CANONS
INTRODUCTION
A recommendation to summon
an ecumenical council, in order to correct the iconoclast
heretics, had been addressed to Empress Irene, then acting as
regent for her son Emperor Constantine VI (780-797) who was still a
minor, both by Patriarch Paul IV of Constantinople (who had repented
of his earlier iconoclast views) before his abdication from the see
in 784 and by his successor as patriarch, Tarasius. The aim was to
unite the church and to condemn the decrees passed by the council of
338 bishops held at Hiereia and St Mary of Blachernae in 754.
The convocation of the
council was announced to Pope Hadrian I (772-795) in a letter of
Constantine VI and Irene, dated 29 August 784. They urged him either
to attend in person or to send legates. Patriarch Tarasius sent the
same message in synodal letters to the pope and the three eastern
patriarchs. Pope Hadrian I gave his approval for the convocation of
the council, stipulating various conditions, and sent as his legates
the archpriest Peter and Peter, abbot of the Greek monastery of St
Sabas in Rome.
The council, which was
summoned by an imperial edict in the summer of 786, met for the
first time on 1 August 786, in the presence of Emperor Constantine
and Empress Irene. When the proceedings were interrupted by the
violent entry of iconoclast soldiers, faithful to the memory of
Emperor Constantine V (741-775), the council was adjourned until the
arrival of a reliable army under Staurakios. It assembled again at
Nicaea on 24 September 787, the papal legates having been recalled
from Sicily.
After the bishops suspected
of heresy had been admitted, 263 fathers embraced the doctrine
concerning the cult of sacred
images as explained
in the letters of Pope Hadrian I, which were read out at the second
session.
The question of the intercession
of saints was dealt
with in the fourth session.
Once all these matters had
been approved, a doctrinal
definition was
decreed at the seventh session.
At the eighth and last
session, which was held at the request of Constantine and Irene in
the Magnaura palace in Constantinople, the definition was again
decreed and proclaimed and 22
canons were read out.
The papal legates presided over the council and were the first to
sign the acts; but in reality it was Patriarch Tarasius who
presided, and it was he, at the command of the council, who informed
Pope Hadrian I about it: "the occasion when the letters of your
fraternal holiness were read out and all acclaimed them".
Pope Hadrian I wrote
no letter in reply, yet the defence he made of the council in 794
against Charlemagne shows that he accepted
what the council had decreed, and that he had sent no
acknowledgement because the concessions which he had requested in
his letter of 26 October 785 to Constantine and Irene had not been
granted to him, especially concerning the restoration of the
papacy's patrimony to the state at which it had been prior to 731,
that is, before Illyricum had been confiscated by the emperor Leo
III. Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Irene signed the acts of
the council but it is unclear whether or not they promulgated a
decree on the matter.
The translation is from the
Greek text, since this is the more authoritative version. {Material
in curly parentheses ,{ }, paragraphing, italicizing and bolding,
are added by the hypertext editor. The material in square brackets [
] is found in the hardcopy book from which the translation was
taken.}
The holy, great and
universal synod, by the grace of God and by order of our pious
and Christ-loving emperor and empress, Constantine and his mother
Irene, assembled for
the second time in the famous metropolis of the Nicaeans in
the province of the Bithynians, in the holy church of God named
after Wisdom, following the tradition of the catholic church, has
decreed what is here laid down.
{The council
bases itself on the inspiration of Tradition & of itself}
The one who granted us the
light of recognizing him, the one who redeemed us from the darkness
of idolatrous insanity, Christ
our God, when he took for his bride his holy catholic church,
having no blemish or wrinkle, promised
he would guard her and assured his holy disciples saying, I
am with you every day until the consummation of this age.
This promise however he made not only to them but also
to us, who thanks to them have come to believe in his
name. To this gracious offer some people paid no attention, being
hoodwinked by the treacherous foe they abandoned the true line of
reasoning, and setting themselves against the tradition of the
catholic church they faltered in their grasp of the truth. As the
proverbial saying puts it, they turned askew the axles of their farm
carts and gathered no harvest in their hands. Indeed they had the
effrontery to criticise the beauty pleasing to God established in
the holy monuments; they were priests in name, but not in reality.
