§ 9. The Literature of Orthodox Church Law

To this day there does not yet exist, in any language, a single book in which the law now in force in the Orthodox Church has been fully set forth. There exist several books, but all are incomplete, either because they were never finished, or because they deal with the law of only one local church. On this basis we must say that the science of Orthodox church law is today still unworked out and is found only in its beginnings. But if we say this of complete systems of Orthodox church law—for so we must say, since that is the fact—we cannot say the same of the particular parts of that law, for many of those particular parts have today been very competently worked out, and whoever now wishes to set forth the complete science of that law need not spend much labor on those parts, but may take them as already finished and incorporate them into his own system. Here belong, in the first place, the works of the Russian canonists, published either as separate books or printed in various academic periodical publications, such as those of the late Archimandrite John (afterwards Bishop of Smolensk), who may be called the father of the new science of Orthodox church law, the works of the late professor of Moscow University Alexis S. Pavlov, and of certain others. Particular parts of our science have also been worked out in the West, and we have several canonical works that are grounded in the primary sources and so objective that they may be reckoned as a valuable contribution to the system of Orthodox church law; such are the works of the well-known Byzantinist Zachariä von Lingenthal, and further of the former professor at the University of Vienna Dr. Josef Zhishman, and certain others.

Leaving aside the whole multitude of articles and canonical treatises that have been printed in various academic journals, we shall here list in order what has appeared in separate editions on Orthodox church law, or that concerns this law, and that is known to us.

I. Works on the history of law, its sources, discipline, etc.:

F. A. Biener, De collectionibus canonum ecclesiae graecae. Berol. 1827. — F. A. Biener, Das kanonische Recht der griechischen Kirche. Dresden, 1853. — F. A. Biener, Geschichte der Novellen Justinian’s. Berlin, 1824. — C. E. Zachariae, Historiae juris graeco-romani delineatio. Cum appendice ineditorum. Heidelbergae, 1839. — E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, Die griechischen Nomokanones. St.-Petersb. 1877. — E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, Die Handbücher des geistlichen Rechts aus den Zeiten des untergehenden byzantinischen Reiches und der türkischen Herrschaft. St.-Petersb. 1881. — E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, Ueber den Verfasser und die Quellen des (Pseudo-Photinianischen) Nomocanon in XIV Titeln. St.-Petersb. 1885. — E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, Geschichte des griechisch-römischen Rechts. II. Aufl. Berlin, 1877. — J. S. Drey, Neue Untersuchungen über die Constitutionen und Kanones der Apostel. Tübingen, 1832. — P. de Marca, Dissertatio de veteribus collectionibus canonum (Andr. Gallandi, De vetustis canonum collectionibus dissertationum sylloge. Venet. 1778). — Petr. et. Hieron. Ballerini, De antiquis tum editis, tum ineditis collectionibus et collectoribus canonum (Ibid.)—Z. Bern. van Espen, De antiquis canonum codicibus (Comment. in canones. Colon. Agripp. 1775). — J. Krabbe, De codice canonum, qui apostolorum nomine circumferuntur. Gott. 1829. — J. B. Pitra, Des canons et des collections canoniques de l’église grecque. Paris, 1858. — J. A. B. Mortreuil, Histoire du droit byzantin. 3. vols. Paris, 1843—46. — C. W. E. Heimbach, Griechisch-römisches Recht (Ersch u. Gruber, Allgem. Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste. I. Sect., Bd. 86. und 87.). — J. W. Bickell, Geschichte des Kirchenrechts. I. Band. Giessen, 1843. — F. Maassen, Geschichte der Quellen und der Litteratur des canon. Rechts. I. Band. Gratz, 1870. — L. F. Spittler, Geschichte des kanonischen Rechts bis auf die Zeiten des falschen Isidorus. Halle, 1778. — J. Doujat, Praenotionum canonicarum libri quinque, quibus sacri juris atque universi studii ecclesiastici principia et adminicula enucleantur. Venet. 1717. — C. J. Hefele, Conciliengeschichte. II. Aufl. Freiburg im Breisg. 1873—87. 8 Bde. — L. Ellies du Pin, De antiqua ecclesiae disciplina dissertationes historicae. Colon. Agripp. 1691. — P. de Marca, De concordia sacerdotii et imperii. Paris, 1704. — L. Thomassin, Vetus et nova ecclesiae disciplina circa beneficia et beneficiarios. 9 vol. Magont. 1787. — J. Krabbe, Ueber den Ursprung und Inhalt der ap. Constitutionen. Hamburg, 1829. — Dr. H. Achelis, Die ältesten Quellen des orientalischen Kirchenrechts. Leipzig, 1891. — Prof. Malnory, La collection canonique des Statuta ecclesiae antiqua. Paris, 1891. — Fr. X. Funk, Die Apostol. Constitutionen. Roffenburg, 1891. — Fr. X. Funk, Das achte Buch der apostol. Constitutionen und die verwandten Schriften. Tübingen, 1893. — Fr. Lauchert, Die Kanones der wichtigsten altkirchlichen Concilien nebst den apost. Kanones Leipzig, 1896. — Dr. Tsch. Mitrovits, Die Kormtschaja kniga. Wien, 1898. — K. A. Nevolin, On Collections and the Scholarly Treatment of Church Laws in Greece and Russia (Complete Collection of Works. Vol. VI. St. Petersburg, 1859). — B. Rosenkampf, A Survey of the Kormchaia Book. St. Petersburg, 1839. — A. Pavlov, The Nomocanon in the Great Trebnik. Moscow, 1897. New edition. — Al. A. Tyazhelov, The Laws of the Greek Emperors in Their Relation to the Church after Justinian. Moscow, 1876—77. — N. Zaozersky, A Historical Survey of the Sources of the Law of the Orthodox Church. Moscow, 1891. — N. Zaozersky, The Law of the Orthodox Church as the Subject of a Special Juridical Science. Moscow, 1888. — N. Ilyinsky, The Syntagma of Matthew Blastares. Moscow, 1892. — V. Narbekov, The Nomocanon of Patriarch Photius. A Historico-Canonical Study. Kazan, 1899. — M. Krasnozhen, The Commentators of the Canon Law of the Eastern Church. Moscow, 1892. — N. Dučić, The Kormchaia of Morača. Belgrade, 1877. — Μ. Πότλης, Εἰσαγωγικὸν μάθημα εἰς τὸ ἐκκλησιαστικὸν δίκαιον τῆς ἀνατολικῆς ὀρθοδόξου ἐκκλησίας. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1859. — Const. Popovicii jun., Fôntânele si Codicii dreptului bisericescu ortodoxu. Cernauti, 1886. — N. Milaš, On the Canonical Collections of the Orthodox Church. Novi Sad, 1886. — N. Milaš, The Kormchaia of Sava. Zadar, 1884. — N. Milaš, Codex canonum ecclesiae africanae. Zadar, 1881.

