Theodore Balsamon ( el, Θεόδωρος Βαλσαμῶν) was a
canonist
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 ...
of the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
and 12th-century
Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
The patriarch of Antioch is one of the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, the leader of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The term "Greek" does not refer to ethnic origin; the majority of these patriarchs were not ethnic Greeks. It r ...
.
Biography
Born in the second half of the 12th century at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
; died there, after 1195 (Petit). He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
, appointed ''
nomophylax The ''nomophylax'' ( el, νομοφύλαξ, "guardian of the laws") was a senior Byzantine judicial office of the 11th–15th centuries.
History
The office of ''nomophylax'' was established by Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055) eit ...
'', and from 1178 to 1183, under Patriarch
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, he had charge of all ecclesiastical trials or cases submitted to the Patriarchate. In 1193 he became the
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...
, though he remained resident in Constantinople.
[
Balsamon's best work is his "]Scholia
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
" (Greek: Σχόλια) (c. 1170), a commentary on the Nomocanon
A nomocanon ( gr, Νομοκανών, ; from the Greek 'law' and 'a rule') is a collection of ecclesiastical law, consisting of the elements from both the civil law and the canon law. Nomocanons form part of the canon law of the Eastern Cathol ...
of Photios
Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
, the standard work on Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical and imperial laws and decrees, commissioned by the Emperor Manuel I Manuel I may refer to:
*Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180)
*Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263)
*Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...
and the Patriarch Michael III
Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...
.[J.M. Hussey, ''the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire'' (Oxford, 1986), p. 307.] In his "Scholia", Balsamon insists on existing laws, and dwells on the relation between canons and laws — ecclesiastical and civil constitutions — giving precedence to the former. Balsamon also compiled a collection of ecclesiastical constitutions ('' Syntagma'') and wrote other works, many of which concern the ongoing debate between the Eastern and Western Churches following the schism of 1054. Two of his letters were published: one treating of fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
, the other on the admission of novices
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience.
Religion Buddhism
...
into monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
.[
]
Legacy
Theodore's legacy is that he preserved the world's knowledge of many otherwise unknown source documents from early Byzantine political and theological history. His commentaries are still referenced to this day by students of Eastern Orthodox canon law
The canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church consists of the ecclesiastical regulations recognised by the authorities of the Eastern Orthodox Church, together with the discipline, study, and practice of Eastern Orthodox jurisprudence.
In the Ea ...
. Theodore also standardized the liturgical practices in usage in the Antiochian Church, to adopt the Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople.
Th ...
and to reject other Eastern Rites.
Bibliography
Balsamon's ''Scholia'' was first published by Gentian Hervet
thumb
Gentian Hervetus (Hervet) (1499 at Olivet, near Orléans – 12 September 1584 at Reims) was a French Roman Catholic theologian, humanist and controversialist.
Life
After studying the humanities at Orléans, he went to Paris, where he beca ...
in Latin at Paris (1561), at Basle (1562); in Greek and Latin at Paris (1615), and again at Basle (1620). It is also found in Beveridge's "Pandecta Canonum", Oxford, 1672 (P. G., cxxxvii-viii). From 1852 to 1860, Rhalli and Potli published at Athens a collection of the sources of Greek 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 ...
which contains Balsamon's commentary. Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...
published his commentaries in his ''Patrologia Graeca
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...
'', CIV, 441.
References
People from Constantinople
1199 deaths
Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch
12th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops
Year of birth unknown
12th-century Byzantine people
Canon law jurists
Byzantine writers
Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church
12th-century Byzantine writers
12th-century jurists
Byzantine jurists
{{Byzantine-bio-stub