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| Overview
| Master Page on Eastern Canon Law
The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches is the first integrated code of canon law for the Eastern Catholic Churches. Promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 18 October 1990 and taking force on 1 October 1991, the Eastern Code replaced four motu proprios that had, in part, governed the Eastern Catholic Churches during the second half of the twentieth century (see below). The Eastern Code stands with the Johanno-Pauline Code of 1983 as the primary governing documents of the Catholic Church today.
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| Text of the law | Editio typica (official text)
Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus, AAS 82 (1990) 1033-1363, as amended. Original version of the Eastern Code is on-line here. The current version is on-line here.
Various printed versions of the Eastern Code exist, mostly as part of commentaries on canon law. But see Pontificium Consilium de Legum Textibus Interpretandis, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus, Fontium Annotatione Auctus (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995) 617 pp. ▪ Review: F. McManus, The Jurist 56 (1996) 926-930. Note: Printed versions of the Eastern Code are becoming outdated as more amendments to that text are produced.
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| Translations
| Several translations of the Eastern Code have been authorized but the most common authorized English translation is: Canon Law Society of America, Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Latin-English Edition (Canon Law Society of America, 1992), 785 pp., on-line here. Order hardcopy here. Review: D. Motiuk in Studia Canonica 35 (2001) 537-539. See also George Nednungatt, "The Eastern Code in English Translation: Errata Corrige", The Jurist 51 (1991) 460-501.
Indexes for the Eastern Code: Ivan Žužek (Slovenian Jesuit, 1924-2004), Index Analyticus Codicis Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (Pontificium Institutum Orientalium, 1992) 375 pp. ▪ Reviews: V. Pospishil, The Jurist 54 (1994) 755-756; D. Le Tourneau, Studia Canonica 28 (1994) 273-274. See also Ivan Žužek, "Updated edition of the Index Analyticus Codicis Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium", The Jurist 65 (2005) 205-214.
Rev. Ulrich Rhode links to other vernacular translations of the Eastern Code, here.
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Eastern Code (CLSA) |
| Legislative History of the Eastern Code | aa.vv., "Observations on the 1986 Schema Codicis Iuris Canonici Orientalis", Canon Law Society of America Proceedings 49 (1987) 336-359.
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| Changes to Eastern Code
| Once Eastern codified law is promulgated it can be officially modified in four ways, namely, by:
• textual correction; • textual modification; • authentic interpretation; • authoritative application.
The Eastern Code has experienced all four of these sorts of modifications.
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| Correction | A moderate number of editing and printing errors embarrassed the original publication of the Eastern Code. Information on textual corrections needed for the Eastern Code is now available at Codex Vigens - Eastern Code.
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| Modification
| Modifications of the text of the Code can occur by means of apostolic constitutions, various documents issued 'motu proprio', and dicasterial documents approved 'forma specifica', with the main difference among these being in terms of scope (apostolic constitutions usually addressing wider issues, documents issued 'motu prorio' addressing narrower matters, and those approved 'forma specifica' being the most narrowly cast). Textual emendations of the Code have been issued, directly or indirectly, by all three popes who have reigned under it. but not all apostolic constitutions, documents issued 'motu proprio', or approved 'forma specifica' impact the text of the law. The content of each document must be examined to determine whether it impacts canon law. Information on emendations to the Eastern Code is now available at Codex Vigens - Eastern Code.
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| Authentic Interpretation | Canon 1498 outlines that canonical institution known as an "authentic interpretation". Authentic interpretations of the Eastern Code have been authorized by all three popes who have reigned under it. Information on authentic interpretations of the Eastern Code is now available at Codex Vigens - Eastern Code.
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| Authoritative Application
| "Authoritative application" is my term for an amendment to universal law that does not, strictly speaking, modify the text of the law, nor simply interpret it, nor offer an instruction as to how it should be read, but which nevertheless needs to be observed in the application of the law. Information on official applications of the Eastern Code is now available at Codex Vigens - Eastern Code.
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| Codified law in general, and canon law in particular, make considerable use of private scholarly commentary in the elucidation and application of legal norms. The weight to be accorded a given opinion depends less on who authored the opinion and more on the care and completeness with which the views are expressed. As a general rule, however, and subject to several qualifications, opinions appearing in academic monographs are the most respected, followed by opinions appearing in scholarly articles, followed by those appearing elsewhere. Each of these categories admits of sub-categorization.
Among important commentaries on modern Eastern Canon Law are:
• J. Faris & J. Abbass, eds., Practical Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, (Wilson & Lafleur, 2019), in 2 vols. ▪ Review: =.
• Hugo C. Da S. Cavalcante, (Brazilian Benedictine, ≈), Introduçăo ao estudo do Código dos Cânones das Igrejas Orientais [2009], (Fons Sapienta, 2° ed., 2017) 279 pp. تنسيق الأب أنطوان راجح. شروحات مجموعة قوانين الكنائس الشرقية. (مكتبة البولسية ٢٠٠٥) ١٧١٢ صفحات. • that is, Antoine Rajih, ed., Collected Commentaries on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, (Polish Library, 2005) 1712 pp. (Arabic text). ▪ Review: =.
