The Canons of the Holy Apostles

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Let a bishop be ordained by two or three bishops.

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Let a presbyter be ordained by one bishop, and likewise a deacon and the other clerics.

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If any bishop or presbyter, contrary to the Lord’s ordinance concerning the sacrifice, offers upon the altar anything else—whether honey, milk, prepared strong drink instead of wine, birds, any animals, or legumes—contrary to the ordinance, let him be deposed; except for new ears of grain or grapes at the proper season. Nor shall it be permitted to bring anything else to the altar except oil for the lamp and incense at the time of the holy offering.

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Let every other kind of fruit be sent to the house as firstfruits for the bishop and the presbyters, and not to the altar. It is clear that the bishop and the presbyters shall distribute portions to the deacons and the other clerics.

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Let no bishop, presbyter, or deacon put away his own wife under the pretext of piety. If he puts her away, let him be excommunicated; and if he persists, let him be deposed.

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Let no bishop, presbyter, or deacon undertake secular cares. Otherwise, let him be deposed.

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If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon celebrates the holy day of Pascha with the Jews before the vernal equinox, let him be deposed.

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If any bishop, presbyter, deacon, or anyone of the clerical register does not partake after the offering has been made, let him state the reason; and if it is reasonable, let him receive pardon. But if he does not state it, let him be excommunicated, as one who has caused harm to the people and cast suspicion upon the one who offered, as though he had not offered soundly.

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All the faithful who enter and hear the Scriptures but do not remain for the prayer and the holy Communion must be excommunicated, as causing disorder in the Church.

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If anyone prays together with an excommunicated person, even in a house, let that person be excommunicated.

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If any cleric prays together with a deposed cleric, let him also be deposed.

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If any cleric or layperson who is excommunicated—that is, not admitted—is received in another city without commendatory letters, let both the one who received and the one received be excommunicated.

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But if he was already excommunicated, let his excommunication be increased, because he lied and deceived the Church of God.

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A bishop shall not be permitted to leave his own diocese and intrude upon another, even if urged by many, unless some reasonable cause compels him to do so, because he is able to contribute some greater benefit in the word of piety to those there. Even then, he shall not do this on his own authority, but by the judgment of many bishops and after a most earnest request.

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If any presbyter, deacon, or anyone at all of the clerical register leaves his own diocese and goes to another, and, having transferred himself completely, remains in another diocese against the will of his own bishop, we command that he no longer minister—especially if, when his bishop summoned him to return, he did not obey but persisted in the disorder. Nevertheless, let him commune there as a layman.

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But if the bishop with whom they happen to be, disregarding the suspension determined against them, receives them as clerics, let him be excommunicated as a teacher of disorder.

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A man who has been joined in two marriages after baptism, or who has acquired a concubine, cannot be a bishop, presbyter, deacon, or at all a member of the clerical register.

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A man who has married a widow, a woman who has been put away, a prostitute, a female slave, or a woman of the stage cannot be a bishop, presbyter, deacon, or at all a member of the clerical register.

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A man who has married two sisters, or a niece, cannot be a cleric.

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Let a cleric who gives surety be deposed.

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A eunuch—if he became such through the violence of men, or was deprived of his male organs in a persecution, or was born so—and is worthy, may become a bishop.

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Let no one who has mutilated himself become a cleric; for he is a murderer of himself and an enemy of God’s creation.

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If any cleric mutilates himself, let him be deposed; for he is a murderer of himself.

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Let a layperson who has mutilated himself be excommunicated for three years; for he is plotting against his own life.

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If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon is convicted of fornication, perjury, or theft, let him be deposed but not excommunicated; for Scripture says, “You shall not exact vengeance twice for the same thing.” The same applies to the other clerics.

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Of the unmarried who have entered the clergy, we permit only readers and cantors to marry, if they wish.

