St. Sava's Nomocanon

The ( Nomocanon of Saint Sava, sr-Cyrl, Номоканон светог Савеm, or ()) was the highest code in the Serbian Orthodox Church. It was finished in 1219. This legal act was written in simple language. Its basic purpose was to organize the continuation and functioning of the Serbian Kingdom and the Serbian Church. It was originally printed under the name ''Rules of Speech'' (') in Serbian at Raška, Serbia, in two successive issues, one for Wallachia and another for Transylvania (in 1640). It is Serbia's first Serbian-language church-state constitution.

Byzantine nomocanons

John Scholasticus, the Patriarch of Constantinople, was the writer of the first church-civil codex in which the material is systematically arranged. The twelve Novellae of Emperor Justinian ('' Novellae Constitutiones'') on the subject of church and law are a part of this codex. It is known as the ''Nomocanon of John Scholasticus'' (ca. 550) or the ''Syntagma of John Scholasticus'' (). Syntagmas are nomocanons that contain rules without explanations.

At the beginning of the seventh century, two important acts were combined. The ''Canon Syntagma'', written by Patriarch Sergius, and a codex written as a part of Justinian's law, by an unknown author, were taken by a jurist named Julian who turned them into ''Nomocanon in 14.Titles'' (). In 883, the rules from the Trullan and Second Council of Nicaea, those written at the Constantinopolitan assemblies, and at civil assemblies were added to the nomocanon. Patriarch Photios wrote the foreword. In 920, the ''Nomocanon of Photios'' was proclaimed an official law document of the Christian Church by the four eastern patriarchs at their council in Constantinople.

Nomocanon of Methodius

The first Slavic nomocanon, , was probably written by Slavic enlightener Methodius around 868. The included two codexes – Methodius's translation of the Nomocanon by John Scholasticus and Slavic alternation of the ( Zakon Sudnyi Liudem) The Eclogue is a Byzantine codex dating from the mid-eighth century. It was most likely issued by Leo III or Constantine V as a short version of Justinian's codex. Methodius's nomocanon was written just before he traveled to Slavs in Lower Pannonia to visit Prince Kocel (869–870 and 873–874) and it applied to all Slavs.

Contents

The Zakonopravilo consists of seven introductory chapters:

# A word about seven ecumenical councils
# Interpretation of the line that follows: "Jesus Christ, have mercy on us."
# Interpretation of the Nicene Creed: "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible."
# Interpretation of the prayer which the Lord Jesus Christ taught the apostles, and us along with them, with which to pray, saying :"Our Father who art in heaven."
# Prologue of those who reduced the sacred rules to 14 branches
# Nomocanon in 14 Titles
# The introduction to the Nomocanon

followed by sixty-three other chapters:

