Canons 4-6 of the Orthodox Church: A look into Church Law

 

Welcome back to the Corner today, and last week we started the series about the Canons of the Orthodox Church. The last time out we took the first three canons of the Orthodox Church and expanded upon them as a chance to learn the laws that govern the basic practices of the Orthodox faith. As you’ll recall there are eighty five canons. We have discussed three, so that leaves us with eighty two to go. Today I’ll expand on a few more, and see what we can learn from the Church in their explicit understanding of how to operate the faith and the parameters we as Orthodox Christians have set for ourselves to maintain perfect communion with God. So instead of a lengthy opening, lets dive right into the practices of the church.

Canon 4- Let all other fruit be sent home to the Bishop and Presbyters as first fruits, but not to the sacrificial altar. It is understood that the Bishop and Presbyters shall distribute a fair share to the Deacons and other Clergymen.

As you’ll recall the church doesn’t allow for anything that does not have direct correlation to the Eucharist or the services to be brought to the Church and the altar. The altar is a sacred space designed for Eucharist and the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Being the most holy spot within a church, the altar should not and cannot be defiled by elements that are not worthy of God. In many aspects I see this as a correlation between the sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Cain did not bring a worthy sacrifice to God, where as Abel did. However there is another way of looking at this as well. With this being a first fruits offering, giving to the Bishop and the clergy as a sign of respect and honor is a noble thing. It is not right that it should be brought to the altar, as a gift to the clergy for their service is only right to give them at their home. As the spiritual father of the faithful, the Bishop therefore is only right to give to their clergy a portion of the gifts he receives, because as Christians we share in everything, we share as brothers and sisters in the faith and in doing so we show that Christ lives within us. As a spiritual father, just as biological father, the bishop therefore takes care of the needs of his children. Because eating a necessary part of life, sharing food with his clergy is a way to maintain the brotherhood but also provide for their earthly needs. The faithful therefore should offer those things that they have as first fruits of their gardens, farms and other things to the church to provide for those who take care of them spiritually.

Canon 5- No Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon shall put away his own wife under pretext of reverence. If, however, he put her away, let him be excommunicated," and if he persist in so doing, let him be deposed from office

So, we know that Bishops these days are chosen from the monastic ranks as a way of ensuring their complete devotion to the task of being the spiritual father of the local church. However, many bishops in previous years were married and selected because they showed a good stable home environment and were Godly fathers. The Orthodox Church allows for married priests, and my own is married and has several kids. Divorcing your spouse for no reason, except for that of adultery, is looked upon with distain. Now we know that divorce happens within the church, and that people for a variety of reasons no longer wish to stay married. However, the clergy, whatever the rank, are the spiritual fathers of their parish, diocese and local church. They are to be upstanding members of the faith and to hold themselves with dignity. By not maintaining a healthy marriage by which the faithful can look to as an example, the priest, bishop, or deacon has therefore broken their trust with the laymen of the church and are deposed from their office because of their poor example. Leading the church is a matter of heaven or hell. Accounting for not just their own sins but the sins of the faithful they were entrusted with at the Awesome Judgement Seat of Christ at the Second Coming would be very difficult for those who have led others to fall away from the faith by their own actions. If a lay person were to divorce their own spouse because they saw a priest do it to theirs, it would cause irreversible spiritual damage to the faithful. This is why the church prescribes this particular canon here, so that it is known that those with spiritual authority must be upstanding members of the church to be chosen for leadership.

Canon 6-  A Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon must not undertake worldly cares. If he does, let him be deposed from office

Well I’ve gone and done it now by writing about this particular canon. As we have just seen being a bishop, priest or deacon within the church is a very important task. So much so that divorce among the clergy is forbidden. So too is partaking in worldly affairs. The leaders of the church are not political leaders, they are not to be seen as someone who has the authority of the people in an earthly sense. That is to be left to those who have been entrusted with political office, or in the case of the most conservative orthodox, in the emperor himself. Thus a member of the clergy should not be concerned with the daily goings on of the world, rather he should devote himself completely to the church, performing the services daily and praying for the souls of the faithful. This is also to remind the members of the clergy to not seek glory for themselves. We see politicians and other leaders outside of the church seek to become almost like God figures in their own right, leading massive rallies and parades that would seek to heap praise on themselves. God would rather those that serve him seek glory from Him, and not of the world. The clergy should be humble and seen as meek. Knowing that one day their reward is in heaven with the rest of the righteous. So many clergy in certain “churches” today seek to win the approval of the world, rather than God and it shows in the leadership of the church. I have yet to encounter a priest personally who does so, as the clergy and the bishops that I have encountered are all the most humble and righteous men I have met. I pray that we find more of these men to guide our lives than those in some “churches” who shall remain nameless but seek to heap glory on themselves and ruin the spiritual state of the faithful. (looking at you Pope Francis) May those who seek earthly glory and cares of this world repent and find themselves back within the home confines of the Orthodox Church.

While I would like to continue into the next canon of the Orthodox Church, the next canon is probably the most debated and most harsh cause of the Great Schism. The Great Schism saw the Roman Catholics lose their place in the Church of Jesus Christ as they became heretics after their falling away in 1054. The changing of the date of Pascha which has always been celebrated in the same manner in the Orthodox Church is a serious fatal error on the part of the Latins and deserves its own discussion. So instead of discussing it here, we will look it at next in a separate article, devoted solely to the date of Pascha and why we as Orthodox Christians do not and never will celebrate Pascha with the Jews.

May God bless you and welcome Macedonia to the ranks of autocephalous churches. May God have mercy on all of us.

Amen.