Canons of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicaea II)

Direct English translation

For those who have received the priestly dignity, the patterns of the canonical ordinances are both testimonies and guides. Gladly receiving them, we sing with David, the revealer of God, to the Master God: 'In the way of your testimonies I have delighted as in all riches'; and, 'You have commanded righteousness, your testimonies forever; give me understanding and I shall live.' Since the prophetic voice commands us forever to keep the testimonies of God and to live in them, it is evident that they remain firm and immovable. Moses, the beholder of God, likewise says that nothing is to be added to them and nothing taken away from them. The divine Apostle Peter rejoices in these things, declaring that angels desire to look into them; and Paul says, 'Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you something contrary to what we preached to you, let him be anathema.' Since these things are so and bear witness to us, rejoicing in them as one who finds much spoil, we gladly embrace the divine canons and strengthen their whole ordinance as firm and unshaken: those set forth by the holy trumpets of the Spirit, the all-praised Apostles; by the six holy Ecumenical Synods; by the synods assembled locally for the issuing of such decrees; and by our holy Fathers. For all, enlightened by one and the same Spirit, determined what is beneficial. Those whom they consign to anathema we also anathematize; those whom they consign to deposition we also depose; those whom they consign to excommunication we also excommunicate; and those whom they subject to penance we likewise subject to penance. For the divine Apostle Paul, who was caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words, openly cries: 'Let your manner of life be without love of money, being content with the things at hand.'

Direct English translation

Since we bind ourselves to God by chanting, 'I will meditate upon your statutes; I will not forget your words,' it is fitting for every Christian to preserve this for his own salvation, and especially for those who have received the priestly dignity. We therefore determine that anyone who is about to be promoted to the rank of bishop must by all means know the Psalter, so that he may also be able to admonish all the clergy around him to be instructed from it. He is to be carefully examined by the metropolitan as to whether he willingly and diligently, rather than superficially, reads the holy canons, the holy Gospel, the book of the divine Apostle, and all divine Scripture, and whether he conducts himself according to the divine commandments and teaches the people entrusted to him. For the substance of our hierarchy is the God-taught words, that is, the true knowledge of the divine Scriptures, as the great Dionysius declared. But if he hesitates and is unwilling to act and teach in this way, he is not to be ordained; for God says prophetically, 'Because you rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from serving as my priest.'

Direct English translation

Every appointment of a bishop, presbyter, or deacon made by secular rulers is to remain invalid, in accordance with the canon which says: 'If any bishop obtains a Church through secular rulers, let him be deposed and excommunicated, together with all who communicate with him.' For one who is to be promoted to the episcopate must be appointed by bishops, as the holy Fathers assembled at Nicaea determined: it is most fitting that a bishop be established by all the bishops in the province; but if this is difficult because of urgent necessity or the length of the journey, at least three are to assemble together, the absent bishops joining in the election and giving their consent by letters, and then the ordination is to be performed. The confirmation of what has been done belongs in each province to the metropolitan.

Direct English translation

Paul, the preacher of truth and divine Apostle, laying down as it were a rule for the presbyters of Ephesus, and indeed for every clerical order, said openly: 'I coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing'; and, 'I showed you in all things that by labouring in this way you ought to support the weak and remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive.' Having become his disciples, we determine that no bishop is to devise pretexts for shameful gain and thereby demand gold, silver, or any other thing from bishops, clerics, or monks subject to him. For the Apostle says that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and that children ought not to lay up treasure for their parents, but parents for their children. If therefore, because of a demand for gold or any other thing, or because of some private grievance, a bishop is found excluding from the liturgy or excommunicating any cleric subject to him, or closing a venerable temple so that divine services cannot be celebrated there, venting anger upon insensible things, he himself, being truly without understanding, is to suffer what he inflicts, and his wrongdoing shall return upon his own head, as one who transgresses the commandment of God and the Apostolic ordinances. For Peter, the chief of the Apostles, also commands: 'Shepherd the flock of God among you, not by compulsion but willingly according to God; not for shameful gain but eagerly; not as lording it over those allotted to you, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.'

Direct English translation

It is a sin unto death when those who sin remain uncorrected; but worse still is it when they rise up against piety and truth, preferring Mammon to obedience to God and refusing to hold firmly to his canonical ordinances. God is not Lord among such persons unless they humble themselves and return to sober awareness of their fault. It is more fitting for them to draw near to God with a contrite heart and ask remission and forgiveness for this particular sin rather than boast in their lawlessness, for the Lord is near to those who are contrite in heart. Therefore those who boast that by giving gold they obtained some rank in the Church, relying upon this wicked custom which is alien to God and alienates from God and from every sacred order, and who with shameless face and unbridled mouth insult with reproachful words those who, because of the virtue of their life, were chosen and appointed by the Holy Spirit without giving money, are at first to be reduced to the lowest place in their own order. If they continue and persist, they are to be corrected by canonical penalty. If, however, anyone is found to have given money for ordination itself, let him suffer according to the Apostolic canon which says that if any bishop, presbyter, or deacon obtains this dignity through money, both he and the one who ordained him are to be deposed and cut off entirely from communion, as Simon the Magician was by Peter; and likewise according to the second canon of the holy Fathers assembled at Chalcedon concerning those who make merchandise of the grace that cannot be sold.