They were those of whom God calls out by prophecy, Many pastors have
destroyed my vine, they have defiled my portion. For they followed
unholy men and trusting to their own frenzies they calumniated the
holy church, which Christ our God has espoused to himself, and they
failed to distinguish the holy from the profane, asserting that the
icons of our Lord and of his saints were no different from the
wooden images of satanic idols.
Therefore the
Lord God, not bearing that what was subject to him should be
destroyed by such a corruption, has by
his good pleasure summoned
us together through
the divine diligence and decision of Constantine and Irene, our
faithful emperor and empress, we
who are those responsible for the priesthood everywhere, in
order that the
divinely inspired tradition of the catholic church should receive
confirmation by a public decree. So having made investigation
with all accuracy and having taken counsel, setting for our aim the
truth, we neither diminish nor augment,
but simply guard intact
all that pertains to the catholic church.
{Recapitulation and
re-affirmation of everything taught by any previous ecumenical
council}
Thus, following the six holy
universal synods, in the first place that assembled in the famous
metropolis of the Nicaeans {{1}Nicea I}, and then that held
after it in the imperial, God-guarded city: {i.e. {2}
Constantinople I} We believe in one God ...[the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed follows]. We abominate and
anathematize - Arius and
those who think like him and share in his mad error; also Macedonius and
those with him, properly called the Pneumatomachi;
we also confess our
Lady, the holy Mary, to be really and truly the
God-bearer, because she gave birth in the flesh to Christ, one of
the Trinity, our God, just as the first synod at {3}Ephesus
decreed; it also expelled from the church Nestorius and
those with him, because they were introducing a duality of persons.
Along with these synods, we also confess the two natures of the one
who became incarnate for our sake from the God-bearer without
blemish, Mary the ever-virgin,
recognizing that he is perfect God and perfect man, as the synod at
{4}Chalcedon also proclaimed, when it drove from the divine
precinct the foul-mouthed Eutyches and Dioscorus. We
reject along with them Severus
Peter and their
interconnected band with their many blasphemies, in whose company we
anathematize the mythical speculations of Origen,
Evagrius and Didymus,
as did the fifth synod, that assembled at {5}Constantinople.
Further we declare that there are two wills and principles of
action, in accordance with what is proper to each of the natures in
Christ, in the way that the sixth synod, that at {6}Constantinople,
proclaimed, when it also publicly rejected Sergius,
Honorius, Cyrus, Pyrrhus, Macarius, those uninterested in true
holiness, and their likeminded followers.
To summarize, we declare
that we defend free
from any innovations all
the
{Council formulates for the
first time what the Church has always believed regarding icons}
Given this state of affairs
and stepping out as though on the royal highway, following as we are
The more frequently they are
seen in representational art, the more are those who see them drawn
to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these
images the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration.
Certainly this is not the full adoration {latria} in accordance with
our faith, which is properly paid only to the divine nature, but it
resembles that given to the figure of the honoured and life-giving
cross, and also to the holy books of the gospels and to other sacred
cult objects. Further, people are drawn to honour these images with
the offering of incense and lights, as was piously established by
ancient custom. Indeed, the
honour paid to an image traverses it, reaching the model, and he
who venerates the image, venerates the person represented in that
image.
So it is that we sing out
with the prophets the hymns of victory to the church: Rejoice
exceedingly O daughter of Zion, proclaim O daughter of Jerusalem;
enjoy your happiness and gladness with a full heart. The Lord has
removed away from you the injustices of your enemies, you have been
redeemed from the hand of your foes. The Lord the king is in your
midst, you will never more see evil, and peace will be upon you for
time eternal.
Therefore all
those who dare to think or teach anything different, or who
follow the accursed heretics in rejecting ecclesiastical traditions,
or who devise innovations, or who spurn anything entrusted to the
church (whether it be the gospel or the figure of the cross or any
example of representational art or any martyr's holy relic), or who
fabricate perverted and evil prejudices against cherishing any of
the lawful traditions of the catholic church, or who secularize the
sacred objects and saintly monasteries, we order that they be suspended if
they are bishops or clerics, and excommunicated if
they are monks or lay people.
