Nicea (Iznik) Acts 27:5-6
A recommendation to summon an Ecumenical Councils, in order to
correct the iconoclast heretics, had been addressed to Empress
Irene, then acting as regent for her son Emperor Constantine VI
(780-797) who was still a minor, both by Patriarch Paul IV of
Constantinople (who had repented of his earlier iconoclast views)
before his abdication from the see in 784 and by his successor as
patriarch, Tarasius. The aim was to unite the church and to condemn
the decrees passed by the council of 338 bishops held at Hiereia and
St Mary of Blachernae in 754.
The convocation of the council was announced to Pope Hadrian I
(772-795) in a letter of Constantine VI and Irene, dated 29 August
784. They urged him either to attend in person or to send legates.
Patriarch Tarasius sent the same message in synodal letters to the
pope and the three eastern patriarchs. Pope Hadrian I gave his
approval for the convocation of the council, stipulating various
conditions, and sent as his legates the archpriest Peter and Peter,
abbot of the Greek monastery of St. Sabas in Rome.
The council, which was summoned by an imperial edict in the summer
of 786, met for the first time on 1 August 786, in the presence of
Emperor Constantine and Empress Irene. When the proceedings were
interrupted by the violent entry of iconoclast soldiers, faithful to
the memory of Emperor Constantine V (741-775), the council was
adjourned until the arrival of a reliable army under
Staurakios. It assembled again at Nicea on 24 September 787, the
papal legates having been recalled from Sicily.
After the bishops suspected of heresy had been admitted, 263 fathers
embraced the doctrine concerning the cult of sacred images as
explained in the letters of Pope Hadrian I, which were read out at
the second session. The question of the intercession of saints was
dealt with in the fourth session. Once all these matters had been
approved, a doctrinal definition was decreed at the seventh session.
At the eighth and last session, which was held at the request of
Constantine and Irene in the Magnaura palace in Constantinople, the
definition was again decreed and proclaimed and 22 canons were read
out. The papal legates presided over the council and were the first
to sign the acts; but in reality it was Patriarch Tarasius who
presided, and it was he, at the command of the council, who informed
Pope Hadrian I about it: "the occasion when the letters of your
fraternal holiness were read out and all acclaimed them".
Pope Hadrian I wrote no letter in reply, yet the defense he made of
the council in 794 against Charlemagne shows that he accepted what
the council had decreed, and that he had sent no acknowledgement
because the concessions which he had requested in his letter of 26
October 785 to Constantine and Irene had not been granted to him,
especially concerning the restoration of the papacy's patrimony to
the state at which it had been prior to 731, that is, before
Illyricum
had been confiscated by the emperor Leo III. Emperor Constantine VI
and his mother Irene signed the acts of the council but it is
unclear whether or not they promulgated a decree on the matter.
The translation is from the Greek text, since this is the more
authoritative version. {Material in curly parentheses ,{ },
paragraphing, italicizing and bolding, are added by the hypertext
editor. The material in square brackets [ ] is found in the hardcopy
book from which the translation was taken.}
Definition The holy, great and universal synod, by the grace of God
and by order of our pious and Christ-loving emperor and empress,
Constantine and his mother Irene, assembled for the second time in
the famous metropolis of the Nicaeans in the province of the
Bithynians, in the holy church of God named after Wisdom, following
the tradition of the catholic church has decreed what is here laid
down. {The council bases itself on the inspiration of Tradition & of
itself}
The one who granted us the light of recognizing him, the one who
redeemed us from the darkness of idolatrous insanity, Christ our
God, when he took for his bride his holy catholic church, having no
blemish or wrinkle, promised he would guard her and assured his holy
disciples saying, I am with you every day until the consummation of
this age. This promise however he made not only to them but also to
us, who thanks to them have come to believe in his name. To this
gracious offer some people paid no attention, being hoodwinked by
the treacherous foe they abandoned the true line of reasoning, and
setting themselves against the tradition of the catholic church they
faltered in their grasp of the truth.
As the proverbial saying puts it, they turned askew the axles of
their farm carts and gathered no harvest in their hands. Indeed they
had the effrontery to criticize the beauty pleasing to God
established in the holy monuments; they were priests in name, but
not in reality. They were those of whom God calls out by prophecy,
Many pastors have destroyed my vine, they have defiled my portion.