# The rules of the apostles and church fathers along with the interpretation of Alexius Aristinos
# The rules of Saint Paul
# The rules of both Saints Peter and Paul
# The rules of all saints apostles
# Decisions and rules of the First Ecumenical Council
# The rules of the holy Synod of Ancyra
# The rules of the holy Synod of Neo-Caesarea
# The rules of the holy Synod of Gangra
# The rules of the holy Synod of Antioch
# The rules of the holy Synod of Laodicea
# Decisions and rules of the Second Ecumenical Council
# Decisions and rules of the Third Ecumenical Council
# Decisions and rules of the Fourth Ecumenical Council
# The rules of the holy Synod of Sardica
# The rules of the holy Synod of Carthage
# Memoirs transacted in Constantinople concerning Agapius and Gabadius
# Decisions and rules of the Sixth Ecumenical Council
# Decisions and rules of the Seventh Ecumenical Council
# The rules of the First and Second Councils, held in Constantinople, in the Church of the Holy Apostles
# The three rules of the council in the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
# The rules from the epistles of Saint Basil the Great addressed to Amphilochius, Diodorus, and others
# 26 rules of Saint Basil the Great about time for sinning
# The rules of Saint Basil the Great about the size and looks of the places for those who do penance
# A lesson about the divine service, Holy Communion, and those who take care of those who do penance, which Basil the Great dedicated to the presbyter
# A letter by Basil the Great to Gregory of Nazianzus about the establishment of monks
# The rules from the epistle of Saint Tarasios to the Roman Pope Adrian I, forbidding payment for ordination
# The rules of Saint Dionysius
# The rules of Saint Peter
# The rules of Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus
# The rules of Athanasius the Great
# The rules from the epistle of Athanasius the Great to Bishop Ruphinianus
# The rules from the speech of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
# The rules of Saint Gregory of Nyssa
# The rules of Saint Timothy
# Theophilus' explanation of Epiphany when it falls on a Sunday
# The rules from the Epistle of Saint Cyril to Nestorius
# Cyril's rules about orthodoxy, 12 chapters against Nestorius
# The rules from the epistle of Saint Gennadius
# The rules from the epistle of the council in Constantinople to Marthiruius, bishop of Antioch, about how to accept heretics who approach the Cathedral
# Chapters of the great church, Hagia Sophia, sealed with Justinian's golden stamp, about slaves who seek refuge in the church
# The rules of Dimitrios, metropolitan of Cyzicus
# The rules about the Bogomils
# The epistle of archbishop Peter, Antiochian Venetian archbishop
# The epistle of Beatified Chernorizets Nilus to presbyter Haricles
# Codex of John Scholasticus in 87 chapters
# Novella of a pious man, Alexius I Comnenus
# A branch of Emperor Justinian's novellae
# Regulations of Moses' legislation
# The epistles of monk Niketas against the Latins, dispraise for introducing fasting on Saturdays
# The same as 49, dispraise for introducing celibate for the clergy
# The same as 50, about French and other Latins
# The same as 51.
# The same as 52.
# The same as 53.
# Translation of the Proheiron
# The rules about forbidden and permitted marriages
# The same as 56.
# The same as 57.
# The same as 58.
# The same as 59.
# Articles about heresy
# The same as 61.
# The same as 62.

Social justice

is famous for its advanced treatment of social justice. Saint Sava expanded the boundaries of social justice, confronting the norms of Byzantine civil law and slave society. He accentuated the Christian teaching of social justice, justifying it by saying that norms should serve a man and not the public interest.

One of the most significant social justice rules is introduced in the fourth introductory chapter. This chapter was taken from Saint John Chrysostom's interpretation of Our Father and it states: "Because he didn't say My father but Our father.... Nobody should worry only about themselves, but also about their neighbours, and nobody should have more than the other: neither the rich from the poor, neither the lord from the servant, neither a prince from those over which he rules, neither a tsar from the soldier, neither the wisest from the unlearned, because to all he gave one gratitude." This regulation proclaimed the equality of all people regardless of their financial or social status, it forbade allow oppression, and it strove for welfare. It was contrary to the principles of slave society at the time.

Shelter of the poor and the role of noble homes

Shelter of the poor and the role of noble homes is mentioned in chapter 48, in the section "On court and justice", which was taken from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Sava wanted to emphasize philanthropy, in particular that laws should be interpreted in a way that encourages philanthropy. Shelter and assistance for the most endangered (the poor) was defined as ethical and just, while glorifying the rich and powerful was unethical and unacceptable. The people and institutions that are most likely to be asked to provide care for the weak are bishops, deacons and presbyters (basically the church as an institution). contains two canons that speak on this:

59: the Apostles' canon imposes excommunication for bishops or presbyters who do not give a poor cleric what he is in need of, and takes away their rank if they remain merciless (because they are murderers of their own brother)

7: the canon from Synod of Sardica includes the poor and those who are unprotected from violence. They can seek help from a bishop, who is obliged to assist them as much as he can or they can go to the emperor personally and ask for help.

