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The Apostolic Canons were a long considered a tradition of the church because they were dictate directly from the Twelve Apostles of Christ to the St. Clement of Rome.
The first of the Early Church Fathers, St. Clement of Rome is thought to have been a Roman Gentile. It was in Philippi that he met St Paul in A.D. 57 and became a minister to both the apostles and the early faithful of the church. St. Clement is believed to have received the Apostolic Canons directly from the twelve apostles and written them down for posterities sake. He served as a co-presbyter aside the second and third popes’, Pope Linus (Pope from 67-76-88 A.D.) and Pope Cletus (Pope from 76-88 A.D). , who succeeded St. Peter as first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (Pope from 64 – 67 A.D). Apostolic ConstitutionsThe Apostolic Canons can be found in the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions, the Seventh Volume of Ante-Nicene Fathers in the Writings of the Early Church Fathers. There are two different versions, a Latin version containing fifty and the other eighty-five actual Canons. In the Western Church, these first fifty are considered to be authoritative while in the Eastern Church – including the Orthodoxies of Greece, Egypt and Russia – all eighty-five are considered to be official church teaching. The PhilokaliaMany people do not realize that the writings of the Early Church Fathers are not the only surviving compilation of written works from the time of the early church. The Philokalia contains the remaining writings of the Early Desert Fathers of the Church and is highly utilized in the Eastern Orthodox Traditions. Apostolic CanonsUp until the sixteenth century, the Apostolic Canons were given great authority with such esteemed supporters as the Council of Ephesus, Theodosius and St. Justinian. St. John Damascene gave them equality in authority to that of the New Testament. But during the 16th century, they lost favor with many in the church after critical examination even though few debate the authenticity of the Canons. The debate concerns the place they should hold within the Church. An ancient manuscript discovered in Constantinople, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, re-opened the debate in recent years although it did not contain an original copy of the Apostolic Canons but discussed them with great authority. The volume was published in 1883 and bears a great resemblance to the Apostolic Canons themselves. The historicity of this codex seems to provide another source from the period which gives credibility to authenticate the original Canons. Contents of the Apostolic CanonsAlthough seventy six out of the eighty Apostolic Canons contain exhortations to the clery, their ordination and the proper exercise of their office, there are a few sections relating to the moral law as applied to laypersons. These Canons are listed under ‘General Commandments’ and include admonitions regarding covetousness, revenge, vanity, judgment, scriptural reading, the avoidance of non-authorized books, concerning bad women, subjection of wives to their husbands, modesty and others. Sources: Writings of the Early Church Fathers, A Catholic Dictionary – By William Addis, The Lives of the Popes – By Richard P. McBrien
The copyright of the article Apostolic Canons in Catholicism is owned by Marilynn Hughes. Permission to republish Apostolic Canons in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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