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We command that a bishop, presbyter, or deacon who strikes faithful people when they sin, or unbelievers when they do wrong, and wishes by such means to frighten them, be deposed. For nowhere did the Lord teach us this; on the contrary, when He was struck, He did not strike back; when reviled, He did not revile in return; when suffering, He did not threaten.

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If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, having been justly deposed for manifest offences, dares to touch the ministry once entrusted to him, let him be cut off from the Church altogether.

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If any bishop obtains this dignity through money, or any presbyter or deacon does so, let both he and the one who ordained him be deposed, and let him be cut off entirely from Communion, as Simon the magician was by me, Peter.

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If any bishop uses secular rulers and through them obtains possession of a church, let him be deposed and excommunicated, together with all who commune with him.

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If any presbyter, despising his own bishop, assembles separately and sets up another altar, though he has found nothing against the bishop in matters of piety and justice, let him be deposed as a lover of authority; for he is a tyrant. The same applies to the other clerics and to all who join him. Let the laypeople be excommunicated. These things shall be done after a first, second, and third admonition by the bishop.

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If any presbyter or deacon is excommunicated by a bishop, he shall not be received by another, but only by the one who excommunicated him, unless the bishop who excommunicated him happens to die.

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Let none of the foreign bishops, presbyters, or deacons be received without commendatory letters. Even when they present such letters, let them be examined; and if they are preachers of piety, let them be received. If not, supply them with what they need, but do not receive them into Communion; for many things are done by fraudulent seizure.

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The bishops of every nation must acknowledge the first among them and regard him as their head, and do nothing beyond what is proper without his judgment. Each bishop shall do only those things that concern his own diocese and the territories subject to it. But neither shall the first do anything without the judgment of all. For in this way there will be concord, and God will be glorified through the Lord in the Holy Spirit—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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A bishop shall not dare to perform ordinations beyond his own boundaries, in cities and territories not subject to him. If he is proved to have done this against the judgment of those who hold those cities or territories, let both him and those whom he ordained be deposed.

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If anyone ordained as bishop does not accept the ministry and the care of the people entrusted to him, let him remain excommunicated until he accepts it; and likewise a presbyter or deacon. But if he goes and is not received, not because of his own will but because of the wickedness of the people, let him remain bishop, while the clergy of the city are excommunicated because they did not become instructors of such an insubordinate people.

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Let a synod of bishops be held twice each year, and let them examine with one another the doctrines of piety and resolve the ecclesiastical disputes that arise: once in the fourth week of Pentecost, and a second time on the twelfth day of Hyperberetaeus.

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Let the bishop have the care of all ecclesiastical affairs and administer them as one under the watch of God. He shall not be permitted to appropriate anything from them or to give the things of God to his own relatives. If they are poor, let him provide for them as poor people, but let him not sell the things of the Church under this pretext.

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Let the presbyters and deacons do nothing without the judgment of the bishop; for he is the one entrusted with the people of the Lord, and an account concerning their souls will be required from him.

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Let the bishop’s own property, if he has any, be clearly known, and let the Lord’s property also be clearly known, so that when the bishop dies he may have authority to leave his own property to whomever he wishes and as he wishes, and so that the bishop’s property may not be lost under the pretext of ecclesiastical property, since he may have a wife and children, relatives, or servants. For it is just before God and men that neither the Church suffer any loss through ignorance of the bishop’s property, nor the bishop or his relatives have their property confiscated under the pretext of the Church, nor those connected with him fall into disputes, nor his death be surrounded by reproaches.

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We command that the bishop have authority over the property of the Church. For if the precious souls of men must be entrusted to him, much more should direction concerning money be entrusted to him, so that everything may be administered under his authority and supplied to those in need through the presbyters and deacons, with the fear of God and all reverence. Let him also partake of what is necessary, if he is in need, for his own essential needs and those of visiting brethren, so that they are in no way deprived. For the law of God ordained that those who attend upon the altar be fed from the altar; indeed, no soldier ever bears arms against enemies at his own expense.