Bishops, busy with their church duties, were unable to protect the many powerless people from abusers and famine. The solution was to establish services that church representatives (''ecdics'') chosen by the emperor would carry out. ''Ecdics'' were executors of the church and a sort of judge, because they were expected to defend the interests of the church in the courtroom. However, some ''ecdics'' were responsible for more than church issues. This is known from some tsar's decrees, for instance: Emperor Theodosius I wrote to Constantinople's ''ecdic'' saying he should not let peasants and citizens be oppressed by taxes, that he should repress the arrogance of archonts and care for his people as he does his children. Because of the importance of this role, laws were created to regulate the elections of ''ecdics'', with the participation of respectable citizens and led by bishop and clergy.

Another protection mechanism is mentioned in the second chapter of , taken from the ''Proheiron'': "If the self-supporting man is involved in a lawsuit with his guardian, it is necessary he seeks help."

''Proheiron'' defines who is considered poor: "the one who has less than 50 gold coins in his belongings is poor."

One of the most important ways of protecting the poor is the building of noble homes (churches, monasteries, hospices, public kitchens, residences of the impoverished, hospitals). Regulations referring to noble homes are mostly taken from John Scholasticus' Canon in 87 chapters or Justinian's Novellae. They include:

* If the testator informs in writing that he desires to found a noble home, a bishop or a head of that area is obliged to perform that duty within a five-year period and to do as the testator specifies in his will (for instance, selecting administrators he finds suitable).
* Possessions inherited by the church are used for feeding the poor.
* Those who ask to receive their possessions back after they have designated them for feeding the poor are never to be forgiven.

Noble homes could be leased but only under strict surveillance, so malpractice and damage infliction are avoided. A lease could be granted for an unlimited term. Ways of making a lease contract were specified, for example by having the administrative staff of the noble home swear an oath in front of a bishop promising no damage would be caused.

Responsibilities of parents and children

The responsibilities of parents and children comprise another important section. The author strove to highlight the importance of families, in which life evolves and social awareness awakens. He believed that respecting one's parents is one of the greatest family values. Those who disrespected and abused their mothers or fathers were punished severely – with the death penalty. The ' prescribes a milder punishment – those who are guilty shall be disinherited. In case of sickness, children have obligations to their parents. If parents are mentally or physically ill and their children refuse to look after them, then they, as legal heirs, could be disinherited. Children have one more obligation concerning inheritance law. They should not disinherit their parents or take property that could be bequeathed – it is strictly forbidden in all but the following situations: when parents give up their children for execution, when parents practice witchcraft to harm their children, when a father seduces his son's wife or concubine or when parents endanger each other. Children who abandon their parents and excuse themselves with piety while showing no respect will be doomed, and vice versa (for parents who abandon their children before adulthood). Certain civil regulations were influenced by these norms. Parents are not allowed to disinherit their children nor children to disinherit their parents when leaving for the monastery, if the motive for disinheriting appeared before the monastic life. regulates the way the property of those adopting the monastic life should be divided. If a monk has children, he can bequeath his property to his children. If he dies before making a will, his children take what is legally theirs, while the rest of the property is given to the monastery. lays down the rules of inheritance for children whose (non-monsastic) father died and who now live with a poor mother or mother-in-law. In this case, if has three children or less, the wife gets a quarter of the property, whether the children are hers or from a previous marriage. If he has more than three children, then the wife gets just as much as one child gets for use (owners of that property are their own children).

Seniors, powerless and disabled people

Since ageing usually comes with disease and weakness, the author's aim was to provide respect and legal protection for this category of people. That is why in chapter 48 under the "about respecting the graybeards" heading is a regulation from the books of Moses: "Before the face of the gray-haired stand up and respect the face of the old."

Saint Sava wrote an interpretation of the whole canon, including Aristinos' comments, regarding this topic. He also added, "If any clergyman imitates or ridicules the blind, the deaf or the lame, or those crippled in any other way – he shall be deposed because he is an offense to God who created him."