For they followed unholy men and trusting to their own frenzies they
calumniated the holy church, which Christ our God has espoused to
they failed to distinguish the holy from the profane, asserting that
the icons of our Lord and of his saints were no different from the
wooden
images of satanic idols.
Therefore the Lord God, not bearing that what was subject to him
should be destroyed by such a corruption, has by his good pleasure
summoned us together through the divine diligence and decision of
Constantine and Irene, our faithful emperor and empress, we who are
those responsible for the priesthood everywhere, in order that the
divinely inspired tradition of the catholic church should receive
confirmation by a public decree. So having made investigation with
all accuracy and having taken counsel, setting for our aim the
truth, we neither diminish nor augment, but simply guard intact all
that pertains to the catholic church. {Recapitulation and
re-affirmation of everything taught by any previous ecumenical
council}
Thus, following the six holy universal synods, in the first place
that assembled in the famous metropolis of the Nicaeans {{1}Nicea
I}, and then that held after it in the imperial, God-guarded city:
{i.e. {2} Constantinople I} We believe in one God ...[the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed follows]. We abominate and
anathematize - Arius and those who think like him and share in his
mad error; also Macedonius and those with him, properly called the
Pneumatomachi; we also confess our Lady, the holy Mary, to be really
and truly the God-bearer, because she gave birth in the flesh to
Christ, one of the Trinity, our God, just as the first synod at {3}
Ephesus decreed; it also expelled from the church Nestorius and
those with him, because they were introducing a duality of persons.
Along with these synods, we also confess the two natures of the one
who became incarnate for our sake from the God-bearer without
blemish, Mary the ever-virgin, recognizing that he is perfect God
and perfect man, as the synod at {4} Chalcedon also proclaimed, when
it drove from the divine precinct the foul-mouthed Eutyches and
Dioscorus. We reject along with them Severus Peter and their
interconnected band with their many blasphemies, in whose company we
anathematize the mythical speculations of Origen, Evagrius and
Didymus, as did the fifth synod, that assembled at {5}
Constantinople. Further we declare that there are two wills and
principles of action, in accordance with what is proper to each of
the natures in Christ, in the way that the sixth synod, that at {6}
Constantinople, proclaimed, when it also publicly rejected Sergius,
Honorius, Cyprus, Pyrrhus, Macarius, those uninterested in true
holiness, and their likeminded followers
To summarize, we declare that we defend free from any innovations
all the written and unwritten ecclesiastical traditions that have
been entrusted to us. {Council formulates for the first time what
the Church has always believed regarding icons}
One of these is the production of representational art; this is
quite in harmony with the history of the spread of the gospel, as it
provides confirmation that the becoming man of the Word of God was
real and not just imaginary, and as it brings us a similar benefit.
For, things that mutually illustrate one another undoubtedly possess
one another's message.
Given this state of affairs and stepping out as though on the royal
highway, following as we are the God-spoken teaching of our holy
fathers and the tradition of the catholic church for-- we recognize
that this tradition comes from the holy Spirit who dwells in her--
we decree with full precision and care that, like the figure of the
honored and life-giving cross, the revered and holy images, whether
painted or made of mosaic or of other suitable material, are to be
exposed in the holy churches of God, on sacred instruments and
vestments, on walls and panels, in houses and by public ways, these
are the images of our Lord, God and savior, Jesus Christ, and of our
Lady without blemish, the holy God-bearer, and of he revered angels
and of any of the saintly holy men.
The more frequently they are seen in representational art, the more
are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who
serve as models, and to pay these images the tribute of salutation
and respectful veneration. Certainly this is not the full adoration
{latria} in accordance with our faith, which is properly paid only
to the divine nature, but it resembles that given to the figure of
the honored and life-giving cross, and also to the holy books of the
gospels and to other sacred cult objects. Further, people are drawn
to honor these images with the offering of incense and lights, as
was piously established by ancient custom. Indeed, the honor paid to
an image traverses it, reaching the model, and he who venerates the
image, venerates the person represented in that image.