-
If anyone does not confess that
Christ our God can be represented in his humanity, let him be anathema.
-
If anyone does not accept representation
in art of evangelical scenes, let him be anathema.
-
If anyone does not salute such
representations as standing for the Lord and his saints, let him
be anathema.
-
If anyone rejects any written
or unwritten tradition
of the church, let him be anathema.
1
For those to whom the
priestly dignity is allotted, the guide-lines contained in the
canonical regulations are testimonies and directives. We
accept them gladly and sing out to the Lord God with David, the
revealer of God: In the path of your testimonies I have taken
delight, as with all manner of wealth; and, You have enjoined
justice, your testimonies are for ever; instruct me to give me life.
And if the prophetic voice orders us for all eternity to observe the
messages of God and to live in them, it is obvious that they remain
unshakeable and immoveable; thus Moses, who looked on God, declares,
To these there is no addition, and from these there is no
subtraction. The divine apostle takes pride in them when he cries
out, These things which the angels long to gaze upon, and, If an
angel brings you a gospel contrary to what you have received, let
him be accursed.
Since these things really
are such and have been testified to us in these ways, we exult in
them as a person would if he were to come across a great mass of
booty. We joyfully embrace the sacred canons and we maintain
complete and unshaken their regulation, both those expounded by
those trumpets of the Spirit, the apostles worthy of all praise, and
those from the six holy universal synods and from the synods
assembled locally for the promulgation of such decrees, and from our
holy fathers. Indeed all of these, enlightened
by one and the same Spirit, decreed what is expedient. In the
case of those whom they sent away under an anathema, we also
anathematize them, those whom they suspended, we also suspend; those
whom they excommunicated, we also excommunicate; those whom they
placed under penalties, we also deal with in the same way. Let
your conduct be free from avariciousness, contenting yourself
with what you have, cried out with all explicitness the divine
apostle Paul, who mounted to the third heaven and heard words that
cannot be uttered.
2
Since we make an undertaking
before God as we sing, I shall meditate
on your judgments, I shall not neglect your words, it is
essential to our salvation that every Christian
should observe these things, but more especially those
who have been invested with priestly dignity. Therefore we
decree that
everyone who is to be
advanced to the grade of bishop should
have a thorough knowledge of the psalter, in order that he may
instruct all the clergy subordinate to him, to be initiated in
that book.
He should also be
examined without fail by the metropolitan to see if he is
willing to acquire knowledge--a knowledge that should be
searching and not superficial--of the sacred canons, the holy
gospel, the book of the divine apostle, and all divine
scripture;
also if he is willing to
conduct himself and teach the people entrusted to him according
to the divine commandments.
"The substance of our
hierarchy are the words handed down from God", that is to say, the
true knowledge of the divine scriptures, as the great Dionysius made
plain. If someone is doubtful and ill at ease with such conduct and
teaching, let him not be ordained. For God said through the prophet:
You rejected knowledge, and I shall reject you, so that you may not
serve me in a priestly function.
3
Any election of a bishop,
priest or deacon brought about by the rulers is to be null and void
in accordance with the canon that says: "If
any bishop, through the influence of secular rulers, acquires
responsibility for a church because of them, let him be suspended
and let all those who are in communion with him be excommunicated".
It is necessary that the
person who is to be advanced to a bishopric should be elected by
bishops, as has been decreed by the holy fathers at Nicaea in
the canon that says: "It is by all means desirable that a bishop
should be appointed by all [the bishops] in the province. But if
this is difficult because of some pressing necessity or the length
of the journey involved, let at least three come together and
perform the ordination, but only after the absent bishops have taken
part in the vote and given their written consent. But in each
province the right of confirming the proceedings belongs to the
metropolitan".
4
The herald of the truth,
Paul, the divine apostle, laying down a sort of rule for the
presbyters of Ephesus, or rather for the whole priestly order,
declared firmly: I have not coveted silver or gold or anybody's
clothing; I have made completely plain to you that it is by working
in this fashion that we should provide for the weak being convinced
that it is blessed to give.
