deacon, and the rest of the clergy, be
ordained by one bishop,
Canon III. (III. And IV.)
If any bishop or presbyter offer any other things at the altar,
besides that which the Lord ordained
for the sacrifice, as honey, or milk, or
strong-made drink instead of wine,
[the text here varies]
or birds, or any living
things, or vegetables, besides that which is
ordained, let him be deposed. Excepting
only new ears
of corn, and grapes at the suitable season.
Neither is it allowed to bring anything else to
the altar at
the time of the holy oblation, excepting oil for
the lamps, and incense.
Canon IV. (V.)
Let all other fruits be sent home as first-fruits
for the bishops and presbyters, but not offered at the
altar. But the bishops and presbyters should of course
give a share of these things to the deacons,
and the rest of the clergy.
Canon V. (VI.)
Let not a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, put away his wife
under pretence of religion; but if he put
her away, let him be excommunicated; and if he persists,
let him be deposed.
Canon VI. (VII.)
Let not a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, undertake worldly business;
otherwise let him be deposed.
Canon VII. (VIII.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, shall celebrate the holy
day of Easter before the vernal equinox,
with the Jews, let him be deposed.
Canon VIII (IX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any one on the sacerdotal list,
when the offering is made,
does not partake of it, let him declare the cause; and
if it be a reasonable one, let him be excused;
but if he does not declare it, let him be excommunicated,
as being a cause of offence to the people,
and occasioning a suspicion against the offerer, as if he
had not made the offering properly.
Canon IX. (X.)
All the faithful who come in and hear the Scriptures, but do
not stay for the prayers and the Holy
Communion, are to be excommunicated, as causing disorder
in the Church.
Canon X. (XI.)
If any one shall pray, even in a private house, with an
excommunicated person, let him also be
excommunicated.
Canon XI. (XII.)
If any clergyman shall join in prayer with a deposed clergyman,
as if he were a clergyman [this phrase omitted in Hammond's
edition], let him
also be deposed.
Canon XII. And XIII (XIII.)
If any one of the clergy or laity who is excommunicated, or
not to be received, shall go away, and
be received in another city without commendatory letters,
let both the receiver and the received be
excommunicated.
But if he be excommunicated already, let the time of his
excommunication be lengthened.
Canon XIV.
A bishop is not to be allowed to leave his own parish, and
pass over into another, although he may
be pressed by many to do so, unless there be some proper
cause constraining him. as if he can
confer some greater benefit upon the persons of that place
in the word of godliness. And this must
be done not of his own accord, but by the
judgment of many bishops, and at their earnest
exhortation.
Canon XV.
If any presbyter, or deacon, or any other of the list
of the clergy, shall leave his own parish, and go
into another, and having entirely forsaken his own,
shall make his abode in the other parish without
the permission of his own bishop, we ordain that he
shall no longer perform divine service; more
especially if his own bishop having exhorted him to
return he has refused to do so, and persists in his
disorderly conduct. But let him communicate there as a layman.
Canon XVI.
If, however, the bishop, with whom any such persons
are staying, shall disregard the command that
they are to cease from performing divine offices, and
shall receive them as clergymen, let him be
excommunicated, as a teacher of disorder.
Canon XVII.
He who has been twice married after baptism, or
who has had a concubine, cannot become a
bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any other of the sacerdotal list.
Canon XVIII.
He who married a widow, or a divorced woman, or
an harlot, or a servant-maid, or an actress,
cannot be a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any other
of the sacerdotal list.
Canon XIX.
He who has married two sisters, or a niece, cannot
become a clergyman.
Canon XX.
If a clergyman becomes surety for any one, let him
be deposed.
Canon XXI.
An eunuch, if he has been made so by the violence of men
[some mss. add: or if his virilia have been amputated] in
times of persecution, or if he has been born so, if in other respects
he is worthy, may be made a
bishop.
Canon XXII.
He who has mutilated himself, cannot become a clergyman,
for he is a self-murderer, and an enemy
to the workmanship of God.
Canon XXIII.
If any man being a clergyman shall mutilate himself,
let him be deposed, for he is a self-murderer.
Canon XXIV.
If a layman mutilate himself, let him be excommunicated
for three years, as practising against his own
life.
Canon XXV. (XXV. And XXVI.)
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon be found guilty of fornication,
perjury, or theft, let him be deposed,
but let him not be excommunicated; for the Scripture says,
"thou shall not punish a man twice for the
same offence." In like manner the other clergy shall be
subject to the same proceeding [or, in like manner with respect
to the other clergy].