II. Systematic works:

Evgeny Ioannovich, The Rudiments of the Church Law of the Ancient Eastern Church according to the Kormchaia Book. Book I. Novi Sad, 1841. Book II. 1847. (Principia juris ecclesiastici veteris orthodoxae orientalis ecclesiae secundum comune Directorium.)[1] — Archim. Ioann, An Essay on a Course of Church Jurisprudence. Vol. I. Two parts. St. Petersburg, 1851.[2] — Prot. Skvortsov, Notes on Church Jurisprudence. 2nd ed. Kiev, 1857.[3] — N. K. Sokolov, From Lectures on Church Law. Two parts. Moscow, 1875.[4] — A. Albov, A Short Course of Lectures on Church Law. St. Petersburg, 1882.[5] — M. I. Bogoslovsky, A Course of General Church Law. Lessons Given to the Pupils of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence. Moscow, 1885.[6] — P. Lashkarev, Church Law in Its Foundations, Forms, and Sources. Kiev, 1886.[7] — I. S. Berdnikov, A Short Course of the Church Law of the Orthodox Greco-Russian Church. Kazan, 1888. and Supplement to the Course. Kazan, 1889.[8] — N. S. Suvorov, A Course of Church Law. Yaroslavl, 1889—90. 2 vols.[9] — M. Ostroumov, An Outline of Orthodox Church Law. Kharkov, 1893. Vol. I. Introduction.[10] — V. G. Pevtsov, Church Law. St. Petersburg, 1892.[11] — Andr. von Schaguna, Compendium des kanonischen Rechtes der einen, heiligen, allgemeinen und apostolischen Kirche. Aus dem Romanischen übersetzt von Dr. Alois Sentz. Hermannstadt, 1868.[12] (Russian translation: A Brief Exposition of Canon Law. St. Petersburg, 1872. Serbian translation with some changes in the Belgrade clerical journal “Pravoslavlje” for 1871 and 1872.) — Dr. D. G. Borojanu, Dreptul bisericesc. Jasi, 1899 2 vols. The author has in view exclusively the church in the Kingdom of Romania.[13] — Vasile Pocitan, Compendiu de drept bisericesc al bisericei orthodoxe, comparativ cu bisericile latina, protestanta etc., si cu referinte speciale la legile si regulamentele bisericei orthodoxe autocefale Române. Bucuresti, 1892.[14] — N. Ružičić, The Nomocanon of the Serbian Church. Book I. Theory of Canon Law. Belgrade, 1882.[15] — Ι. Παππαλουκᾶ Εὐταξίου Τοῦ κανονικοῦ δικαίου τῆς ὀρθοδόξου ἀνατολικῆς ἐκκλησίας τὰ περὶ ἱερατικῆς ἐξουσίας. Τεῦχ. Ι. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1872.[16] — Ἀπ. Χριστόδουλος, Δοκίμιον ἐκκλησιαστικοῦ δικαίου. Ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, 1896.[17] — Μελ. Σακελλαρόπουλος, Ἐκκλησιαστικὸν δίκαιον τῆς ἀνατολικῆς ὀρθοδόξου ἐκκλησίας. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1898.[18]