Another way to protect these people was to give them the opportunity for inheritance. Besides this, the only way for their relatives to include them as heirs was to manage their property during their lifetimes. The law dictated that the blind can name their own heir verbally, by having seven or five witnesses present.

Women

The position of women is one of the most important indicators of social awareness in society. Roman marriage law enabled a relatively easy divorce by written statement () or by agreement (). Byzantine marriage law had difficulty in freeing itself from its Roman heritage, until Emperor Justinian made important limitations to the novellae in 542, which were later transferred to the Nomocanon in 14 titles (47th chapter). With this law the marital security of women was strengthened in families of priests and secular families. When it comes to families of priests, dictates that if a presbyter or a deacon banishes his wife (for example by excusing himself with piety) and decides not to take her back, his title will be taken away. The rule in secular families is that if a man leaves his wife for any reason other than those regulated by law and weds another, he will be denied holy communion, while a woman who leaves her husband will be cursed. The only legitimate reason for a divorce, according to canonical teaching, is adultery.

Saint Sava could not stay within the boundaries of church teaching when it came to divorce. He prescribes part of a novella written by Emperor Leo VI the Wise which states that if a man has an insane wife who does not recover within three years, he has the right to divorce her. After that, chapter 11 of ''Proheiron'' lists reasons for which a woman can request a divorce: if the husband is working against the state or knows anyone that is without revealing it, if he does anything to harm the wife in any way, or if he forces her to be unfaithful. For a divorce to happen, in the case of the wife committing adultery, proof is needed. If it is determined that the wife was in fact unfaithful, the husband gets the premarital gift and the dowry, but if its proven otherwise the woman can get a divorce and take her dowry and premarital gift back. If they had no children, the woman has the right to her husband's possessions worth up to a third of the premarital gift. In the case of an unfaithful husband, the woman can choose not to leave if he stops after she requests it. If a slave was involved in the adultery, the punishments are more rigorous:

When the husband commits adultery with a slave the act is revealed to the public, the husband is punished by beating and the slave is sold to another region. When a married woman commits adultery with her slave, she is punished by beating, cutting her hair, cutting off her nose, banishing and confiscating her belongings, while the slave is punished by the sword.

Situations in which they are punished equally include when one puts the other's life at risk, in which case the crime is revealed to the public and immediate retaliation is requested.

According to the church, widows and poor women were the most socially endangered group and accordingly were given the most protection. An article carried over from the ''Book of Exodus'' to stated: "You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless". The first way of protecting a widow is her inheritance (if her deceased husband has up to three children), which is one fourth of the husband's assets, which can not be over 100 liters of gold. The second way is that the church is obliged to feed and take care of the widow if she requested it.

Poor women were also protected. According to the ''Book of Tsar'', a person that defamed a virgin has their nose cut off and is obliged to give a third of their assets to the woman. The ''Proheiron'' states that if a person has a relationship with a girl younger than 13, that person has their nose cut off, and is obliged to give half of all their assets to the girl. If a person abducted an engaged woman, they were obliged to return her to her fiancée, and if they abducted a woman who was not engaged, they would be obliged to return her to her family, which would later decide if she was to marry her abductor. This regulation was adopted at the Synod of Ancyra. Saint Basil later significantly changed this regulation with the 22nd canon. However, the ''Book of Tsar'' and ''Proheiron'' were not in agreement on the idea of a woman marrying her captor, they strictly forbade it (according to ''Proheiron'', a parent that wishes his daughter to marry her captor was imprisoned). Civil legislation in the ''Proheiron'' states the following in the case of a person defiling a woman with her consent, but without the consent of her parents: If the woman was not engaged, the man who defiled her could choose to marry her, with the consent of her parents. If the parents did not consent, and the man was wealthy, he was obliged to give the woman a liter of gold. If the man was poor, he was obliged to give the woman half of his property. If the man was disabled, he was to be beaten and banished. For an engaged woman if the woman consented, the man was punished by getting his nose cut off. If the woman did not consent, the man was obliged to also give her a third of his property.