Therefore we also, having
been taught by him, decree that a
bishop should never have any sort of design on foul profit,
inventing excuses for his sins, nor demand any gold or silver or
anything similar from the bishops, clerics and monks subject to him. For
the apostle says: The unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God;
and, It is not children who should heap up treasures for their
parents, but parents for their children.
So if it
is discovered that somebody,
because of a demand for gold or something similar, or because of
some private infatuation of his own, has excluded from the liturgy
or excommunicated one of the clerics under his authority, or has
closed off one of the holy churches, preventing the celebration of
God's liturgies in it, pouring out his own madness against
insensible things, then he is truly senseless himself and he
should be subjected to suffer what he would inflict and the penalty
imposed by him will
turn upon his own head, because he has transgressed both the law of
God and the rulings of the apostles. For Peter also, the spokesman
of the apostles, urges: Be pastors to the flock of God entrusted to
you, not under compulsion, but willingly as pleasing to God, not for
sordid gain but with enthusiasm, not as men who lord it over those
entrusted to you, but as being models for the flock. Then when the
chief shepherd is disclosed, you will carry off the imperishable
crown of glory.
5
It is a sin leading to death
when sinners remain uncorrected, but still worse is it when people
flaunt their sin as they override holiness and truth, both
preferring mammon to obedience to God and neglecting his legally
formulated instructions. The Lord God is not present among such
persons unless they humbly turn from their fault. Their duty is to
approach God with a contrite heart and implore his forgiveness for
their sin and his pardon, rather than to take pride in an unholy
distribution of gifts: For the Lord is close to the contrite of
heart. Therefore in the case of those
who boast that they have been appointed in the church by
distributing gifts of
gold, and who pin their hopes on this evil custom, which alienates a
person from God and from all priesthood, and who take this as a
reason for deriding quite shamelessly and openly those who have been
chosen by the holy Spirit and appointed for the virtue of their
lives, without any distribution of gifts of gold, when they first do
this each should take
the lowest rank in his order, and if they persist they should be
corrected with a penalty.
If someone is found to have
done this at any time in connection with an ordination, let matters
proceed in accordance with which
says: "If some bishop
or priest or deacon has obtained his dignity by means of money, let
him and the person who performed the ordination be suspended, and
let them be excluded completely from the communion, as Simon Magus
was by me, ".
Similarly, in accordance
with canon 2 of our
holy fathers at Chalcedon, which says "If any bishop performs an
ordination for money and puts the unsaleable grace on sale, and
ordains for money a bishop, a chorepiscopus, a presbyter or deacons
or some others of those numbered among the clergy; or appoints a
manager, a legal officer or a warden for money, or any other
ecclesiastic at all for personal sordid gain; let him who has
attempted this and been convicted stand to lose his personal rank,
and let the person ordained profit nothing from the ordination or
appointment he has bought; but let him be removed from the dignity
or responsibility which he got for money. And if anyone appears to
have acted even as a go-between in such disgraceful and unlawful
dealings, let him too, if he is a cleric, be demoted from his
personal rank, and if he is a lay person or a monk, let him be
anathematized".
6
Although there is indeed a
canon which says, "In each province the canonical
investigations should take place twice yearly by means of a
gathering of the bishops", because of the trouble and because
those attending the meetings lack the resources for such journeys,
the holy fathers of the sixth synod decreed "they should be held in
any case and despite all excuses, once a year, and all that is
incorrect should be put right". We
also renew this canon, and should a ruler be found who prevents
its observance, let him be excommunicated; however if one of the
metropolitan bishops neglects its fulfillment, let him be subject to
canonical penalties, unless it is a case of necessity, constraint or
some other reasonable cause.
When such a synod is held to
discuss canonical and evangelical matters, the gathered bishops
should pay particular care and attention to the divine and
life-giving laws of God: There is a great reward for their
observance; for a law
is a lamp, a regulation is a light, and reproof and discipline are
the path of life indeed
the law of the Lord gives light to the eyes. However, the
metropolitan bishop does not have the right to demand anything that
a bishop may have brought with him, such as a beast or some
other thing; and if he is convicted of doing so, let him pay back
fourfold.