So it is that the teaching of our holy fathers is strengthened,
namely, the tradition of the catholic church which has received the
gospel from one end of the earth to the other. So it is that we
really follow St. Paul, who spoke in Christ, and the entire divine
apostolic group and the holiness of the fathers, clinging fast to
the traditions which we have received. So it is that we sing out
with the prophets the hymns of victory to the church: Rejoice
exceedingly O daughter of Zion, proclaim O daughter of Jerusalem;
enjoy your happiness and gladness with a full heart. The Lord has
removed away from you the injustices of your enemies, you have been
redeemed from the hand of your foes. The Lord the king is in your
midst, you will never more see evil, and peace will be upon you for
time eternal.
Therefore all those who dare to think or teach anything different,
or who follow the accursed heretics in rejecting ecclesiastical
traditions, or who devise innovations, or who spurn anything
entrusted to the church (whether it be the gospel or the figure of
the cross or any example of representational art or any martyr's
holy relic), or who fabricate perverted and evil prejudices against
cherishing any of the lawful traditions of the catholic church, or
who secularize the sacred objects and saintly monasteries, we order
that they be suspended if they are bishops or clerics, and
excommunicated if they are monks or lay people Anathemas concerning
holy images.
1.If anyone does not confess that Christ our God can be represented
in his humanity, let him be anathema.
2.If anyone does not accept representation in art of evangelical
scenes, let him be anathema.
3.If anyone does not salute such representations as standing for the
Lord and his saints, let him be anathema.
4.If anyone rejects any written or unwritten tradition of the
church, let him be anathema.
CANONS
1.For those to whom the priestly dignity is allotted, the
guide-lines contained in the canonical regulations are testimonies
and directives. We accept them gladly and sing out to the Lord God
with David, the revealer of God: In the path of your testimonies I
have taken delight, as with all manner of wealth; and, You have
enjoined justice, your testimonies are for ever; instruct me to give
me life. And if the prophetic voice orders us for all eternity to
observe the messages of God and to live in them, it is obvious that
they remain unshakeable and immoveable; thus Moses, who looked on
God, declares, To these there is no addition, and from these there
is no subtraction. The divine apostle takes pride in them when he
cries out, These things which the angels long to gaze upon, and, If
an angel brings you a gospel contrary to what you have received, let
him be accursed. Since these things really are such and have been
testified to us in these ways, we exult in them as a person would if
he were to come across a great mass of booty. We joyfully embrace
the sacred canons and we maintain complete and unshaken their
regulation, both those expounded by those trumpets of the Spirit,
the apostles worthy of all praise, and those from the six holy
universal synods and from the synods assembled locally for the
promulgation of such decrees, and from our holy fathers. Indeed all
of these, enlightened by one and the same Spirit, decreed what is
expedient. In the case of those whom they sent away under an
anathema, we also anathematize them, those whom they suspended, we
also suspend; those whom they excommunicated, we also excommunicate;
those whom they placed under penalties, we also deal with in the
same way. Let your conduct be free from avariciousness, contenting
yourself with what you have, cried out with all explicitness the
divine apostle St. Paul, who mounted to the third heaven and heard
words that cannot be uttered.
2. Since we make an undertaking before God as we sing, I shall
meditate on your judgments, I shall not neglect your words, it is
essential to our salvation that every Christian should observe these
things, but more especially those who have been invested with
priestly dignity. Therefore we decree that everyone who is to be
advanced to the grade of bishop should have a thorough knowledge of
the psalter, in order that he may instruct all the clergy
subordinate to him, to be initiated in that book. He should also be
examined without fail by the metropolitan to see if he is willing to
acquire knowledge--a knowledge that should be searching and not
superficial--of the sacred canons, the holy gospel, the book of the
divine apostle, and all divine scripture; also if he is willing to
conduct himself and teach the people entrusted to him according to
the divine commandments.
"The substance of our hierarchy are the words handed down from God",
that is to say, the true knowledge of the divine scriptures, as the
great Dionysius made plain. If someone is doubtful and ill at ease
with such conduct and teaching, let him not be ordained. For God
said through the prophet: You rejected knowledge, and I shall reject
you, so that you may not serve me in a priestly function.
3. Any election of a bishop, priest or deacon brought about by the
rulers is to be null and void in accordance with the canon that
says: "If any bishop, through the influence of secular rulers,
acquires responsibility for a church because of them, let him be
suspended and let all those who are in communion with him be
excommunicated".