In the case of poor women, protects them with the following articles:marriage between a guardian (and his closest relatives) and a poor woman was forbidden, to protect her from abuse by her carers.

If moribund parents appoint a guardian for their daughter, he can not marry her off or abrogate a previous marriage without her consent.

Captives, exiles and prisoners

Prisoners were considered the most socially endangered of all because in exchange for their freedom even censers were allowed for sale. The importance of freeing prisoners is represented in one specific regulation that says that monks who, when leaving the monastery, ask to have their possessions back even though they were used to release prisoners, will never be forgiven. Anyone could bequeath their property to prisoners for the sake of their release. Prisoners' heirs (especially children) are bound by the law to use the heritage in order to help the prisoner make free. If not, the church shall take away the property and use it with that purpose. If children are to neglect their imprisoned parents, and they manage to free themselves, they have the right to choose whether children will become a part of their will or not. If they fail to free themselves or die while in captivity because of their children's neglect, the children shall be disinherited and the property will be given to the church with the aim of paying ransom for others. The same is the case with relatives who are named as heirs.
When a child is taken to captivity, the parents' obligations are not much different. Parents are disinherited if their child dies in captivity because of their neglect. In the aim of releasing captives it was allowed for anyone (older than 18) to take gold as a loan and pawn his own or prisoner's belongings. A male minor is not obliged to have a custodian if his father is held captive, but he needs to have a property guardian. After the father is released the son is back in his power.
A woman could also be held in custody and if someone were to pay her ransom she would become his wife and their children would be legitimate. A dying soldier is also considered socially endangered. If a soldier realizes his end is near he can bequeath his property in front of two witnesses and his will be accepted as valid. Exiles and captives were also considered socially endangered. A woman could also sell her dowry in order to feed her exiled father, brother or husband. Those who were captivated temporarily did not lose their inheritance rights.

Slaves

Many regulations present a contrast between the slave society and Christian teaching. Christian teaching proclaims the freedom and equality of all, including both slaves and masters. However, slavery was so deeply rooted that it took centuries for people to start perceiving slaves as more than things (). Chapter 55 of (''Prohiron'') states that slavery is in opposition to nature, which made everyone free, but the need for war created slavery since the law of war states that victors rule losers. Also, a person is either born a slave or becomes a slave (in captivity) and all slaves are equal – nobody is more or less of a slave. Slaves could be tortured by masters but the greatest punishment would ensue for a slave who endangers his master's life. A master could be punished if he tortures his slave before killing him, but if he kills him without torture, no punishment is meted out. Two rules were taken from Moses' legislation:
* A master who kills a slave by his own hand is to be punished
* A slave has monetary value

Because of the second rule, it is worse to hit a slave than to hit a freeman. Both master and slave benefit from this – the master makes a profit and the slave is protected from injuries that would cause his value to drop.

More favorable are church regulations. Masters are mentioned in a mindful way so their anger towards the slaves would be reduced, while slaves are not encouraged to rebel. Instead they are asked to be loyal and serve their masters in order to make them more willing to grant freedom. Slaves could be named as priests only with their master's consent and if given they would be set free. If not, and if the slave decided to leave the church and start living a worldly life, a master was allowed to regain power over him for a one-year period. The master's consent was necessary for a slave to become a monk. Those who encouraged slaves to leave their masters, excusing themselves with piety, would be convicted and the slaves who did so would be executed. This regulation shows how slave society released slaves, but also how it protected the piety. For a long time, freeing slaves was possible only in the emperor's chambers until the Synod of Carthage where "the fathers of the synod" asked the emperor to allow slaves to be freed in churches.

Another regulation states that when a master frees his slave before two witnesses, the slave can not be enslaved by anyone. Chapter 40 is named "Chapters of the great church, Hagia Sophia, sealed up with Justinian's golden stamp, about slaves who resort to church" and it contains six rules of which five regard slaves.

