Orthodox Church Law
Modern translationSerbian original
20th c. · Councils & Canon Law · English translation, 2026
Source edition: Православно црквено право
Cover art: Ceremonial Sitting of the State Council on 7 May 1901 (1903) — Ilya Repin (Russian, 1844–1930) (State Russian Museum (Wikimedia Commons, Google Art Project), Public domain)
How is a bishop elected, a parish endowed, a priest tried, a marriage dissolved, a monastery founded? Milaš answers in 228 numbered sections that carry Orthodox church law from Scripture and the ancient canons down to the statutes actually in force in 1902 — in Constantinople, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Habsburg Dalmatia. The classic systematic treatise of the discipline, written by a bishop who had to apply it. Now in English for the first time.
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Contents
- Introduction
- § 1. The Church and Its Task
- § 2. The Church in the Sphere of Law
- § 3. Church Law
- § 4. Church Law in the General System of Law
- § 5. The Science of Church Law
- § 6. The Manner of Setting Forth Church Law
- § 7. Auxiliary Sciences to Church Law
- § 8. The System of Church Law
- § 9. The Literature of Orthodox Church Law
- § 10. General Survey
- § 11. Holy Scripture
- § 12. Tradition
- § 13. Church Legislation
- § 14. Customary Law
- § 15. Civil Laws
- § 16. Canonistic Law
- § 17. The Application and Binding Force of Church Laws
- § 18. The Interpretation of the Law
- § 19. The Cessation of a Law
- § 20. General Survey
- § 21. Holy Scripture and Tradition
- § 22. The Canons
- § 23. The Canonical Decrees of the Patriarchal Synods
- § 24. The Opinions of Recognized Canonists
- § 25. The Ecclesiastical-Civil Laws
- § 26. General Survey
- § 27. The Patriarchate of Constantinople
- § 28. The Church in the Russian Empire
- § 29. The Metropolitanate of Karlovci
- § 30. The Church in the Kingdom of Greece
- § 31. The Metropolitanate of Sibiu (Hermannstadt)
- § 32. The Bulgarian Exarchate
- § 33. The Metropolis of Bukovina-Dalmatia
- § 34. The Church in the Kingdom of Serbia
- § 35. The Church in the Kingdom of Romania
- § 36. Collections of Church Law: General Survey
- § 37. Collections Bearing the Name of the Apostles
- § 38. General Survey
- § 39. Collections Exclusively Canonical
- § 40. Church-Civil Collections
- § 41. The Nomocanons
- § 42. General Survey
- § 43. The Greek Canonical Collections
- § 44. The Slavonic Canonical Collections
- § 45. The Romanian Canonical Collections
- § 46. Editions of the Sources and Collections of Church Law
- § 47. General Survey
- § 48. The Concept and Foundation of the Church
- § 49. The Head of the Church
- § 50. The Properties of the Church
- § 51. The Unity of the Church
- § 52. The General Composition of the Church
- § 53. The Relation Between the Clergy and the Laity
- § 54. On Ecclesiastical Authority in General
- § 55. The Origin of Ecclesiastical Authority
- § 56. The Permanence of Ecclesiastical Authority
- § 57. The Subject of Ecclesiastical Authority
- § 58. The Branches of Ecclesiastical Authority
- § 59. The Concept of the Hierarchy
- § 60. The Sacred Hierarchy
- § 61. The Administrative Hierarchy
- § 62. The General Rights and Duties of Members of the Hierarchy
- § 63. The Relation Among the Members of the Hierarchy
- § 64. The Older Period
- § 65. The Present-Day State
- § 66. Fundamental Conditions for Entering the Clergy
- § 67. Qualities of Candidates for the Priesthood
- § 68. Physical Qualities
- § 69. Spiritual Qualities
- § 70. c) Qualities as Regards the Freedom of the Candidate
- § 71. D) Qualities Concerning Good Name
- § 72. General Assessment of the Qualities of Candidates for the Priesthood
- § 73. Tonsure Into the Clergy
- § 74. Ordination
- § 75. The Right to Ordain
- § 76. The Effects of Ordination
- § 77. The Basic Standpoint of the Orthodox Church
- § 78. Canonical Practice
- § 79. The Concept and Task of the Ecumenical Council
- § 80. The Convocation of the Ecumenical Council
- § 81. Participants in the Ecumenical Council
- § 82. The Authority of the Ecumenical Council
- § 83. The Significance of Concordant Episcopal Decisions Promulgated Without a…
- § 84. The Constituent Parts of the Church
- § 85. The Autonomy of the Regional Churches
- § 86. The Autonomous Regional Churches of the Older Period
- § 87. The Autocephalous Churches of Today
- § 88. II. The Constitution of the Regional Churches—1. On Regional Councils
- § 89. a) Metropolitan Councils
- § 90. B) Patriarchal Councils
- § 91. c) The Supreme Central Organs in the Present-day Autonomous Autocephalous…
- § 92. 2. Archbishops, as Heads of Autocephalous Churches
- § 93. a) Metropolitans
- § 94. Honorary Metropolitans
- § 95. B) Patriarchs
- § 96. Patriarchal Vicars
- § 97. General Survey
- § 98. The Installation of the Present-Day Autocephalous Bishops
- § 99. The Personal Rights of the Present-Day Autocephalous Bishops
- § 100. Historical Survey
- § 101. Candidates for the Episcopacy