7
The divine apostle Paul
said: The sins of some people are manifest, those of others appear
later. Some sins take the front rank but others follow in their
footsteps. Thus in the train of the impious heresy of the defamers
of Christians, many other impieties appeared. Just as those heretics
removed the sight of venerable icons from the church, they also
abandoned other customs, which should now be renewed and which
should be in vigour in virtue of both written and unwritten
legislation. Therefore we decree that in
venerable churches consecrated without relics of the holy martyrs,
the installation of relics should take place along with the usual
prayers. And if in future any bishop is found out consecrating a
church without relics, let him be deposed as someone who has flouted
the ecclesiastical traditions.
8
Since some of those who come
from the religion of the
Hebrews mistakenly
think to make a mockery of Christ who is God, pretending
to become Christians, but denying Christ in private by both
secretly continuing to observe the sabbath and maintaining other
Jewish practices, we decree that they shall
not be received to communion or at prayer or into the church,
but rather let them openly be Hebrews according to their own
religion; they should
not baptize their children or buy, or enter into possession of, a
slave. But if one of them makes his conversion with a sincere
faith and heart, and pronounces his confession wholeheartedly,
disclosing their practices and objects in the hope that others may
be refuted and corrected, such a person should be welcomed and
baptized along with his children, and care should be taken that they
abandon Hebrew practices. However if they are not of this sort, they
should certainly not be welcomed.
9
All those childish baubles
and bacchic rantings, the
false writings composed
against the venerable icons, should be given in at the episcopal
building in Constantinople, so that they can be put away along with
other heretical books. If someone is
discovered to be hiding
such books, if he is a bishop, priest or deacon, let him be suspended,
and if he is a lay person or a monk, let him be excommunicated.
10
As some clerics,
who despise the
canonical ordinance, abandon
their own dioceses and
run off into other dioceses--something that happens with special
frequency in this imperial, God-guarded city--and there they lodge
with rulers, celebrating the liturgy in their chapels, let
it not be permitted for them to be received in any house or church
without the approval of their own bishop and that of the bishop of
Constantinople. If they do so and persist therein, they are to
be suspended.
In the case of those who
do this with the approval of the above-mentioned prelates, it is not
permitted for them to assume worldly and secular responsibilities,
since they are forbidden to do so by the sacred canons; and if
someone is misled into occupying himself with the responsibility of
the so-called high stewards, he is to desist or be suspended. Rather let
him busy himself with the teaching of
the children and servants, lecturing them on the
divine scriptures because
it is for such activity that he received the priesthood.
11
Since we are obliged to
observe all the sacred canons, we ought also to maintain in all its
integrity the one that says that there
should be administrators in each church. Therefore if each
metropolitan bishop installs an administrator in his own church,
that is well and good; but if not, the bishop of Constantinople on
his own authority has the right to appoint one over the other's
church, and similarly with metropolitan bishops, if the bishops
under them do not choose administrators to hold these posts in their
own churches. The same rule is also to be observed with respect to
monasteries.
12
If it is discovered that
a bishop or a monastic superior is transferring episcopal or
monastic farmland to the control of the ruler, or has been conceding
it to another person, the transaction is null and void in
accordance with which
stipulates: "Let the bishop take care of all ecclesiastical affairs,
and let him administer them as if under God's inspection. It is not
permitted him to appropriate any of these things, nor to make a
present of the things of God to his own relatives. Should the latter
be poor, let him care for them as for other poor people, but let him
not use them as an excuse for selling off the church's possessions."
However, if he pretends that the land is a loss and brings in no
profit at all, let him make a present of the place to clerics or
landworkers, but even in these circumstances it should not be given
to the local rulers. If they use evil cunning and the ruler buys up
the land from the landworker or the cleric in question, this sale
shall also be null and void in such circumstances, and the land
should be restored to the bishopric or monastery. And the bishop or
monastic superior who acts thus should be expelled, the bishop from
the episcopal house and the monastic superior from the monastery,
because they wickedly waste what they have not gathered.
