Canons 19–30

Canon 19. It has come to our ears that in the provinces the synods of bishops required by the canons are not being held, and that for this reason many church matters that need correcting are neglected. So, according to the canons of the holy fathers, the holy synod decrees that the bishops of every province shall meet together twice a year, wherever the bishop of the metropolis approves, and shall then settle whatever matters may have arisen. And bishops who do not attend, but stay in their own cities, though they are in good health and free from any unavoidable and necessary business, shall receive a brotherly admonition. [a]

Canon 20. As we have already decreed, it is not lawful for clergymen serving in one church to be appointed to the church of another city. They must hold to the one in which they were first counted worthy to minister. Excepted are those who have been driven by necessity from their own country and have therefore moved to another church. And if, after this decree, any bishop receives a clergyman who belongs to another bishop, it is decreed that both the one received and the one who received him shall be excommunicated, until the clergyman who moved has returned to his own church. [b]

Canon 21. Clergymen and laymen who bring charges against bishops or clergymen are not to be admitted as accusers lightly and without examination. Their own character must first be looked into.

Canon 22. It is not lawful for clergymen, after the death of their bishop, to seize what belongs to him, as the ancient canons have also forbidden. Those who do so put themselves in danger of losing their own rank.

Canon 23. It has come to the hearing of the holy synod that certain clergymen and monks, with no authority from their own bishop, and sometimes even while under sentence of excommunication by him, make their way to imperial Constantinople and stay there a long time. They stir up disturbances, trouble the order of the church, and turn people’s households upside down. So the holy synod has determined that such persons shall first be told by the advocate of the most holy church of Constantinople to leave the imperial city. And if they shamelessly keep on in the same practices, they shall be expelled by the same advocate, even against their will, and shall return to their own places. [c]

Canon 24. Monasteries that have once been consecrated with the consent of the bishop shall remain monasteries forever. The property belonging to them shall be preserved, and they shall never again become secular dwellings. And those who allow this to be done shall be liable to the church’s penalties.

Canon 25. Since, as we have heard, certain of the metropolitans neglect the flocks entrusted to them and put off the ordinations of bishops, the holy synod has decided that the ordinations of bishops shall take place within three months, unless some unavoidable necessity should at some time require the period of delay to be extended. And if he does not do this, he shall be liable to the church’s penalties, and the income of the widowed church shall be kept safe by the steward of that same church. [d]

Canon 26. Since we have heard that in certain churches the bishops managed the church’s business without stewards, it has seemed good that every church that has a bishop shall also have a steward from among its own clergy, who shall manage the church’s business under the authority of his own bishop. In this way the administration of the church will not be without a witness, the goods of the church will not be squandered, and no reproach will be brought on the priesthood. And if the bishop will not do this, he shall be subject to the divine canons. [f]

Canon 27. The holy synod has decreed that those who carry off women by force under the pretext of marriage, and those who aid or abet such abductors, shall lose their rank if they are clergymen, and shall be anathematized if they are laymen. [g]

Canon 28. In all things we follow the decisions of the holy fathers, and we acknowledge the canon, which has just been read, of the one hundred and fifty bishops beloved of God, who assembled in the imperial city of Constantinople, which is New Rome, in the time of the emperor Theodosius of happy memory. We too enact and decree the same things concerning the privileges of the most holy church of Constantinople, which is New Rome. For the fathers rightly granted privileges to the throne of old Rome, because it was the royal city. And the one hundred and fifty most religious bishops, moved by the same consideration, gave equal privileges to the most holy throne of New Rome. They rightly judged that the city honored with the emperor’s sovereignty and the senate, and enjoying equal privileges with old imperial Rome, should be exalted as Rome is in the affairs of the church as well, and rank next after her. So in the dioceses of Pontus, Asia, and Thrace, the metropolitans only, and also those bishops of these dioceses who are among the barbarians, shall be ordained by the aforesaid most holy throne of the most holy church of Constantinople. Every metropolitan of these dioceses, together with the bishops of his province, ordains the bishops of his own province, as the divine canons have declared. But, as has been said above, the metropolitans of these dioceses shall be ordained by the archbishop of Constantinople, after the proper elections have been held according to custom and have been reported to him. [h]

Canon 29. It is sacrilege to bring a bishop down to the rank of a presbyter. But if bishops are removed for just cause from the functions of a bishop, they ought not to hold the position of a presbyter either; and if they have been displaced without any charge against them, they shall be restored to the dignity of a bishop. [l]

And Anatolius, the most reverend archbishop of Constantinople, said: “If those who are said to have been brought down from the dignity of a bishop to the order of presbyter have indeed been condemned for some sufficient cause, clearly they are not worthy of the honor of a presbyter either. But if they have been forced down into the lower rank without just cause, then, if they appear guiltless, they are worthy to receive again both the dignity and the priesthood of a bishop.” [m] And all the most reverend bishops cried out: “The judgment of the fathers is right! We all say the same! The fathers have decided justly! Let the sentence of the archbishops prevail!” And the most magnificent and glorious judges said: “Let the pleasure of the holy synod be established for all time!”

Canon 30. The most religious bishops of Egypt have for the present put off signing the letter of the most holy Archbishop Leo. This is not because they oppose the catholic faith, but because they declare that it is the custom in the Egyptian diocese to do no such thing without the consent and order of their archbishop, and they ask to be excused until the ordination of the new bishop of the metropolis of Alexandria. So it has seemed to us reasonable and kind that this concession should be made to them, and that they should remain in the imperial city, keeping their official standing, until the archbishop of the metropolis of Alexandria has been ordained. [n]

And the most religious bishop Paschasinus, representative of the apostolic throne of Rome, said: [p] “If your authority proposes and commands that any leniency be shown to them, let them give security that they will not leave this city until the city of Alexandria receives a bishop.” And the most magnificent and glorious judges, and the whole senate, said: [q] “Let the sentence of the most holy Paschasinus be confirmed. “And so let the most religious bishops of the Egyptians remain in their official standing, either giving security, if they can, or being bound by the obligation of an oath.”