It is necessary that the person who is to be advanced to a bishopric
should be elected by bishops, as has been decreed by the holy
fathers at Nicea in the canon that says: "It is by all means
desirable that a bishop should be appointed by all [the bishops] in
the province. But if this is difficult because of some pressing
necessity or the length of the journey involved, let at least three
come together and perform the ordination, but only after the absent
bishops have taken part in the vote and given their written consent.
But in each province the right of confirming the proceedings belongs
to the metropolitan".
4. The herald of the truth, St. Paul, the divine apostle, laying
down a sort of rule for the presbyters of Ephesus, or rather for the
whole priestly order, declared firmly: I have not coveted silver or
gold or anybody's clothing; I have made completely plain to you that
it is by working in this fashion that we should provide for the weak
being convinced that it is blessed to give. Therefore we also,
having been taught by him, decree that a bishop should never have
any sort of design on foul profit, inventing excuses for his sins,
nor demand any gold or silver or anything similar from the bishops,
clerics and monks subject to him. For the apostle says: The unjust
will not inherit the kingdom of God; and, It is not children who
should heap up treasures for their parents, but parents for their
children.
So if it is discovered that somebody, because of a demand for gold
or something similar, or because of some private infatuation of his
own, has excluded from the liturgy or excommunicated one of the
clerics under his authority, or has closed off one of the holy
churches, preventing the celebration of God's liturgies in it,
pouring out his own madness against insensible things, then he is
truly senseless himself and he should be subjected to suffer what he
would inflict and the penalty imposed by him will turn upon his own
head, because he has transgressed both the law of God and the
rulings of the apostles. For Peter also, the spokesman of the
apostles, urges: Be pastors to the flock of God entrusted to you,
not under compulsion, but willingly as pleasing to God, not for
sordid gain but with enthusiasm, not as men who lord it over those
entrusted to you, but as being models for the flock. Then when the
chief shepherd is disclosed, you will carry off the imperishable
crown of glory.
5. It is a sin leading to death when sinners remain uncorrected, but
still worse is it when people flaunt their sin as they override
holiness and truth, both preferring mammon to obedience to God and
neglecting his legally formulated instructions. The Lord God is not
present among such persons unless they humbly turn from their fault.
Their duty is to approach God with a contrite heart and implore his
forgiveness for their sin and his pardon, rather than to take pride
in an unholy distribution of gifts: For the Lord is close to the
contrite of heart. Therefore in the case of those who boast that
they have been appointed in the church by distributing gifts of
gold, and who pin their hopes on this evil custom, which alienates a
person from God and from all priesthood, and who take this as a
reason for deriding quite shamelessly and openly those who have been
chosen by the holy Spirit and appointed for the virtue of their
lives, without any distribution of gifts of gold, when they first do
this each should take the lowest rank in his order, and if they
persist they should be corrected with a penalty.
If someone is found to have done this at any time in connection with
an ordination, let matters proceed in accordance with the apostolic
canon which says: "If some bishop or priest or deacon has obtained
his dignity by means of money, let him and the person who performed
the ordination be suspended, and let them be excluded completely
from the communion, as Simon Magus was by me, Peter".
Similarly, in accordance with canon 2 of our holy fathers at
Chalcedon, which says "If any bishop performs an ordination for
money and puts the unsaleable grace on sale, and ordains for money a
bishop, a chorepiscopus, a presbyter or deacons or some others of
those numbered among the clergy; or appoints a manager, a legal
officer or a warden for money, or any other ecclesiastic at all for
personal sordid gain; let him who has attempted this and been
convicted stand to lose his personal rank, and let the person
ordained profit nothing from the ordination or appointment he has
bought; but let him be removed from the dignity or responsibility
which he got for money. And if anyone appears to have acted even as
a go-between in such disgraceful and unlawful dealings, let him too,
if he is a cleric, be demoted from his personal rank, and if he is a
lay person or a monk, let him be anathematized".
6. Although there is indeed a canon which says, "In each province
the canonical investigations should take place twice yearly by means
of a gathering of the bishops", because of the trouble and because
those attending the meetings lack the resources for such journeys,
the holy fathers of the sixth synod decreed "they should be held in
any case and despite all excuses, once a year, and all that is
incorrect should be put right". We also renew this canon, and should
a ruler be found who prevents its observance, let him be
excommunicated; however if one of the metropolitan bishops neglects
its fulfillment, let him be subject to canonical penalties, unless
it is a case of necessity, constraint or some other reasonable
cause.
