The Church and its Canon: Introduction to the Canon Law of the Church and Canons 1-3

 

Welcome to the newest set of posts on the Tsar’s Corner. We will be looking at the Rudder, which outlines Church doctrine and canons of the church.  This will give us an insight into the inner workings of the Church and why obeying the canons is important for us as Orthodox Christians. The Rudder was written by Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and I will attempt to convey as clear a picture as I can to church law and why the Orthodox Church is governed in this manner.

First, a little background on St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain.  Born Nicholas on the Isle of Naxos in Greece, the future St. Nicodemus, like many of the saints before and after grew in stature before the Lord at an early age. This future saint was extremely knowledgeable in all areas of the church life and fostered a sense of intellect that was found in few others. He eventually became the best friend of Marcarius of Corinth, who the church venerates on April 17^TH.  Besides compiling the Rudder and the explanation of the Canon Laws of the church, the Philokalia was also composed by St. Nicodemus and St. Marcarius to show the beauty of the Jesus Prayer of which we have discussed before on this particular venue but will probably do so again at some point.  Constantly persecuted by the Turks for his beliefs as an Orthodox Christian, St. Nicodemus decided to enter the monastic life to see the salvation of his soul and to produce the fruit of the spirit. He is a part of the Koliva Fathers and a well-respected member of the church having as stated been declared a saint by the Orthodox Church.

With that said, we will now look at the 85 canons of the church. This exercise will be undertaken for the benefit of us all. I am sure that there are Orthodox Christians who do not know the 85 canons and what they entail for us as Christians. Bear in mind I am not a priest, nor a member of the monastic community. While I will try to stay faithful to the mindset that St. Nicodemus laid out for us in his own explanations of the canons, I will also do my best to see the canons in my own light, and how we as Orthodox Christians can apply them. These canons are the life-bed of the church. They define the operational parameters that the church is governed under and in doing so, they must be adhered to not just when they were written but by the Church of today.

Canon #1- A bishop must be ordained by two or three other Bishops.

This is a straightforward Canon, as most are. From what we can glean from this canon is much actually. First, we understand that Jesus Christ is the ultimate bishop, the overseer, and head of the church. Jesus as our head has given the responsibility of the church to the college of bishops regardless of the jurisdiction of the church. The Church therefore explicitly gives charge the local bishops of an area to come together and ordain a new bishop when he is elected and called to the episcopacy.  It is a show of unity among brother bishops that this man (not a woman like some Protestant denominations) has been called by God to join their fellowship and to help guide the church. Because of the great honor that has been bestowed upon him, it is expected that as many bishops as can attend the service must do so. Yes, this is very important for us as Orthodox Christians because we are called to be the one, true church. By showing our unity as a church we can show the world that we are brothers in Christ. If only one, or none were to show up to ordain a bishop, then it calls into question the legitimacy of the bishop elected, and it also raises the question as to whether the Bishop was rightfully elected and rightfully chosen. Of course, as with anything there may be exceptions to this, especially in areas of persecution, where the ability to ordain a bishop is scarce. All in all, the church provides for our unity as well as our salvation, because we are called to be one in Christ. This also raises the point that it is Apostolic Succession that is taking place. The Bishops are the successors to the first Bishops, the apostles. Just as president is succeeded by the next man elected, or a king is succeeded by his son, the bishop is taking up the mantle of the apostles. While the apostles are interceding and leading the church from heavenly glory, the bishop is leading the church from earth and has been given the same calling that Jesus gave the Twelve. The canon provides for both unity of the church and for apostolic succession to take place, as the Church with over 2000 years of apostolic succession we must continue the traditions of the Church to select and ordain men who have been found worthy of this position and when two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name he will be there. This canon is simply following the scriptures.

Canon #2- A Presbyter must be ordained by a single Bishop, and so must a Deacon and other Clergymen.

            As such, along the same vein of the bishop, the Presbyter, or priest, must be ordained by a single bishop. Because of apostolic succession and the continuation of the church, anyone that has not been ordained by a priest has not received the blessing to be performing the sacraments and is uncanonical. Because ordination is reserved only for males, women cannot become priests, deacons, or any form of the clergy. The priest as the representative of the bishop in a parish, must have his blessing to perform the services. So to deacons must have the blessing of a bishop and readers, and so on. Priests are given the responsibility of guiding the flock. Deacons are called to assist the priest as they would have done in the days of the apostles, and the other clergy perform various roles within the church during the services, such as reading the epistle.

Canon #3- If any Bishop or Presbyter, contrary to the Lord's ordinance relating to sacrifice, offers anything else at the sacrificial altar, whether it he honey, or milk, or artificial liquor instead of wine, chickens, or any kind of animals, or vegetables, contrary to the ordinance, let him be deposed from office: except ears of new wheat or bunches of grapes, in due season. Let it not be permissible to bring anything else to the sacrificial altar but oil for the lamp, and incense at the time of the holy oblation.

            Our last one for this first look at the ordinances may see strange to the non-orthodox reader. As there does not seem to be anything wrong with the items in question. However, Jesus gave strict orders to the apostles in their task to perform the sacraments of the church. The Holy Eucharist as the epitome of brotherly love and unity in Christ is a sacred tradition and sacred entity in the Orthodox Church. So much that partially the reason why the Catholic Church is now in heresy is that they began to offer unleavened bread on their altars instead of leavened bread. Not only this, but as a bloodless sacrifice the offering of animals and other living creatures on the altar of an Orthodox Church refutes the pagan practices that many participated in during the era before paganism was eradicated. While I will not go into much detail here, the 4^th canon does discuss the offering of first fruits that is practiced by the faithful and those even are not to be brought into the altar, but rather a bishop’s home. Oil of course is used at every divine service when the lamps are lit, and incense is used at every service as well. (If I may say so, smoking in church is quite okay as long as its incense) The Orthodox Church maintains that the altar is reserved for the sacrifice of the Eucharist and anyone wishing to defile the altar of a church must be deposed. Breaking sacred tradition is not something that cannot be forgiven, as all sins are forgivable, but the one who breaks the tradition is clearly not reverent enough to be in the altar and to be ordained. Now from my reading of this particular canon, I can say that it is likely the person will be tried in a church court and a decision will be made as to whether or not they may remain in their post, but it is a foolish and dumb decision to even contemplate the idea of defiling the church.

            Now that we have concluded the first three canons, we have eighty-two to go. Some will be short explanations as these were, and others will be long and examples of how they were broken in the past and the present will be given. Church law is important because it gives us the structure by which the church must adhere to as I previously stated. Allowing just anyone to perform the services, or for that matter to defile the church is a grievous error on the part of everyone. God is not mocked. Even those who unintentionally touched the Ark of the Covenant with their hands were struck down. While I do not believe that God has done that recently, it is not to say that those who’s hearts are in a state of opposition to God would not receive his wrath. We must be vigilant in our practices and when they are not in communion with the spirit of God, then they are outside the Church. May God bless all of you. Christos Anesti.

Amen.