Canon XXVI. (XXVII.)
Of those who have been admitted to the clergy unmarried, we ordain,
that the readers and singers
only may, if they will, marry.
Canon XXVII. (XXVIII.)
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon shall strike any of the
faithful who have sinned, or of the
unbelievers who have done wrong, with the intention
of frightening them, we command that he be
deposed. For our Lord has by no means taught us
to do so, but, on the contrary, when he was
smitten he smote not again, when he was reviled he
reviled not again, when he suffered he
threatened not.
Canon XXVIII. (XXIX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, having been justly
deposed upon open accusations, shall dare
to meddle with any of the divine offices which had been
intrusted to him, let him be altogether cut off
from the Church.
Canon XXIX. (XXX.)
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, shall obtain possession
of that dignity by money, let both him
and the person who ordained him be deposed,
and also altogether cut off from all communion, as
Simon Magus was by me, Peter.
Canon XXX. (XXXI.)
If any bishop obtain possession of a church by the aid of
the temporal powers, let him be deposed
and excommunicated, and all who communicate with him.
Canon XXXI. (XXXII.)
If any presbyter, despising his own bishop, shall collect
a separate congregation, and erect another
altar, not having any grounds for condemning the bishop
with regard to religion or justice, let him be
deposed for his ambition; for he is a tyrant; in like manner also
the rest of the clergy, and as many as
join him; and let laymen be excommunicated. Let this,
however, be done after a first, second, and
third admonition from the bishop.
Canon XXXII. (XXXIII.)
If any presbyter or deacon has been excommunicated
by a bishop, he may not be received into
communion again by any other than by him who
excommunicated him, unless it happen that the
bishop who excommunicated him be dead.
Canon XXXIII. (XXXIV.)
No foreign bishop, presbyter, or deacon, may be
received without commendatory letters; and when
they are produced let the persons be examined; and if
they be preachers of godliness, let them be
received. Otherwise, although you supply them with what
they need, you must not receive them into
communion, for many things are done surreptitiously.
Canon XXXIV. (XXXV.)
The bishops of every nation must acknowledge him
who is first among them and account him as
their head, and do nothing of consequence without his consent;
but each may do those things only
which concern hisown parish, and the country places
which belong to it. But neither let him (who is
the first) do anything without the consent of all;
for so there will be unanimity, and God will be
glorified through the Lord in the Holy Spirit
[some mss. read: through the Lord
Jesus Christ, and
the Father through the Lord by the Holy Spirit,
even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit].
Canon XXXV. (XXXVI.)
Let not a bishop dare to ordain beyond his own limits,
in cities and places not subject to him. But if
he be convicted of doing so, without the consent
of those persons who have authority over such
cities and places, let him be deposed, and those also
whom he has ordained.
Canon XXXVI. (XXXVII.)
If any person, having been ordained bishop, does not
undertake the ministry, and the care of the
people committed to him, let him be excommunicated
until he does undertake it. In like manner a
presbyter or deacon. But if he has gone and has not been
received, not of his own will but from the
perverseness of the people, let him continue bishop;
and let the clergy of the city be
excommunicated, because they have not corrected the
disobedient people.
Canon XXXVII. (XXXVIII.)
Let there be a meeting of the bishops twice a year, and
let them examine amongst themselves the
decrees concerning religion and settle the ecclesiastical
controversies which may have occurred. One
meeting to be held in the fourth week of Pentecost
[i.e., the fourth week after Easter], and the other
on the 12th day of the month Hyperberetaeus [i.e., October].
Canon XXXVIII. (XXXIX.)
Let the bishop have the care of all the goods of the
Church, and let him administer them as under the
inspection of God. But he must not alienate any of them
or give the things which belong to God to
his own relations. If they be poor let him relieve them as poor;
but let him not, under that pretence,
sell the goods of the Church.
Canon XXXIX. (XL.)
Let not the presbyters or deacons do anything without the
sanction of the bishop; for he it is who is
intrusted with the people of the Lord, and of whom will be
required the account of their souls.
Canon XL. (XL. Continued.)
Let the private goods of the bishop, if he have any such,
and those of the Lord, be clearly
distinguished, that the bishop may have the power of
leaving his own goods, when he dies, to whom
he will, and how he will, and that the bishop's
own property may not be lost under pretence of its
being the property of the Church: for it may be
that he has a wife, or children, or relations, or
servants; and it is just before God and man,
that neither should the Church suffer any loss through
ignorance of the bishop's own property, nor the bishop
or his relations be injured under pretext of
the Church: nor that those who belong to him should be
involved in contests, and cast reproaches
upon his death.
