The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

for the 23

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It is divided into 30 titles and has a total of 1546 canons. The western

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

is governed by its own particular code of canons, the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law''.

History of codification

The 23 ''

sui iuris ''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the Catholic Church's canon law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Can ...

'' Churches which collectively make up the

had been invited by the Catholic Church to codify their own particular laws and submit them to the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

so that there may be a full, complete code of all religious law within Eastern Catholicism. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

promulgated the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' on 18 October 1990, by the document ''Sacri Canones''. The code came into force of law on 1 October 1991.

Language

The official language of the canon law common to all the Eastern Catholic Churches (called "common law") is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Although Latin is the language of the

and not of the

Eastern Churches Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

, Latin was chosen as the language of the common law because there is no common language in use among all the Eastern Catholic Churches. The members of these churches use a diversity of languages, including Greek, Arabic, Romanian, Malayalam, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, but no single one of these languages could be used as the language of the common law. Latin was chosen because it has a long history of legal and juridical tradition and was suitable for serving as the common text from which translations could be made.John D. Faris, "Codifications of Eastern Canon Law", in ''A Practical Commentary to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'', ed. John D. Faris & Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., cxxvi.

Emendations

''Ad Tuendam Fidem''

In 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

issued the

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a do ...

Ad Tuendam Fidem ''Ad tuendam fidem'' ( en, To Protect the Faith) is an apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II issued motu proprio on May 18, 1998.John Paul II''Ad tuendam fidem'' accessed Jan-9-2013 The apostolic letter modified the Oriental and Latin codes of c ...

'', which amended two canons (750 and 1371) of the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...

and two canons (598 and 1436) of the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'', so as to add "new norms which expressly impose the obligation of upholding truths proposed in a definitive way by the Magisterium of the Church, and which also establish related canonical sanctions".

''Mitis et Misericors Iesus''

On 15 August 2015,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

issued the motu proprio ''Mitis et Misericors Iesus'' which amended canons 1357-1377 of the CCEO. It reformed the procedures for matrimonial nullity trials and instituted a briefer process.

''Competentias quasdam decernere''

The motu proprio ''Competentias quasdam decernere'' issued 15 February 2022 changed some canons.

Division

The text of the CCEO is divided into 31 sections, 30 titles and a section of preliminary canons.

Preliminary canons

The six preliminary canons deal with scope and continuity, what is affected by the CCEO and how prior legislation and customs shall be handled. Can. 1 The CCEO regards solely the Eastern Catholic Churches unless otherwise mentioned. Can. 2 The CCEO is to be assessed according to the Ancient Laws of the Eastern Churches. Can. 3 The CCEO does not "for the most part legislate on liturgical matters" and therefore the

liturgical books A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic C ...

are to be observed unless contrary to the canons of the CCEO. Can. 4. The CCEO neither degrades or abrogates treaties/pacts entered into by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

with nations and political societies. Therefore, they still have their force, notwithstanding any prescriptions of the CCEO to the contrary.

Churches ''sui iuris'' and rites

church sui iuris ''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the Catholic Church's canon law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Can ...

is "a community of the Christian faithful, which is joined together by a hierarchy according to the norm of law and which is expressly or tacitly recognized as sui iuris by the supreme authority of the Church" (CCEO, can. 27). The term ''sui iuris'' is an innovation of the CCEO, and denotes the relative autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches. This canonical term, pregnant with many juridical nuances, indicates the God-given mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches to preserve their patrimonial autonomous nature. The autonomy of these churches is relative in the sense that they are under the authority of the

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Faris, John D., & Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., eds. ''A Practical Commentary to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'', 2 vols. Montréal: Librairie Wilson & Lafleur, 2019. * Panteleimon Rodopoulos. ''An Overview of Orthodox Canon Law''. Edited by George Dion Dragas. Orthodox Research Institute, 2007.

External links

Codex canonum ecclesiarum orientalium
original text in Latin
"Code of canons of Oriental Churches"
English translation
Text of ''Sacri Canones''
issued by Pope John Paul II at the promulgation of the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Code Of Canons Of The Eastern Churches * Eastern Catholicism Eastern Catholic canon law E *