When such a synod is held to discuss canonical and evangelical
matters, the gathered bishops should pay particular care and
attention to the divine and life-giving laws of God: There is a
great reward for their observance; for a law is a lamp, a regulation
is a light, and reproof and discipline are the path of life indeed
the law of the Lord gives light to the eyes. However, the
metropolitan bishop does not have the right to demand anything that
a bishop may have brought with him, such as a beast or some other
thing; and if he is convicted of doing so, let him pay back
fourfold.
7. The divine apostle St. Paul said: The sins of some people are
manifest, those of others appear later. Some sins take the front
rank but others follow in their footsteps. Thus in the train of the
impious heresy of the defamers of Christians, many other impieties
appeared. Just as those heretics removed the sight of venerable
icons from the church, they also abandoned other customs, which
should now be renewed and which should be in vigor in virtue of both
written and unwritten legislation. Therefore we decree that in
venerable churches consecrated without relics of the holy martyrs,
the installation of relics should take place along with the usual
prayers. And if in future any bishop is found out consecrating a
church without relics, let him be deposed as someone who has flouted
the ecclesiastical traditions.
8. Since some of those who come from the religion of the Hebrews
mistakenly think to make a mockery of Christ who is God, pretending
to become Christians, but denying Christ in private by both secretly
continuing to observe the sabbath and maintaining other Jewish
practices, we decree that they shall not be received to communion or
at prayer or into the church, but rather let them openly be Hebrews
according to their own religion; they should not baptize their
children or buy, or enter into possession of, a slave. But if one of
them makes his conversion with a sincere faith and heart, and
pronounces his confession wholeheartedly, disclosing their practices
and objects in the hope that others may be refuted and corrected,
such a person should be welcomed and baptized along with his
children, and care should be taken that they abandon Hebrew
practices. However if they are not of this sort, they should
certainly not be welcomed.
9. All those childish baubles and bacchic rantings, the false
writings composed against the venerable icons, should be given in at
the episcopal building in Constantinople, so that they can be put
away along with other heretical books. If someone is discovered to
be hiding such books, if he is a bishop, priest or deacon, let him
be suspended, and if he is a lay person or a monk, let him be
excommunicated.
10. As some clerics, who despise the canonical ordinance, abandon
their own dioceses and run off into other dioceses--something that
happens with special frequency in this imperial, God-guarded
city--and there they lodge with rulers, celebrating the liturgy in
their chapels, let it not be permitted for them to be received in
any house or church without the approval of their own bishop and
that of the bishop of Constantinople. If they do so and persist
therein, they are to be suspended. In the case of those who do this
with the approval of the above-mentioned prelates, it is not
permitted for them to assume worldly and secular responsibilities,
since they are forbidden to do so by the sacred canons; and if
someone is misled into occupying himself with the responsibility of
the so-called high stewards, he is to desist or be suspended. Rather
let him busy himself with the teaching of the children and servants,
lecturing them on the divine scriptures because it is for such
activity that he received the priesthood.
11. Since we are obliged to observe all the sacred canons, we ought
also to maintain in all its integrity the one that says that there
should be administrators in each church. Therefore if each
metropolitan bishop installs an administrator in his own church,
that is well and good; but if not, the bishop of Constantinople on
his own authority has the right to appoint one over the other's
church, and similarly with metropolitan bishops, if the bishops
under them do not choose administrators to hold these posts in their
own churches. The same rule is also to be observed with respect to
monasteries.
12. If it is discovered that a bishop or a monastic superior is
transferring episcopal or monastic farmland to the control of the
ruler, or has been conceding it to another person, the transaction
is null and void in accordance with the canon of the holy apostles
which stipulates: "Let the bishop take care of all ecclesiastical
affairs, and let him administer them as if under God's inspection.
It is not permitted him to appropriate any of these things, nor to
make a present of the things of God to his own relatives. Should the
latter be poor, let him care for them as for other poor people, but
let him not use them as an excuse for selling off the church's
possessions." However, if he pretends that the land is a loss and
brings in no profit at all, let him make a present of the place to
clerics or land workers, but even in these circumstances it should
not be given to the local rulers. If they use evil cunning and the
ruler buys up the land from the land worker or the cleric in
question, this sale shall also be null and void in such
circumstances, and the land should be restored to the bishopric or
monastery. And the bishop or monastic superior who acts thus should
be expelled, the bishop from the episcopal house and the monastic
superior from the monastery, because they wickedly waste what they
have not gathered.