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If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon is devoted to dice-playing and drunkenness, let him either cease or be deposed.

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If a subdeacon, reader, or cantor does the same, let him either cease or be excommunicated; and likewise a layperson.

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If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon demands interest from borrowers, let him either cease or be deposed.

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If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon merely prays together with heretics, let him be excommunicated. But if he has permitted them to perform any act as clerics, let him be deposed.

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We command that a bishop or presbyter who accepts the baptism or sacrifice of heretics be deposed. For what agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?

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If a bishop or presbyter baptizes again one who truly has baptism, or does not baptize one who has been defiled by the impious, let him be deposed, as mocking the Cross and the death of the Lord and failing to distinguish priests from false priests.

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If any layman puts away his own wife and takes another, or takes a woman put away by another man, let him be excommunicated.

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If any bishop or presbyter does not baptize according to the Lord’s ordinance into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but into three beginningless beings, or three sons, or three comforters, let him be deposed.

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If any bishop or presbyter does not perform three immersions in the one initiation, but only one immersion given into the death of the Lord, let him be deposed. For the Lord did not say, “Baptize into My death,” but, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

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If any bishop, presbyter, deacon, or anyone at all of the clerical register abstains from marriage, meat, and wine not for ascetic discipline but out of abhorrence, forgetting that all things are exceedingly good and that God made man male and female, and thus blasphemously slanders the creation, let him either correct himself or be deposed and cast out of the Church. The same applies to a layperson.

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If any bishop or presbyter does not receive one who is turning back from sin, but rejects him, let him be deposed; for he grieves Christ, who said, “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.”

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If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon does not partake of meat and wine on feast days because he abhors them, and not for ascetic discipline, let him be deposed as one whose own conscience is seared and who has become a cause of scandal to many.

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If any cleric is found eating in a tavern, let him be excommunicated, except when, on a journey, he lodges at an inn out of necessity.

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If any cleric insults the bishop, let him be deposed; for, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”

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If any cleric insults a presbyter or deacon, let him be excommunicated.

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If any cleric mocks a person who is lame, deaf, blind, or disabled in the feet, let him be excommunicated. The same applies to a layperson.

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If a bishop or presbyter neglects the clergy or the people and does not instruct them in piety, let him be excommunicated; and if he persists in negligence and indolence, let him be deposed.

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If a bishop or presbyter does not provide what is necessary when one of the clerics is in need, let him be excommunicated; and if he persists, let him be deposed as one who has murdered his brother.

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If anyone publicly reads in church the falsely titled books of the impious as though they were holy, to the ruin of the people and the clergy, let him be deposed.

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If an accusation of fornication, adultery, or some other forbidden act is made against a believer and is proved, let that person not be advanced into the clergy.

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If any cleric, through human fear of a Jew, a Greek, or a heretic, denies—if he denies the name of Christ, let him be cast out; but if he denies the name of cleric, let him be deposed. If he repents, let him be received as a layman.

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If a bishop, presbyter, deacon, or anyone at all of the clerical register eats flesh with its lifeblood, or flesh torn by beasts, or that which died of itself, let him be deposed; for the Law forbade this. But if he is a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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If any cleric or layperson enters a synagogue of Jews or heretics in order to pray, let the cleric be deposed and the layperson be excommunicated.

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If any cleric strikes someone in a fight and kills him with a single blow, let him be deposed for his rashness. But if he is a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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If any cleric is found fasting on the Lord’s Day or on Saturday, except for the one Saturday only, let him be deposed. But if he is a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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If anyone has violated an unbetrothed virgin and keeps her, let him be excommunicated. He shall not be permitted to take another woman, but must keep the one whom he violated, even if she is poor.

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If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon receives a second ordination from anyone, let both him and the one who ordained him be deposed, unless it is established that his former ordination came from heretics. For those baptized or ordained by such persons cannot be either faithful or clerics.