Of Western writers four are known to us, three of whom, in their systems of law, treat also of Orthodox church law under the corresponding headings, and one of whom, in a separate book, shows the constitution and the present state of the churches in the East:

Ferd. Walter, Lehrbuch des Kirchenrechts aller christlichen Confessionen. XIV. Ausgabe besorgt vom Herm. Gerlach. Bonn, 1871. — Dr. Fried. H. Vehring, Lehrbuch des katholischen, orientalischen und protestantischen Kirchenrechts. II. Auflage. Freib. im Breisg. 1881. — Fr. Kunstmann, Grundzüge eines vergleichenden Kirchenrechtes der christlichen Confessionen. München, 1867. — Dr. Isidor Silbernagl, Verfassung und gegenwärtiger Bestand sämmtlicher Kirchen des Orients. Eine canonistisch-statistische Abhandlung. Landshut, 1865.

III. Works that concern the law of particular local churches:

Th. Kurganov, The Organization of Administration in the Church of the Kingdom of Greece. Kazan, 1871. — A. Pavlov, The Original Slavo-Russian Nomocanon. Kazan, 1869. — A. Pavlov, “The Books of Law”. St. Petersburg, 1885. — P. Zagorovsky, On Divorce in Russian Law. Kharkov, 1884. — A. D. Sposobin, On Divorce in Russia. Moscow, 1881. — N. Kalachov, On the Significance of the Kormchaia in the System of Ancient Russian Law. Moscow, 1850. — Theophan Živković, The Serbian National Church on Its Canonical-Historical Foundation. Timișoara, 1868. — Ev. Ioannovich, On the Church Courts of the Holy Eastern Conciliar and Apostolic Church in the Austrian Dominions. Karlstadt, 1844. — (Jos. Jireček) Actenmässige Darstellung der Verhältnisse der griechisch n. u. Hierarchie in Oesterreich. Wien, 1861. — J. Helfert, Die Rechte und Verfassung der Akatholiken in Oesterreich. Wien, 1827. — Dr. Radoslav von Radić, Die Verfassung der orthodox-katholischen Kirche bei den Serben in Oesterreich-Ungarn. I. Theil Das oberste Kirchenregiment. Werschetz, 1877. — Iv. Malyshevsky, On Parish Church Trusteeships in Russia. Kiev, 1878. — Iv. Palmov, The Bulgarian Exarchate Church. St. Petersburg, 1896. — Iv. Palmov, The Church Organization of the Orthodox Romanians in Austria-Hungary. St. Petersburg, 1898. — T. Barsov, The Synod in Its Past. St. Petersburg, 1896. — Vlad. Girgas, The Rights of Christians in the East under Muslim Law. St. Petersburg, 1865. — N. Suvorov, Traces of Western Catholic Law in the Monuments of Ancient Russian Law. Yaroslavl, 1888. — N. Milasch, Das Synodal-Statut der gr.-or. Metropolie der Bukowina und Dalmatien vom 24. August 1884. Mit Erläuterungen. Mainz, 1885