- § 102. The Election and Installation of a Bishop
- § 103. a. The Election and Installation of a Bishop in Earlier Times
- § 104. Election and Installation of Bishops in the Present Day
- § 105. The Episcopal Oath
- § 106. The Effects of Episcopal Consecration
- § 107. The Mutual Relations of Bishops
- § 108. The Rights of Diocesan Bishops
- § 109. The Honors to Which a Bishop is Entitled
- § 110. The Duties of Diocesan Bishops
- § 111. The Administration of a Diocese When it is Widowed
- § 112. Vicar Bishops
- § 113. Collegial Diocesan Organs
- § 114. Diocesan Consistories
- § 115. Other Diocesan Administrative Organs
- § 116. Diocesan Assemblies
- § 117. District Church Superintendencies
- § 118. District Protopresbyters
- § 119. Auxiliary Administrative Organs in the Protopresbyterates
- § 120. District Priestly Conferences
- § 121. General Survey
- § 122. The Appointment of Parish Priests in General
- § 123. The Present-Day Parish Organization
- § 124. The General Rights and Duties of the Parish Priest
- § 125. The Particular Duties of the Parish Priest
- § 126. The Assistants and Substitutes of the Parish Priest
- § 127. Deacons and Church-Servers in the Parishes
- § 128. Parish Committees (Epitropies)
- § 129. Military Clergy
- § 130. General Survey
- § 131. The Preservation of Christian Teaching
- § 132. The Spread of Christian Teaching
- § 133. The Preservation of the Faithful From False Teachings
- § 134. The Sacred Acts of the Orthodox Church
- § 135. The Performers of the Power of the Sacred Acts
- § 136. General Regulations Concerning the Sacred Acts
- § 137. General Survey
- § 138. 1. General Church Legislation
- § 139. Particular Church Legislation
- § 140. Provincial Councils
- § 141. The Legislative Power of the Bishop
- § 142. Statutes of Brotherhoods
- § 143. General Survey
- § 144. Church-Judicial Competence in Its Various Changes
- § 145. Church Courts
- § 146. a) Church-Judicial Procedure in Its Various Changes
- § 147. B) Present-Day Judicial Procedure
- § 148. a) Church Offences
- § 149. α) General church offences
- § 150. β) Offences by Clergy
- § 151. B) Church Penalties
- § 152. a) Penalties for Laity
- § 153. B) Penalties for Clergy
- § 154. c) The Imposition of Penalties
- § 155. General Overview
- § 156. The Church’s Right to Possess Property
- § 157. Ownership of Church Property
- § 158. The Subject of Church Ownership
- § 159. The Acquisition of Church Property
- § 160. Privileges of Church Property
- § 161. Administration of Church Property
- § 162. The Use of Church Property
- § 163. The Founder’s Right
- § 164. Basic Prescriptions
- § 165. Support of Bishops and Church Dignitaries
- § 166. Support of the Parish Clergy
- § 167. General Rules on the Property of the Clergy
- § 168. Assistance to Infirm Clergy
- § 170. Baptism
- § 171. Entry Into the Church From Other Faiths
- § 172. Sacred Rites
- § 173. Sacred Persons
- § 174. Sacred Places
- § 175. Sacred Things
- § 176. Sacred Times
- § 177. General Overview
- § 178. The Concept of Marriage
- § 179. Marriage as a New Testament Sacrament
- § 180. Marital Jurisdiction
- § 181. The Principal Conditions of Marriage
- § 182. Betrothal
- § 183. The Prenuptial Examination
- § 184. The Banns
- § 185. The Time for Contracting Marriage
- § 186. The Wedding
- § 187. On Marital Impediments in General
- § 188. A. Absolute Impediments
- § 189. B. Conditional Impediments
- § 190. 1) Kinship
- § 191. 2) Affinity
- § 192. 3) Spiritual Kinship
- § 193. 4) Half-Affinity
- § 194. 5) Adoption
- § 195. 6) Non-Kinship Matrimonial Impediments
- § 196. The Consequences of Matrimonial Impediments
- § 197. Removal of Matrimonial Impediments
- § 198. The Rights and Duties of Spouses
- § 199. The Relation Between Parents and Children
- § 200. The Basis of the Dissolution of Marriage
- § 201. Grounds of Divorce
- § 202. Legal Consequences of Divorce
- § 203. The Second and the Third Marriage
- § 204. Mixed Marriages
- § 205. Various Kinds of Marriage
- § 206. General Overview
- § 207. The Significance and Origin of Monasticism
- § 208. The Regulation of Monasticism
- § 209. Monasticism According to Its Organization
- § 210. Entry Into Monasticism
- § 211. Monastic Tonsure
- § 212. The Consequences of the Monastic Tonsure
- § 213. Monasteries
- § 214. The Internal Structure of the Monastery
- § 215. The Origin and Purpose of Church Brotherhoods
- § 216. The Legal Position of Church Brotherhoods
- § 217. The Last Christian Viaticum
- § 218. The Burial of the Dead
- § 219. Prayers for the Dead
- § 220. General Survey
- § 221. The Origin of the Church and the State
- § 222. The Independence of Church and State Authority
- § 223. The Fundamental Relation Between Church and State
- § 224. The Sphere of Ecclesiastical Power and of State Power
- § 225. Present-Day Church-State Relations
- § 226. General View of the Relation Between the Church and Other Faiths
- § 227. Religious Toleration
- § 228. State Toleration
- The Author: Saint Nikodim Milaš