Canon XLI.
We ordain that the bishop have authority over the goods
of the Church: for if he is to be intrusted
with the precious souls of men, much more are temporal
possessions to be intrusted to him. He is
therefore to administer them all of his own authority, and
supply those who need, through the
presbyters and deacons, in the fear of God, and with all
reverence. He may also, if need be, take
what is required for his own necessary wants, and for
the brethren to whom he has to show
hospitality, so that he may not be in any want. For the
law of God has ordained, that they who wait
at the altar should be nourished of the altar. Neither
does any soldier bear arms against an enemy
at his own cost.
Canon XLII.
If a bishop or presbyter, or deacon, is addicted to
dice or drinking, let him either give it over, or be
deposed.
Canon XLIII.
If a subdeacon, reader, or singer, commits the
same things, let him either give over, or be
excommunicated. So also laymen.
Canon XLIV.
Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who takes usury
from those who borrow of him, give up doing
so, or be deposed.
Canon XLV.
Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who has only
prayed with heretics, be excommunicated: but if
he has permitted them to perform any clerical office,
let him be deposed.
Canon XLVI.
We ordain that a bishop, or presbyter, who has
admitted the baptism or sacrifice of heretics, be
deposed. For what concord hath Christ with Belial,
or what part hath a believer with an infidel?
Canon XLVII.
Let a bishop or presbyter who shall baptize again one
who has rightly received baptism, or who
shall not baptize one who has been polluted by the ungodly,
be deposed, as despising the cross and
death of the Lord, and not making a distinction between
the true priests and the false.
Canon XLVIII.
If any layman put away his wife and marry another,
or one who has been divorced by another man,
let him be excommunicated.
Canon XLIX.
If any bishop or presbyter, contrary to the ordinance of
the Lord, does not baptize into the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but into three Unoriginated
Beings, or three Sons, or three
Comforters, let him be deposed.
Canon L.
If any bishop or presbyter does not perform the one
initiation with three immersions, but with giving
one immersion only, into the death of the Lord,
let him be deposed. For the Lord said not, Baptize
into my death, but, "Go, make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
Canon LI.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any one
of the sacerdotal list, abstains from marriage, or
flesh, or wine, not by way of religious restraint,
but as abhorring them, forgetting that God made all
things very good, and that he made man male and female,
and blaspheming the work of creation, let
him be corrected, or else be deposed, and cast out of the
Church. In like manner a layman.
Canon LII.
If any bishop or presbyter [some mss add: or deacon]
does not receive him who turns away from his sin, but rejects
him, let
him be deposed; for he grieveth Christ who said, "There is joy
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth."
Canon LIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, does not on festival days
partake of flesh and wine, from an
abhorrence of them, and not out of religious restraint, let him
be deposed, as being seared in his
own conscience, and being the cause of offence to many.
Canon LIV.
If any of the clergy be found eating in a tavern, let him be
excommunicated, unless he has been
constrained by necessity, on a journey, to lodge in an inn.
Canon LV.
If any of the clergy insult the bishop, let him be deposed: for
"thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of
thy people."
Canon LVI.
If any of the clergy insult a presbyter, or deacon,
let him be excommunicated.
Canon LVII.
If any of the clergy mock the lame, or the deaf, or the blind,
or him who is infirm in his legs, let him
be excommunicated.In like manner any of the laity.
Canon LVIII.
If any bishop or presbyter neglects the clergy or the people,
and does not instruct them in the way
of godliness, let him be excommunicated, and if he persists
in his negligence and idleness, let him
be deposed.
Canon LIX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, when any of the
clergy is in want, does not supply him with
what he needs, let him be excommunicated; but if
he persists, let him be deposed, as one who has
killed his brother.
Canon LX.
If any one reads publicly in the church the falsely inscribed
[pseudepigrapha] books of impious men, as if they were
holy Scripture, to the destruction of the people and clergy, let him
be deposed.
Canon LXI.
If any accusation be brought against a believer of fornication
or adultery, or any forbidden action,
and he be convicted, let him not be promoted to the clergy.
Canon LXII.
If any of the clergy, through fear of men, whether Jew, heathen, or
heretic, shall deny the name of
Christ, let him be cast out. If he deny the name of a clergyman,
let him be deposed. If he repent, let
him be received as a layman.
Canon LXIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any one of the
sacerdotal order, shall eat flesh, with the
blood of the life thereof, or anything killed by beasts, or
that dies of itself, let him be deposed. For
the law has forbidden this. If he be a layman, let him be
excommunicated.
Canon LXIV.