• George Nednungatt (Indian Jesuit, 1932-), A Guide to the Eastern Code: a Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (Pontificio Istituo Orientale, 2002) 976 pp. ▪ Order here. Reviews: G. Gallaro, The Jurist 63 (2003) 433-435; D. Motiuk, Studia Canonica 37 (2003) 242-244. ≡ Nednungatt biograph.
• P. Pinto, ed., Commento al Codice dei Canoni delle Chiese Orientali (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001) 1408 pp. ▪ Reviews: J. Faris, Studia Canonica 36 (2002) 259-260; D. Motiuk, The Jurist 63 (2003) 198-199.
• Ivan Žužek (Slovenian Jesuit, 1924-2004), Understanding the Eastern Code (Pontificio Istituto Orientale, 1997) 479 pp. ▪ Review: D. Motiuk, Studia Canonica 33 (1999) 245-248. ≡ Žužek biograph.
• Jobe Abbass (Canadian Conventual of Maronite extraction, 1952-), Two Codes in Comparison (Pontificio Istituto Orientale, 1997) 303 pp. ▪ Reviews: J. Sekellick, The Jurist 57 (1997) 574-575; D. Motiuk, Studia Canonica 32 (1998) 270-272. ≡ Abbass biograph.
• George Nednungatt (Indian Jesuit, 1932-), The Spirit of the Eastern Code (Dharmaram, 1993) 261 pp. ▪ Reviews: D. Motiuk, Studia Canonica 29 (1995) 555-556; J. Faris, The Jurist 55 (1995) 407-409. ≡ Nednungatt biograph.
• Victor Pospishil (Austrian/American priest, 1915-2006), Eastern Catholic Church Law (St. Maron, 1993) 699 pp. ▪ Reviews: D. Motiuk, Studia Canonica 32 (1998) 268-269; J. Renken, The Jurist 51 (1991) 253-255; G. Gallaro, The Jurist 58 (1998) 259-261. ≡ Pospishil biograph.
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| Proto-codifications of Eastern canon law
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The four pre-Conciliar installments of Eastern Canon Law mentioned above were sometimes grouped together and published privately under title Codificatio Iuris Canonici Orientalis I-IV. These collected volumes have no intrinsic authority and are purely exercises in convenience.
Some commentary on these motu proprio was produced, including:
• F. Galtier (French Jesuit, 1893-1962), Le Mariage: Discipline Orientale et Discipline Occidentale [et] La Réforme du 2 Mai 1949, (Université St Joseph de Beyrouth, 1950) 456 pp. ▪ Review: P. Fedele, Ephemerides Iuris Canonici 7 (1951) 93.
• Victor Pospishil (Austrian/American priest, 1915-2006), The Law on Persons, English Translation and Differential Commentary (St. Mary’s Ukraine Catholic Church, 1964) 242 pp. ▪ Review: =. ≡ Pospishil biograph.
• Victor Pospishil (Austrian/American priest, 1915-2006), Interritual Canon Law Problems in the United States and Canada (St. Basil's, 1955) 248 pp. ▪ Review: R. O'Brien, The Jurist 15 (1955) 352-354. ≡ Pospishil biograph.
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| Other | Most pontifical faculties of canon law offer only a basic survey course in Eastern canon law. But, the Faculty of Oriental Canon Law, Piazza S. Maria Maggiore 7, 00185 Rome, ITALY, offers course work leading to a doctorate in Eastern canon law, the J.C.O.D. In addition, the Faculty of Oriental Law, Dharmabam Vidya Kshetvam, offers a "diploma" in Eastern canon law.
A broader history of Eastern Canon Law and some related issues is available here:
• W. Hartmann & K. Pennington, eds., The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500, (CUA Press, 2012) 356 pp.
• Irenée-Henri Dalmais (French Dominican, 1914-2006), Eastern Liturgies [1959], (Hawthorn, 1960) 144 pp., Attwater trans of Dalmais, Les Liturgies d'Orient.
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| User notes | There might be editions of works that pre-date or post-date those cited herein. Reviews and Notes are grey-highlighted, on-line biographical information is underlined blue-linked, and matters in green highlights are of special interest. Yellow highlights are cautions for users, while the markers "=", "≠", and "≈" are placeholders for use by webmaster. |
| | Materials on this website represent the opinions of Dr. Edward Peters and are offered in accord with Canon 212 § 3. This website undergoes continual refinement and development. No warranty of completeness or correctness is made. Dr. Peters' views are not necessarily shared by others in the field nor are they intended as canonical or civil advice.
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| Staging | Victor Pospishil (Austrian/American priest, 1915-2006) & John Faris (American Maronite priest, 1951-), The New Code of Canon Law and Eastern Catholics (St. Maron, 1984) 49 pp. ▪ Review: P. Scarcella, The Jurist 45 (1985) 349-351.
Warren Soule (= Dominican,= ), Eastern Canon Law Bibliography, (St. Maron, rev. ed., 1994) 45 pp. ▪ Review: T. Green in The Jurist 45 (1985) 756-758.
aa.vv., Codigo de Canones de las Iglesia Orientales: Edicion Bilinguë Comentada, (Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1994) 685 pp. ▪ Review: T. Green in The Jurist 55 (1995) 405-407. Notes: The following canonists contributed to this work: =.
René Metz, Le nouveau droit des Églises orientales catholiques (Edition du Cerf, 1997) 239 pp. ▪ Review: J. Khoury in Studia Canonica 32 (1998) 561.
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