Encyclopedia of Canon Law (Legislative Theology)

Sources of Canon Law

Canon Laws
Sources of Canon Law

The first source of canon law is the Holy Bible. Then come the collections of canons established by the Holy Apostles, the sacred councils, and the great teachers of the Church. Also, what has reached us through Holy Tradition and what is implicitly contained in the Church’s rites. We will try to address each of these sources in detail. We have already spoken before about the Canons of the Apostles, the Canons of the Holy Councils, and the Canons of the great Fathers.

The Holy Bible
There are important matters in which the Holy Bible set explicit rules. These the Church cannot change or establish any laws that contradict them. For the authority of “binding and loosing” granted to the Church is an authority within the teachings of the Bible. Therefore, Saint Paul the Apostle says, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

1. As an example of biblical legislation, we find what concerns marriage and divorce. Marriage is a divine bond, as understood from the Lord’s saying in the Scriptures: “What God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6). God joins the two in marriage through the Church, through His ministers, “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).
   Thus, the Church does not recognize civil marriage, because it is joined by civil authorities, not by God.
   The Bible made this sacred bond of marriage lifelong, saying: “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress” (Romans 7:2–3).
   This lifelong marriage bond can only be dissolved because of adultery.
   There are four passages in the Holy Gospel that establish this law: Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11, and Luke 16:18. For example, the Gospel of Matthew says: “Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9).
   This verse clearly indicates that polygamy is not permitted, for if it were allowed, the second marriage would be legitimate, regardless of the reason for the divorce. But because Christianity does not allow a man to have two wives, the Gospel of Mark states similarly: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her” (Mark 10:11).
   All Gospel references to “wife” use the singular.
   The Lord said: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:7–8). A second wife would become a third body between the two, breaking their unity. (See the principle of “one flesh” in our book The Law of One Wife in Christianity.)
   In Matthew 19:29, whatever may exist in plural form is mentioned in plural, and whatever can only be singular—like father, mother, or wife—is mentioned in singular: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29; cf. Luke 14:26).

The Bible also allows separation in case of religious difference:
“But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases” (1 Corinthians 7:15).
The Bible also lists prohibited degrees of kinship for marriage (Leviticus 18:6–18). All these things cannot be altered by the Church, no matter what authority of binding and loosing it holds.

2. The Bible also laid down rules concerning bishops, priests, deacons, the service of widows and virgins in the Church (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), as well as other priesthood-related passages.

3. Likewise, it set forth texts concerning baptism and the other sacraments—such as baptism in Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:27; John 3:3,5; Acts 22:16; Titus 3:5; Romans 6:3–6; chrismation in 1 John 2:20; the anointing of the sick in James 5; confession in Matthew 3:6 and Acts 19:18. All these are laws by which we live and which cannot be changed.

4. The Bible also established laws for spiritual and social life, among other matters too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that the Holy Bible is not only the first source of canon law but also the precise standard by which all other sources are measured.

Liturgical Books
Liturgical books are another source of canon law, for while collections of canons record the text theoretically, the liturgical books show their practical application—either for canons mentioned in those collections or ones we can infer from the rites.
We regard fixed rites as binding laws.
For example, the rites of building churches, the holy sacraments, and certain prayers such as the Lakan, the blessing of new houses, and the consecration of virgins, nuns, and monks. From these, we can also extract unwritten rules—for instance, understanding the duties of each ecclesiastical rank from the ordination rite, or the power of each liturgical prayer from its text.
Priestly ranks reveal much through the laying on of hands, the holy breath, words, prayers, and instructions. Even the vestments themselves have prayers that convey theological meanings not found in the canon books.
Most fixed rites are canon laws transmitted through practical tradition, not inferior to written laws. Indeed, many rites are older, practiced by the Church before being recorded. Thus, rites and canons developed together in unity—when the Church followed certain disciplinary systems, the architecture and structure of churches reflected those same principles.

As the rites show the practical side of law, so does Church history reveal its living application.

Church History
By this, we do not mean history filled with errors, but the history of saints and the Church in its holy ages. These exemplary precedents are living enactments of law.
For example, the history of the Popes and saintly Patriarchs, such as St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, and St. Basil the Great, offers concrete understanding of the authority and duties of a Pope or Patriarch—details perhaps not found in canon books. Some sayings of the Fathers became canons, like those of Pope Timothy of Alexandria. Their actions also serve as explanations or practical extensions of unwritten laws.

All this gives us a broad understanding of the sources of canon law, which extend beyond written texts to include Tradition.

Church Tradition
Just as not all the Lord’s teachings to His Church were written but handed down through Tradition, likewise not all the Apostles’ teachings were written—they too were passed down, generation to generation. As St. Paul said, “And the rest I will set in order when I come” (1 Corinthians 11:34). The Bible does not record what he later arranged, but the Church received it through Tradition and rites.
St. John also wrote: “Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face” (2 John 12; 3 John 13–14). These unwritten things were likely transmitted through Church Tradition or liturgical practice.

Thus, the laws of the Church appear above all in the life of the Church itself.
When we look at her life in her sound ages, her rites, and traditions, we see the essence of canon law—much like the British Constitution, which is unwritten yet fully lived out.
Therefore, the student of canon law must be theologically educated in many areas, not relying solely on the texts of laws. Along with the canonical collections explained in our earlier article, one must also study the Holy Bible, the Church’s rites, history, and traditions. From this whole heritage, one derives the canonical understanding of any matter.

Two Notes:

1. The first is understanding the spirit of the law, not merely its text. Explanation must accompany the text. Some words need clarification—for example, digamy (does it mean a second marriage or having two wives simultaneously?), and polygamy (does it mean remarrying after widowhood or multiple wives?).

2. The second is distinguishing between temporary and permanent laws.
   For example, when the heresy of Manichaeism and the Montanists spread—condemning meat and wine—the Church issued a law requiring believers to eat meat and drink wine on feasts to show opposition to these heresies. Once those heresies ended, that temporary law ceased, as it was meant only to combat error, not to be a lasting rule.

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