Antioch, Canons 1–18

Canon 1. As for any who dare to set aside the decree of the holy and great synod assembled at Nicaea in the presence of the pious emperor Constantine, beloved of God, concerning the holy feast of Easter that brings salvation: if they stubbornly persist in opposing what was rightly ordained then, let them be excommunicated and cast out of the church. This is said of the laity. But if any of those who preside in the church, whether bishop, presbyter or deacon, dares after this decree to follow his own private judgment, to the overturning of the people and the disturbance of the churches, by keeping Easter at the same time as the Jews, the holy synod decrees that from then on he shall be a stranger to the church, as one who not only heaps up sins on himself but is also the cause of destruction and overturning to many. And it deposes from their ministry not only such persons themselves, but also those who dare to hold communion with them after their deposition. And the deposed shall be deprived even of the outward honor in which the holy canon and God’s priesthood share. [a]

Canon 2. All who enter the church of God and hear the Holy Scriptures, but do not share in the prayers with the people, or who turn away, out of some disorderliness, from the holy partaking of the eucharist, are to be cast out of the church until they have made confession, brought forth the fruits of penance and pleaded earnestly, and so have obtained forgiveness. And it is unlawful to hold communion with excommunicated persons, or to meet in private houses and pray with those who do not pray in the church, or to receive in one church those who do not assemble with another church. And if any of the bishops, presbyters or deacons, or anyone on the canon, is found holding communion with excommunicated persons, let him also be excommunicated, as one who brings confusion on the order of the church. [d]

Canon 3. If any presbyter or deacon, or anyone at all belonging to the priesthood, forsakes his own parish and goes away, and, having changed his residence entirely, sets himself to stay a long time in another parish, let him no longer carry out his ministry, especially if his own bishop summons him and urges him to return to his own parish and he disobeys. And if he persists in his disorder, let him be deposed from his ministry entirely, so that no further room is left for his restoration. And if another bishop receives a man deposed for this reason, let him be punished by the common synod as one who sets the laws of the church at nothing. [e]

Canon 4. If any bishop who has been deposed by a synod, or any presbyter or deacon who has been deposed by his bishop, dares to carry out any part of the ministry, whether a bishop according to his former custom, or a presbyter, or a deacon, he shall no longer have any prospect of restoration at another synod, nor any opportunity to make his defense. And all who hold communion with him shall be cast out of the church, especially if they have dared to hold communion with these persons knowing the sentence pronounced against them.

Canon 5. If any presbyter or deacon, despising his own bishop, has separated himself from the church, gathered a private assembly and set up an altar, and if, when summoned by his bishop, he refuses to be persuaded and will not obey, even when summoned a first and a second time, let such a man be deposed entirely and have no further remedy, nor be able to regain his rank. And if he persists in troubling and disturbing the church, let him be corrected by the civil power as one who stirs up sedition.

Canon 6. If anyone has been excommunicated by his own bishop, let him not be received by others until he has either been restored by his own bishop, or, when a synod is held, has appeared and made his defense, convinced the synod and received a different sentence. And let this decree apply to the laity, to presbyters and deacons, and to all who are enrolled in the list of clergy.

Canon 7. No stranger shall be received without letters of peace. [g]

Canon 8. Let country presbyters not give canonical letters, or let them send such letters only to the neighboring bishops. But country bishops of good standing may give letters of peace. [h]

Canon 9. The bishops in every province ought to acknowledge the bishop who presides in the metropolis and who must take thought for the whole province, because all who have business come together from every quarter to the metropolis. So it is decreed that he shall have the first place in rank, and that the other bishops shall do nothing out of the ordinary without him, according to the ancient canon that has held since the times of our fathers, except only such things as belong to their own particular parishes and the districts under them. For each bishop has authority over his own parish: to manage it with the piety that is everyone’s duty, to provide for the whole district that depends on his city, to ordain presbyters and deacons, and to settle everything with judgment. But let him undertake nothing further without the bishop of the metropolis; nor the latter without the consent of the others. [j]

Canon 10. The holy synod decrees that those in villages and country districts, or those called country bishops, even if they have received ordination as bishops, shall keep to their own limits and govern the churches under them, and be content with the care and management of these. They may ordain readers, subdeacons and exorcists, and shall be content with promoting these; but they shall not dare to ordain either a presbyter or a deacon without the consent of the bishop of the city to which the country bishop and his district are subject. And if he dares to break these decrees, he shall be deposed from the rank he holds. And a country bishop is to be appointed by the bishop of the city to which he is subject. [l]

Canon 11. If any bishop or presbyter, or anyone at all on the canon, dares to go off to the emperor without the consent and letters of the bishop of the province, and especially of the bishop of the metropolis, he shall be publicly deposed and cast out, not only from communion but also from the rank he happens to hold, since he dares to trouble the ears of our emperor, beloved of God, contrary to the law of the church. But if necessary business requires anyone to go to the emperor, let him do it with the advice and consent of the metropolitan and the other bishops of the province, and let him make the journey with letters from them. [m]

Canon 12. If any presbyter or deacon deposed by his own bishop, or any bishop deposed by a synod, dares to trouble the ears of the emperor, when it is his duty to bring his case before a greater synod of bishops, to lay before more bishops what he thinks is right, and to abide by the examination and decision they make; if, despising these, he troubles the emperor, he shall be entitled to no pardon, nor shall he have any opportunity of defense, nor any hope of future restoration.

Canon 13. No bishop shall dare to pass from one province to another and ordain anyone to the dignity of the ministry in the church, not even if he brings others with him, unless he goes at the written invitation of the metropolitan and bishops into whose country he goes. But if, without invitation, he goes ahead irregularly to ordain anyone, or to set in order church affairs that do not concern him, what he has done is void, and he himself shall suffer the due punishment of his irregularity and his unreasonable undertaking by being deposed at once by the holy synod.

Canon 14. If a bishop is tried on any charges, and it then happens that the bishops of the province disagree about him, some declaring the accused innocent and others guilty, then to settle all disputes the holy synod decrees that the metropolitan shall call in some others from the neighboring province, who shall add their judgment and resolve the dispute, and so, together with those of the province, confirm what is decided.

Canon 15. If any bishop lying under any charge is judged by all the bishops of the province, and all of them unanimously give the same verdict about him, he shall not be judged again by others, but the unanimous sentence of the bishops of the province shall stand firm.

Canon 16. If any bishop without a see throws himself upon a vacant church and seizes its throne without a full synod, he shall be cast out, even if all the people over whom he has usurped authority should choose him. And a full synod shall be counted one at which the metropolitan is present. [n]

Canon 17. If anyone who has received ordination as a bishop and has been appointed to preside over a people does not accept his ministry, and will not be persuaded to go to the church entrusted to him, he shall be excommunicated until, under constraint, he accepts it, or until a full synod of the bishops of the province has made a decision about him.

Canon 18. If any bishop ordained to a parish does not go to the parish to which he was ordained, not through any fault of his own, but either because the people reject him or for some other reason not arising from himself, let him keep his rank and ministry. Only he shall not disturb the affairs of the church he joins, and he shall abide by whatever the full synod of the province decides after judging the case.