13
On account of the disaster
which came about in the churches due to our sins certain
venerable houses--episcopal buildings as well as
monasteries--were seized by certain men and became public inns. Now if
those who hold them choose to restore them, so that they are
established once more as formerly they were, this is good and
excellent. However if
such is not the case, should they be inscribed in the list of
priests, we order that they be suspended,
and if they are monks or lay persons, that they be excommunicated,
seeing that they are criminals condemned by the Father, the Son and
the holy Spirit, and let them be assigned there where the worm does
not die and the fire is not quenched, because they oppose the voice
of the Lord declaring, You shall not make my Father's house a house
of trade.
14
It is perfectly clear to
everyone that a certain order has been established in the
priesthood, and that it is God's good pleasure that the appointment
to priestly offices should be observed with care. However we have
noticed that some, without the imposition of hands, are adopting
the clerical tonsure while
still youngsters, and without
having received the imposition of hands from the bishop they
are undertaking to read publicly from the ambo during the church
service, even though they are acting uncanonically. We urge
therefore that this be
discontinued, and that the same regulation be observed among
monks.
Each monastic superior has
permission for the imposition of hands on a reader for his own
monastery, and only for that monastery, provided that the monastic
superior has himself received from the bishop the imposition of
hands to rule there, and obviously provided that he is himself a
priest. Similarly it is an ancient custom that chorepiscopi, with
the permission of the bishop, should appoint readers.
15
From now on, no
cleric should be appointed to office in two churches. Such a
procedure savours of commerce and sordid profit-making, and is quite
foreign to ecclesiastical custom. We have learned from the Lord's
own voice: No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. Therefore, following the advice of the apostle,
Each should stay where he has been called, and remain in one church. In
ecclesiastical matters, whatever is done for the sake of sordid gain
constitutes something alien to God. But as far as the needs of
this present life are concerned, there are various gainful
occupations; each may use these, as he prefers, to procure what is
needed for the body. As the apostle said: These hands of mine have
provided for my own needs and for the persons accompanying me. These
are the regulations for this God-protected city; for what concerns
places in the country, a concession may be granted because of the
lack of population.
16
All indulgence
and adornment bestowed on the body is alien to the priestly order.
Therefore all those bishops and clerics who deck themselves out in
brilliant and showy clothes should be called to order, and if they
persist let them be punished. The same holds for those who use
perfumes. However, since the root of bitterness has sprouted, there
has appeared in the catholic church the plague of a heresy which
delights in the defamation of Christians. Those who adopt this
heresy not only heap insults on representational art, but also
reject all forms of reverence and make a mockery of those who live
pious and holy lives, thus fulfilling in their own regard that
saying of scripture, For the sinner piety is an abomination. So if
persons are found who make fun of those who wear simple and
respectful clothing, they should be corrected with punishment.
Indeed, from the earliest times all those ordained to the priesthood
have been accustomed to present themselves in public dressed in
modest and respectful clothing, and anyone who adds to his apparel
for the sake of decoration and not out of necessity deserves, as the
great Basil remarked, to be accused of "vainglory". Neither did
anyone dress in variegated clothes made of silk, nor did they add
various coloured ornaments to the fringes of their garments. They
had heard the tongue that spoke God's words declare, Those who dress
in soft clothes are in the houses of kings.
17
Some monks abandon
their own monasteries because they desire to be in authority and
disdain obeying others, and then they attempt
to found houses of prayer, although they lack adequate resources.
If somebody undertakes to do this, let
him be prevented by the local bishop. If someone possesses
adequate resources, however, his plans should be brought to
completion. The same ruling holds for both laity and clerics.
18
Be irreproachable even for
those outside, says the divine apostle. Now for
women to live in the houses of bishops or in monasteries is a cause
for every sort of scandal. Therefore if anybody is discovered to
be keeping a woman, whether a slave or free, in the bishop's house
or in a monastery in order to undertake some service, let him be
censured, and if he persists let him be deposed. Should it happen
that women are living in the suburban residence and the bishop or
monastic superior wishes to journey there, no woman should be
allowed to undertake any sort of work during the time that the
bishop or monastic superior is present; she should stay on her own
in some other area until the bishop has retired, in order to avoid
all possible criticism.