IV. Works on particular sections of church law:

Curopalatae, De officialibus palatii Constantinopolitani et officiis magnae ecclesiae. Lugdun. 1587. — Dr. Jos. Zhishman, Das Eherecht der orientalischen Kirche. Wien, 1864. — Dr. Jos. Zhishman, Die Synoden und die Episcopal-Aemter in der morgenländischen Kirche. Wien, 1867. — Dr. Jos. Zhishman, Das Stifterrecht in der morgenländischen Kirche. Wien, 1888. — Dr. Is. Silbernagl, Das Eherecht nach den Gesetzen der griechischen Kirche. Habil.-Schr. München, 1862. — Klein de Szád, Dissertatio canonica de matrimonio juxta disciplinam graecae orientalis ecclesiae. Vindob. 1781. — Theod. Mandics, Dissertatio de causis connubium discindentibus secundum canones ecclesiae orientalis et leges imperiales byzantinas. Leipzig, 1849. — Joan. Hadschits, Dissertatio de causis matrimonium dissociantibus juxta disciplinam orthodoxae ecclesiae Christi orientalis. Budae, 1826. — E. Moy de Sons, Das Eherecht der Christen in der morgenländischen und abendländischen Kirche bis zur Zeit Carls des Grossen, Regensburg, 1833. — K. Kuzmány, Handbuch des allgemeinen und österreichischen evangelisch-protestantichen Eherechtes mit durchgängiger Berücksichtigung des Eherechtes anderer christlichen Confessionen. Wien, 1860. — P. de Smedt, L’organisation des églises chrétiennes jusq’au milieu du III siecle. Paris, 1891. — W. C. Ziegler, Pragmatische Geschichte der kirchlichen Verfassungsformen in den ersten sechs Jahrhunderten der Kirche. Leipzig, 1798. — Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ ἐξ Οἰκονόμων Περὶ τῶν τριῶν ἱερατικῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας βαθμῶν. Ἀθήναις, 1835. — Π. Γ. Παγονή Ἐγχειρίδιον περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ γάμου τῶν συγγενειῶν τῶν βαθμῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν κεκωλυμένων καὶ ἀκωλύτων συγγενειῶν. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1842. — Γ. Ἀ. Μαυροκορδάτου Περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ γάμου. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1857. — Κ. Ῥάλλη, Περὶ ἀπαλλοτριώσεως τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς περιουσίας κατὰ τὸ δίκαιον τῆς ὀρθ. ἀνατ. ἐκκλησίας. Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1893—Μ. Χριστόδουλος, Τὰ κωλύματα τοῦ γάμου. Ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, 1889. — I. Milovanov, On Ecclesiastical Offences and Punishments. St. Petersburg, 1888. — N. Zaozersky, On Sacred and Governmental Authority and on the Forms of the Organization of the Orthodox Church. Moscow, 1891. — N. Zaozersky, On Church Authority. Moscow, 1894. — V. Kiparisov, On Freedom of Conscience. Moscow, 1883. — V. Kiparisov, On Church Discipline. Moscow, 1897. — I. Berdnikov, On Sponsorship at Baptism and on Spiritual Kinship as an Impediment to Marriage. Kazan, 1892. — A. Pavlov, On Sponsorship and Spiritual Kinship. Moscow, 1893. — A. Zavyalov, On Marriage and Divorce. St. Petersburg, 1892. — N. Strakhov, Marriage, Considered in Its Nature and from the Side of the Form of Its Conclusion. Kharkov, 1893. — P. Krimenetsky, The Christian Teaching on Royal Authority. Moscow, 1888. — Alexy, Archbishop of Lithuania, The Proposed Reform of the Church Court. St. Petersburg, 1883. — I. Berdnikov, The State Position of Religion in the Roman-Byzantine Empire. Vol. I. Kazan, 1881. — A. Pavlov, On the Participation of the Laity in the Affairs of the Church. Kazan, 1866. — M. Moroshkin, The Elective Principle in the Clergy. St. Petersburg, 1870. — An Orthodox Layman, The Truth about the Elective Principle in the Clergy. St. Petersburg, 1871. — N. A. Zaozersky, The Church Court in the First Three Centuries of Christianity. Kostroma, 1878. — N. Suvorov, On Church Punishments. St. Petersburg, 1876. — N. Suvorov, The Scope of the Disciplinary Court and the Jurisdiction of the Church in the Period of the Ecumenical Councils. Yaroslavl, 1884. — (Prot. A. V. Gorsky), On the Episcopal Dignity in Its Relation to Monasticism in the Eastern Church. Moscow, 1862. — G. Lyubimov, A Survey of the Means of Support of the Christian Clergy from the Apostolic Times to the XVIII Century. St. Petersburg, 1851. — M. Gorchakov, On the Mystery of Wedlock. St. Petersburg, 1880. — A. Pavlov, The 50th Chapter of the Kormchaia Book. Moscow, 1887. — N. Suvorov, On Civil Marriage. Yaroslavl. 1887. — I. Berdnikov, The Form of the Conclusion of Marriage among the European Peoples in Its Historical Development. Kazan, 1887. — I. Berdnikov, The New State in Its Relation to Religion. Kazan, 1888. — Dr. Čed. Mitrović, On the Legislative Boundaries between Church and State. Belgrade, 1900. — J. Bojović, The Mutual Relations of Church and State. Belgrade, 1895. — A. Popović, Degrees of Kinship. Belgrade. 1894. — T. Alagić, On Grounds for Divorce. Sarajevo, 1892. — N. Dučić, Christian Marriage. Belgrade, 1898. — Dr. Emil pl. Radić, On the Grounds for Divorce in the Orthodox Church. Novi Sad, 1884. — Dam. Branković, On Kinship by Blood and Milk as an Impediment to Marriage. Novi Sad, 1888. — N. Ružičić, The Nomocanon on Marriage. Belgrade, 1880. — N. Ružičić, Tables of Various Examples of Kinship. Belgrade, 1886. — I. Vasić, The Statute on Degrees of Kinship. Belgrade, 1870. — Nik. Dučić, The Table of Degrees from the Kormchaia, Translated from the Slavo-Russian Language and from Serbian-Recension Books. Cetinje, 1876. — N. M. Trifunović, The Ladder of Kinship in Lawful Marriage. Belgrade, 1888—Bishop Theophan Živković, An Opinion on the Marriage of Widowed Clergy. Pančevo, 1877. — Bishop Theophan Živković, On the Ordination of Unmarried Candidates for the Priestly Rank. Zagreb, 1887. — P. Lashkarev, On the Relation of the Ancient Christian Church to the Roman State. Kiev, 1873. — Th. Kurganov, The Relations between Church and Civil Authority. Kazan, 1881. — Hierom. Pavel, On the Duties and Institutions in Church Administration in the Ancient Eastern Church. St. Petersburg, 1857. — N. Milaš, Dignities in the Orthodox Church. Pančevo, 1879.