* If a freeman is enslaved and turns to church, his master is invited. If he does not come then the slave is freed.
* If a master or someone else tortures a slave with hunger or nudity, and the master does nothing to stop it, the slave must be sold so he does not die from hunger.
* If a slave resorts to church for no reason, he is punished and returned to his master.
* If a slave asks for the master to come and take him home himself, and the master sends a representative instead, the church is obliged to hand over the slave nevertheless.
* The masters of slaves who escape to church should always be notified to come and take them since running away is offensive and requires punishment.

One of the most important strides in establishing a more humane relationship towards slaves was to give them the possibility to become heirs. An heir could be their own slave, but they could also be someone else's. The social status of slaves improved when it came to family law. A child conceived between a free mother and a slave father is free because his mother was free while giving birth, even if she was a slave when the child was conceived. If the mother was a free woman when the child was conceived, but a slave while giving birth, the child would still be free. In Alexius I Comnenus's novella (Chapter 46) in the year 1095, slaves were no longer defined as things and their marriage was declared equal to the marriage of free people. Until then, slaves would marry without a church ceremony, because their owners were afraid the church would free their slaves. The emperor declared that the church ceremony should be the same for everyone, and that without it, the marriage would be considered an obscenity. Alexius explained his decision by stating: "There is one Lord for everyone, one faith, one baptism for both slave and master, but what is the difference in faith – we do not know; therefore, all of us are slaves as well to the one that got us out of our slavery".

History

During the Nemanjić dynasty (1166–1371), the Serbian medieval state flourished in the spheres of politics, religion and culture. Monasteries were built, far more than in previous centuries. The country was expanding and urban life emerged. Trade, mining and manufacturing expanded. The ruling family became prosperous and was known for piety. Formal establishment of a kingdom (1217) and religious independence (1219) came after political efforts by Stefan Nemanja (founder of the dynasty) and his sons, Stefan Nemanjić (the first Nemanjić king) and Sava Nemanjić (the first Serbian archiepiscope). A legal system established regulations for the Serbian kingdom and Serbian church. During this period, only the tsar could establish legal acts and laws to fill the gaps in common law. Industry developed and the legal system regulated various relations. Roman Law was adopted.

Prior to the Nemanjić era, Serbia was not ruled by a tsar, so its ruler could not create a legal code. Rulers enacted individual acts and decrees. In order to overcome this problem and organize the legal system after acquiring religious independence, Saint Sava finished in 1219.

was essential for religious independence. Saint Sava most likely brought an already written nomocanon to Nicaea, when he traveled there in 1219 to request independence for the Serbian church from the Patriarch of Constantinople. It is unlikely that the patriarch would have accepted an independent Serbian church before he had seen the nomocanon book that would regulate its functioning. On his way back to Serbia, Saint Sava spent time in Thessaloniki where he completed the nomocanon. He most likely began in 1208 while at Mount Athos, using the ''Synopsis of Stephen of Ephesus''; ''Nomocanon of John Scholasticus''; ''Nomocanon in 14 Titles''; the documents of the Ecumenical Councils, which he modified with the canonical commentaries of Aristinos and John Zonaras; local church meetings; the rules of the Holy Fathers; the law of Moses, translation of the ''Proheiron'' and the Byzantine emperors' Novellae (most were taken from Justinian's Novellae).

was a completely new compilation of civil and religious regulations, taken from Byzantine sources, but completed and adapted by Saint Sava to fit in Serbia. Beside decrees that organized the life of church, norms regarding civil life were taken from the ''Proheiron''., originally published in

It consisted of 70 chapters: six in the introduction, 44 dedicated to church law and 20 to civil law. Sava's interpretations increased its value. He dedicated many regulations to the protection of the poor and disempowered. He accentuated the equality of state and church, which led to the acceptance of '' Symphonia'', the orthodox theory that posits that church and state are to complement each other.