19
The blight of avarice has
spread to such an extent among ecclesiastical authorities that even
some so called pious men and women, forgetting the Lord's commands,
have been tricked into authorizing,
for the sake of cash payments, the entry of those presenting
themselves for the priestly order and the monastic life. Thus it
happens, as the great Basil says, "when people begin wrongly, all
they do is to be rejected", for it is not possible to serve God
through mammon. So, if somebody is found out to be doing this, if he
is a bishop or a male monastic superior or one of the priests, let
him stop or be deposed,
in accordance with canon 2 of the holy council of Chalcedon. If the
person is a female monastic superior, let her be expelled from the
monastery and put under obedience in another monastery, and
similarly for a male monastic superior who has not received priestly
ordination.
With regard to gifts given
by parents under the concept of dowries for
their children, or with regard to the personally acquired goods that
the latter present provided that those presenting them declare that
these are gifts offered to God, we have decreed that these gifts are
to remain in the monastery, whether the person stays or leaves,
in accordance with their explicit undertaking, unless there is a
reprehensible cause on the part of the person in charge.
20
We decree that from now on no
more double monasteries are to be started because
this becomes a cause of scandal and a stumbling block for ordinary
folk. If there are persons who wish to renounce the world and follow
the monastic life along with their relatives, the men should go off
to a male monastery and their wives enter a female monastery, for
God is surely pleased with this.
The double
monasteries that have existed up to now should continue to
exist according to the rule of our holy father Basil, and their
constitutions should follow his ordinances. Monks and nuns should
not live in one monastic building, because adultery takes advantage
of such cohabitation. No monk should have the licence to speak in
private with a nun, nor any nun with a monk. A monk should not sleep
in a female monastery, nor should he eat alone with a nun. When the
necessary nourishment is being carried from the male area for the
nuns, the female superior, accompanied by one of the older nuns,
should receive it outside the door. And if it should happen that a
monk wishes to pay a visit to one of his female relatives, let him
speak with her in the presence of the female superior, but briefly
and rapidly, and let him leave her quickly.
21
It is not right for a
monk or a nun to leave his or her own monastery and transfer to
another. However should this occur, it is obligatory that
hospitality be given but such a person should not be accepted as a
member without the agreement of his or her monastic superior.
22
It is very important to
dedicate everything to God and not to become slaves of our own
desires; for whether you eat or drink, the divine apostle says,
do all for the glory of God. Now Christ our God has instructed us in
his gospels to eradicate the beginnings of sins. So not only
adultery is rebuked by him, but also the movement of one's intention
towards the performance of adultery, when he says: He who looks on a
woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart.
Thus instructed we should
purify our intentions: For if all things are lawful, not all things
are expedient, as we learn from the words of the apostle. Now
everybody is certainly obliged to eat in order to live, and in the
case of those whose life includes marriage and children and the
conditions proper to layfolk it is not reprehensible that men and
women should eat in one another's company; though they should at
least say grace to thank the giver of their nourishment, and they
should avoid certain theatrical entertainments, diabolical songs,
the strumming of lyres and the dancing fit for harlots, against all
such there is the curse of the prophet which says, Woe on those who
drink their wine to the sound of lyre and harp, those who pay no
attention to the deeds of the Lord and have never a thought for the
works of his hands. If ever such people are found among Christians,
they should reform, and if they do not, let the canonical sanctions
established by our predecessors be imposed on them.
Those whose mode of life is
contemplative and solitary should sit and be silent, because they
have entered into a contract with the Lord that the yoke they carry
will be a solitary one. Indeed, all those who have chosen the life
of priests are certainly not free to eat privately in the company of
women, but at the most in the company of certain God-fearing and
pious men and women, in order that such a meal taken in common may
draw them to spiritual betterment. Let the same be done in the case
of relatives.
As for another situation, if
a monk or even a man in priestly orders happens to be making a
journey and is not carrying with him his indispensable provisions,
and then wishes to satisfy his needs in a public inn or in someone's
house, he is allowed to do so when it is a case of pressing
necessity.
Introduction and translation
taken from Decrees of
the Ecumenical Councils, ed. Norman P. Tanner
END OF TEXT
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