13. On account of the disaster which came about in the churches due
to our sins certain venerable houses--episcopal buildings as well as
monasteries--were seized by certain men and became public inns. Now
if those who hold them choose to restore them, so that they are
established once more as formerly they were, this is good and
excellent. However if such is not the case, should they be inscribed
in the list of priests, we order that they be suspended, and if they
are monks or lay persons, that they be excommunicated, seeing that
they are criminals condemned by the Father, the Son and the holy
Spirit, and let them be assigned there where the worm does not die
and the fire is not quenched, because they oppose the voice of the
Lord declaring, You shall not make my Father's house a house of
trade.
14. It is perfectly clear to everyone that a certain order has been
established in the priesthood, and that it is God's good pleasure
that the appointment to priestly offices should be observed with
care. However we have noticed that some, without the imposition of
hands, are adopting the clerical tonsure while still youngsters, and
without having received the imposition of hands from the bishop they
are undertaking to read publicly from the ambo during the church
service, even though they are acting uncanonically. We urge
therefore that this be discontinued, and that the same regulation be
observed among monks. Each monastic superior has permission for the
imposition of hands on a reader for his own monastery, and only for
that monastery, provided that the monastic superior has himself
received from the bishop the imposition of hands to rule there,
andobviously provided that he is himself a priest. Similarly it is
an ancient custom that chorepiscopi, with the permission of the
bishop, should appoint readers.
15. From now on, no cleric should be appointed to office in two
churches. Such a procedure savors of commerce and sordid
profit-making, and is quite foreign to hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
Therefore, following the advice of the apostle, Each should stay
where he has been called, and remain in one church. In
ecclesiastical matters, whatever is done for the sake of sordid gain
constitutes something alien to God. But as far asecclesiastical
custom. We have learned from the Lord's own voice: No one can serve
two masters, because either he will the needs of this present life
are concerned, there are various gainful occupations; each may use
these, as he prefers, to procure what is needed for the body. As the
apostle said: These hands of mine have provided for my own needs and
for the persons accompanying me. These are the regulations for this
God-protected city; for what concerns places in the country, a
concession may be granted because of the lack of population.
16. All indulgence and adornment bestowed on the body is alien to
the priestly order. Therefore all those bishops and clerics who deck
themselves out in brilliant and showy clothes should be called to
order, and if they persist let them be punished. The same holds for
those who use perfumes. However, since the root of bitterness has
sprouted, there has appeared in the catholic church the plague of a
heresy which delights in the defamation of Christians. Those who
adopt this heresy not only heap insults on representational art, but
also reject all forms of reverence and make a mockery of those who
live pious and holy lives, thus fulfilling in their own regard that
saying of scripture, For the sinner piety is an abomination. So if
persons are found who make fun of those who wear simple and
respectful clothing, they should be corrected with punishment.
Indeed, from the earliest times all those ordained to the priesthood
have been accustomed to present themselves in public dressed in
modest and respectful clothing, and anyone who adds to his apparel
for the sake of decoration and not out of necessity deserves, as the
great Basil remarked, to be accused of "vainglory". Neither did
anyone dress in variegated clothes made of silk, nor did they add
various colored ornaments to the fringes of their garments. They had
heard the tongue that spoke God's words declare, Those who dress in
soft clothes are in the houses of kings.
17. Some monks abandon their own monasteries because they desire to
be in authority and disdain obeying others, and then they attempt to
found houses of prayer, although they lack adequate resources. If
somebody undertakes to do this, let him be prevented by the local
bishop. If someone possesses adequate resources, however, his plans
should be brought to completion. The same ruling holds for both
laity and clerics.
18. Be irreproachable even for those outside, says the divine
apostle. Now for women to live in the houses of bishops or in
monasteries is a cause for every sort of scandal. Therefore if
anybody is discovered to be keeping a woman, whether a slave or
free, in the bishop's house or in a monastery in order to undertake
some service, let him be censured, and if he persists let him be
deposed. Should it happen that women are living in the suburban
residence and the bishop or monastic superior wishes to journey
there, no woman should be allowed to undertake any sort of work
during the time that the bishop or monastic superior is present; she
should stay on her own in some other area until the bishop has
retired, in order to avoid all possible criticism.