Legal transplants of Roman- Byzantine law became the basis of Serbian medieval law and Serbia became part of European and Christian civilization. In the 13th century was transferred to Bulgaria and from there to Russia. It was printed in Moscow twice – in 1650 and 1653 under the name of and reprinted during the 18th and 19th centuries. The last edition dates to 1914. The first edition was found to be incorrect and the second one was printed in 1,200 copies, of which some reached the Serbs. Since the 17th century the Serbs have used the Russian printed editions of Sava's . The name was also accepted from Russia and it alludes to the church following the nomocanon. Originally didn't contain and (Slavic alterations of the ') but the printed version of does.

Thus, Roman-Byzantine law was brought to Eastern Europe through . In Serbia, it was considered the code of divine law and was implemented into Dušan's Code (1349 and 1354). It was the only code among Serbs during the time of the Ottoman reign.

Transcriptions

Multiple transcriptions were preserved:

* The Serbian transcript of Ilovica dates to 1262. It was written in the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael (today the Monastery of Saint Archangels next to Tivat) where the headquarters of the Ze bishopric were located. It consists of 398 parchment pages and resides in the library of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
* The Serbian transcript of Raška dates to 1305 in Peter's church in Ras. It is written on parchment and it contains 427 pages. It resides in the Moscow State Historical Museum.
* The Serbian transcript of Dečani was written on parchment in 1340. It has 284 pages and resides in the library of Dečani Monastery.
* The Serbian transcript of Pčinj dates to 1370. It was written on paper. It has leather binding and consists of 305 pages. It resides in the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts.
* The Serbian transcript of Morač is from around 1615. It consists of 347 paper pages. It resides in the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
* The Serbian transcripts of Sarajevo and Hilandar are from the 14th century.
* The Serbian transcript of Belgrade is from the 15th century.
* The Serbian transcripts of Peć and Savina are from the 16th century.
* The Serbian Canon of John Zlokruhović is from the 17th century.
* The Serbian Nomocanon of Szentendre is from the 17th century.

Sud Ivana Crnojevića

The legislative tradition of the Serbian people is also to be seen in Montenegro. Just before the loss of their independence in the feudal age, between 1486 and 1490, a short codex was written. It consisted of only seven articles and it is known as Тhe Verdict of Tsar and Patriarch () or The Verdict of Ivan Crnojević (). It is based on the alteration of Dušan's Code () from the fifteenth century. Around the beginning of the 19th century when Montenegro started developing characteristics of an independent country, Petar I Petrović-Njegoš made a Codex of 33 lines ().

Codex of Podunavlje

The Codex of Podunavlje was a draft that did not gained legal power. Nevertheless, it expressed an eternal need of Serbs to arrange state relations legally. Serbs from Srednje Podunavlje used as a source for their own codex. This codex originally had 27 unnumbered articles. The numbering was done by Aleksandar Solovjev, who prepared the edition of the codex and wrote both a juridical and historical commentary on it, in the ('Voice') of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In the sixteenth article it is mentioned that some parts of the codex were taken from (''Proheiron'') and (''Eclogue''). Its laws were already a part of but the articles were altered. It was written in the vernacular with the exception of some lines in Church Slavonic. Pavle Šafarik acquired the manuscript soon before leaving Novi Sad in 1831. It is now kept in his manuscript collection in National Museum of Prague.

Legacy

During the Serbian Revolution (1804) priest Mateja Nenadović established as the code for liberated Serbia. It was implemented in Serbian civil code (1844). Zakonopravilo is still used in the Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches as the highest church code.

See also

* Medieval Serbian law
* Serbian manuscripts
* Medieval Serbian literature

References

3. Zakonopravilo

Sources

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Further reading

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13th century in Serbia
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Medieval legal codes of Serbia
Medieval documents of Serbia
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History of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Saint Sava
1210s in law
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