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If any bishop, presbyter, deacon, subdeacon, reader, or cantor does not fast the holy Forty Days before Pascha, or Wednesday, or Friday, let him be deposed, unless he is prevented by bodily illness. But if he is a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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If any bishop, presbyter, deacon, or anyone at all of the clerical register fasts with the Jews, celebrates a feast with them, or receives from them gifts of their feast, such as unleavened bread or anything similar, let him be deposed. But if he is a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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If any Christian carries oil to a temple of the pagans or to a synagogue of the Jews during their festivals, or lights lamps there, let him be excommunicated.

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If any cleric or layperson takes wax or oil from the holy church, let him be excommunicated and add a fifth part to what he took.

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Let no one appropriate for private use a consecrated vessel of gold or silver, or a cloth; for this is unlawful. If anyone is caught doing so, let him be punished with excommunication.

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When a bishop is accused of something by trustworthy men, it is necessary that he be summoned by bishops. If he appears and confesses, or is convicted, let the penalty be determined. But if, when summoned, he does not obey, let him be summoned a second time, with two bishops sent to him. If even then he does not obey, let him be summoned a third time, again with two bishops sent to him. If, still showing contempt, he does not appear, let the synod pronounce against him whatever it judges fitting, so that he may not seem to profit by evading judgment.

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A heretic shall not be received as a witness against a bishop, nor shall a single believer alone be received; for, “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

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A bishop shall not, as a favour to a brother, son, or other relative, ordain whomever he wishes to the dignity of the episcopate. For it is not right to create heirs to the episcopate by granting the things of God to human passion; nor ought he to place the Church of God under heirs. If anyone does this, let the ordination remain invalid, and let the bishop himself be punished with excommunication.

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If anyone is impaired in an eye or disabled in a leg, but is worthy of the episcopate, let him become a bishop; for a defect of the body does not defile him, but pollution of the soul does.

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But one who is deaf and blind shall not become a bishop—not as being defiled, but so that ecclesiastical affairs may not be hindered.

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If anyone has a demon, let him not become a cleric, nor even pray together with the faithful. But once cleansed, let him be received; and if he is worthy, let him become a cleric.

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It is not right immediately to appoint as bishop one who has come from a pagan way of life and been baptized, or one who has come from an evil manner of life. For it is unjust that one who has not yet shown proof should become the teacher of others, unless perhaps this occurs by divine grace.

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We have said that a bishop or presbyter must not involve himself in public administrations, but must devote himself to the needs of the Church. Let him therefore be persuaded not to do this, or let him be deposed. For no one can serve two masters, according to the Lord’s command.

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We do not permit slaves to be appointed to the clergy without the consent of their masters, to the grief of those who own them; for this causes the overthrow of households. But if at some time a slave is found worthy of ordination to a rank, as our Onesimus was, and the masters consent, set him free, and send him away from the household, let him be ordained.

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If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon is occupied with military service and wishes to retain both—a Roman office and priestly administration—let him be deposed. For, “The things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God.”

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If anyone insults an emperor, king, or ruler contrary to justice, let him suffer punishment. If he is a cleric, let him be deposed; if a layperson, let him be excommunicated.

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Let the following books be venerable and holy for all of you, clerics and laypeople. Of the Old Testament: the five books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; one of Joshua son of Nun; one of Judges; one of Ruth; four of Kingdoms; two of Chronicles, the Book of Days; two of Esdras; one of Esther; three of Maccabees; one of Job; one Psalter; three of Solomon—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; the twelve Prophets; one of Isaiah; one of Jeremiah; one of Ezekiel; and one of Daniel. In addition, let it be related to you that your young people should learn the Wisdom of the very learned Sirach. Our books—that is, those of the New Testament—are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter; three of John; one of James; one of Jude; two Epistles of Clement; and the Constitutions addressed to you bishops through me, Clement, in eight books, which ought not to be published before everyone because of the mysteries contained in them; and the Acts of us Apostles.