19. The blight of avarice has spread to such an extent among
ecclesiastical authorities that even some so called pious men and
women, forgetting the Lord's commands, have been tricked into
authorizing, for the sake of cash payments, the entry of those
presenting themselves for the priestly order and the monastic life.
Thus it happens, as the great Basil says, "when people begin
wrongly, all they do is to be rejected", for it is not possible to
serve God through mammon. So, if somebody is found out to be doing
this, if he is a bishop or a male monastic superior or one of the
priests, let him stop or be deposed, in accordance with canon 2 of
the holy Council of Chalcedon. If the person is a female monastic
superior, let her be expelled from the monastery and put under
obedience in another monastery, and similarly for a male monastic
superior who has not received priestly ordination. With regard to
gifts given by parents under the concept of dowries for their
children, or with regard to the personally acquired goods that the
latter present provided that those presenting them declare that
these are gifts offered to God, we have decreed that these gifts are
to remain in the monastery, whether the person stays or leaves, in
accordance with their explicit undertaking, unless there is a
reprehensible cause on the part of the person in charge.
20. We decree that from now on no more double monasteries are to be
started because this becomes a cause of scandal and a stumbling
block for ordinary folk. If there are persons who wish to renounce
the world and follow the monastic life along with their relatives,
the men should go off to a male monastery and their wives enter a
female monastery, for God is surely pleased with this. The double
monasteries that have existed up to now should continue to exist
according to the rule of our holy father Basil, and their
constitutions should follow his ordinances. Monks and nuns should
not live in one monastic building, because adultery takes advantage
of such cohabitation. No monk should have the license to speak in
private with a nun, nor any nun with a monk. A monk should not sleep
in a female monastery, nor should he eat alone with a nun. When the
necessary nourishment is being carried from the male area for the
nuns, the female superior, accompanied by one of the older nuns,
should receive it outside the door. And if it should happen that a
monk wishes to pay a visit to one of his female relatives, let him
speak with her in the presence of the female superior, but briefly
and rapidly, and let him leave her quickly.
21. It is not right for a monk or a nun to leave his or her own
monastery and transfer to another. However should this occur, it is
obligatory that hospitality be given but such a person should not be
accepted as a member without the agreement of his or her monastic
superior.
22. It is very important to dedicate everything to God and not to
become slaves of our own desires; for whether you eat or drink, the
divine apostle says, do all for the glory of God. Now Christ our God
has instructed us in his gospels to eradicate the beginnings of
sins. So not only adultery is rebuked by him, but also the movement
of one's intention towards the performance of adultery, when he
says: He who looks on a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart. Thus instructed we should purify our
intentions: For if all things are lawful, not all things are
expedient, as we learn from the words of the apostle. Now everybody
is certainly obliged to eat in order to live, and in the case of
those whose life includes marriage and children and the conditions
proper to lay folk it is not reprehensible that men and women should
eat in one another's company; though they should at least say grace
to thank the giver of their nourishment, and they should avoid
certain theatrical entertainments, diabolical songs, the strumming
of lyres and the dancing fit for harlots, against all such there is
the curse of the prophet which says, Woe on those who drink their
wine to the sound of lyre and harp, those who pay no attention to
the deeds of the Lord and have never a thought for the works of his
hands. If ever such people are found among Christians , they should
reform, and if they do not, let the canonical sanctions established
by our predecessors be imposed on them. Those whose mode of life is
contemplative and solitary should sit and be silent, because they
have entered into a contract with the Lord that the yoke they carry
will be a solitary one. Indeed, all those who have chosen the life
of priests are certainly not free to eat privately in the company of
women, but at the most in the company of certain God-fearing and
pious men and women, in order that such a meal taken in common may
draw them to spiritual betterment. Let the same be done in the case
of relatives. As for another situation, if a monk or even a man in
priestly orders happens to be making a journey and is not carrying
with him his indispensable provisions, and then wishes to satisfy
his needs in a public inn or in someone's house, he is allowed to do
so when it is a case of pressing necessity.
Biblical Sites in Turkey List