If any clergyman or layman shall enter into a synagogue
of Jews or heretics to pray, let the former
be deposed and let the latter be excommunicated.
Canon LXV.
If any clergyman shall strike anyone in a contest, and
kill him with one blow, let him be deposed for
his violence. If a layman do so, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXVI.
If any of the clergy be found fasting on the Lord's day [i.e.
Sunday], or
on the Sabbath [i.e. Saturday], excepting the one only
[i.e. Holy Saturday],
let him be deposed. If a layman, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXVII.
If anyone shall force and keep a virgin not espoused,
let him be excommunicated. And he may not
take any other, but must retain her whom he has chosen,
though she be a poor person.
Canon LXVIII.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, shall receive
from anyone a second ordination, let both the
ordained and the ordainer be deposed; unless
indeed it be proved that he had his ordination from
heretics; for those who have been baptized or ordained
by such persons cannot be either of the
faithful or of the clergy.
Canon LXIX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or reader, or singer,
does not fast the holy Quadragesimal fast
of Easter, or the fourth day, or the day of
Preparation, let him be deposed, unless he be hindered by
some bodily infirmity. If he be a layman, let him be
excommunicated.
Canon LXX.
If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any one of the list of
clergy, keeps fast or festival with the
Jews, or receives from them any of the gifts of their feasts,
as unleavened bread, any such things, let
him be deposed. If he be a layman, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXXI.
If any Christian brings oil into a temple of the heathen or
into a synagogue of the Jews at their feast,
or lights lamps, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXXII.
If any clergyman or layman takes away wax or
oil from the holy Church, let him be
excommunicated, [some mss. add:
and let him restore a fifth part
more than he took.]
Canon LXXIII.
Let no one convert to his own use any vessel of
gold or silver, or any veil which has been sanctified,
for it is contrary to law; and if anyone be detected doing
so, let him be excommunicated.
Canon LXXIV.
If any bishop has been accused of anything by
men worthy of credit, he must be summoned by the
bishops; and if he appears, and confesses, or is
convicted, a suitable punishment must be inflicted
upon him. But if when he is summoned he does not attend,
let him be summoned a second time, two
bishops being sent to him, for that purpose.
[Some mss. add:
If even then he will not attend, let him be summoned a
third time, two bishops being again sent to him.] But if
even then he shall disregard the summons
and not come, let the synod pronounce such sentence
against him as appears right, that he may not
seem to profit by avoiding judgment.
Canon LXXV.
An heretic is not to be received as witness against a
bishop, neither only one believer; for "in the
mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be
established."
Canon LXXVI.
A bishop must not, out of favour to a brother or a son,
or any other relation, ordain whom he will to
the episcopal dignity; for it is not right to make heirs of
the bishopric, giving the things of God to
human affections. Neither is it fitting to subject the
Church of God to heirs. But if anyone shall do so
let the ordination be void, and the ordainer himself be
punished with excommunication.
Canon LXXVII.
If any one be deprived of an eye, or lame of a leg, but in
other respects be worthy of a bishopric, he
may be ordained, for the defect of the body does not defile
a man, but the pollution of the soul.
Canon LXXVIII.
But if a man be deaf or blind, he may not be made a bishop,
not indeed as if he were thus defiled,
but that the affairs of the Church may not be hindered.
Canon LXXIX.
If anyone has a devil, let him not be made a clergyman,
neither let him pray with the faithful; but if he
be freed, let him be received into communion, and if he is
worthy he may be ordained.
Canon LXXX.
It is not allowed that a man who has come over from an
heathen life, and been baptized or who has
been converted from an evil course of living, should be
immediately made a bishop, for it is not right
that he who has not been tried himself should be a
teacher of others. Unless indeed this be done
upon a special manifestation of Divine grace in his favour.
Canon LXXXI.
We have said that a bishop or presbyter must not give
himself to the management of public affairs,
but devote himself to ecclesiastical business. Let him
then be persuaded to do so, or let him be
deposed, for no man can serve two masters, according
to the Lord's declaration.
Canon LXXXII.
We do not allow any servants to be promoted to the
clergy without the consent of their masters, [
some mss. add: to
the troubling of their houses.] But if any servant
should appear worthy of receiving an order, as
our Onesimus appeared, and his masters agree
and liberate him, and send him out of their house, he
may be ordained.
Canon LXXXIII.
If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, shall serve in the army,
and wish to retain both the Roman
magistracy and the priestly office, let him be deposed;
for the things of Cæsar belong to Cæsar,
and those of God to God.
Canon LXXXIV.