V. Works on church-legal practice:

A. Parvov, A Practical Exposition of Church and Civil Regulations, as a Guide for the Priest on the Occasion of Performing the Most Important Church Offices. 4th ed. St. Petersburg, 1870. — N. Silchenkov, A Practical Guide for the Performance of Parish Offices. 3rd ed. Voronezh, 1879. — P. P. Zabelin, The Rights and Duties of Presbyters according to the Fundamental Laws of the Christian Church. 2 books. Kiev, 1884—85. — P. Nechaev, A Practical Guide for Priests, or a Systematic Exposition of the Full Range of Their Duties and Rights. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 1887. — J. Chizhevsky, Church Record-Keeping. A Collection of Rules, Regulations, and Forms for Its Correct Conduct. 2nd ed. Kharkov, 1881. — A. Serafimov, The Rules and Practice of the Church concerning the Reception of Non-Orthodox Christians into Orthodoxy. A Historico-Canonical Study. 2nd ed. Kostroma, 1882. — A. Th. Khoinatsky, A Practical Guide for Priests. Moscow, 1882—83. 2 parts.

VI. Periodical publications:

Θέμις ἡ ἐπιθεώρησις τῆς ἑλληνικῆς… νομοθεσίας… ἐκδιδομένη παρὰ τοῦ Λεωνίδου Λ. Σγούτα Ἐν Ἀθήναις, 1846. κτλ. — Ἐκκλησιαστικὴ Ἀλήθεια. Σύγγραμμα περιοδικὸν ἐκδιδόμενον δὶς τοῦ μηνός. Περίοδος δευτέρα. Ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, ἐκ τοῦ Πατριαρχικοῦ τυπογραφείου, 1885. κτλ. Ἐκδιδομένη ἅπαξ τῆς ἑβδομάδος. 1887. κτλ. — The Orthodox Interlocutor, publication of the Kazan Theological Academy. Kazan, 1858 and following. — Christian Reading, published by the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. St. Petersburg, 1822 and following. — Readings in the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment. A scholarly and literary journal. Moscow, 1868 and following. — Supplements to the Edition of the Works of the Holy Fathers. Moscow, 1846 and following. — The Orthodox Review. A scholarly and literary journal. Moscow, 1859 and following. — Archiv für katholisches Kirchenrecht. Herausgegeben von E. Moy de Sons, Innsbruck, 1857—61. und von Dr. Fr. H. Vering, Mainz, 1862 ff.

Sources and collections of church law.

A. Sources of church law.