Direct English translation

Since there is a canon requiring canonical investigations to be held twice each year in every province through an assembly of bishops, but because of the hardship and lack of means for travelling the devout Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod determined that one assembly must in every way be held each year and that wrongs be corrected, we renew this latter canon. Therefore, if any secular ruler is found attempting to prevent such a synod, let him be excommunicated. If any metropolitan neglects to see that it is held, except because of necessity, force, or another reasonable cause, he is to be subject to canonical penalties. When a synod is assembled concerning canonical and evangelical matters, the bishops gathered are to meditate carefully upon how the divine and life-giving commandments of God may be kept, for in keeping them there is great reward; the commandment is a lamp, the law a light, and correction and instruction are the way of life, while the commandment of the Lord shines from afar and enlightens the eyes. No metropolitan has authority to demand an animal or any other possession from the goods a bishop brings with him; if he is proved to have done so, he is to repay fourfold its value.

Direct English translation

The divine Apostle Paul said that the sins of some persons are manifest beforehand, while those of others follow afterward. Thus, earlier sins being committed, other sins follow them. In the same way, other acts of impiety followed the impious heresy of the accusers of Christians; for just as they removed the countenance represented in the venerable icons from the Church, they also abandoned certain other customs which must be renewed and must prevail according to both written and unwritten law. Therefore, concerning venerable temples that have been consecrated without holy relics of martyrs, we determine that relics are to be deposited in them together with the customary prayer. Whoever from now on consecrates a temple without holy relics is to be deposed as one who has transgressed ecclesiastical traditions.

Direct English translation

Since some persons led astray from the religion of the Jews have thought fit to mock Christ our God, pretending to be Christians while secretly keeping the Sabbath and practising other Jewish observances, we determine that such persons are not to be admitted to communion, prayer, or Church, but are to be Jews openly according to their religion. Their children are not to be baptized, nor are they to purchase or acquire a slave. But if any one of them is converted with sincere faith and confesses with his whole heart, openly rejecting their customs and practices so that others may be reproved and corrected, we determine that he is to be received and his children baptized, while they are to be instructed to keep themselves far from Jewish observances. If the matter is not so, they are in no way to be received.

Direct English translation

All childish playthings and frenzied ravings—that is, the false writings brought forth against the venerable icons—are to be delivered to the episcopal residence of Constantinople so that they may be put away together with the other heretical books. If anyone is found hiding them, if he is a bishop, presbyter, or deacon let him be deposed; if a layperson or monk, let him be excommunicated.

Direct English translation

Since some clerics, disregarding the canonical ordinance, abandon their own parish and run to another, especially to this God-protected imperial city, and attach themselves to secular rulers, performing liturgies in their private oratories, it is not permitted to receive such persons in any house or Church without the consent of their own bishop and of the bishop of Constantinople. If anyone persists in doing this, let him be deposed. Those who do this with the knowledge of the aforesaid bishops are not permitted to undertake secular and worldly cares, since the divine canons forbid them to do so. If anyone is found holding the administration of the estates of those called magnates, let him either cease or be deposed. Rather, let him devote himself to teaching children and household servants, reading the divine Scriptures to them; for it was for this that he received the priesthood.

Direct English translation

Since we are all obliged to keep the divine canons, we must preserve inviolably in every way the canon which says that there are to be stewards in every Church. If each metropolitan appoints a steward in his own Church, it is well; but if he does not, the bishop of Constantinople has authority of his own office to appoint a steward in that Church. In the same way metropolitans have authority to do so if the bishops subject to them do not choose to establish stewards in their own Churches. The same rule is also to be observed concerning monasteries.

Direct English translation

If any bishop or abbot is found alienating any of the productive property of the episcopal residence or monastery into the hands of secular rulers, or transferring it to another person, the transfer is to be invalid, according to the canon of the holy Apostles which says: 'Let the bishop have the care of all ecclesiastical affairs and administer them as one watched by God. Let him not be permitted to appropriate anything from them or to give the things of God to his own relatives; but if they are poor, let him provide for them as poor persons, and let him not on this pretext sell the things of the Church.' If it is alleged that the property is burdensome and produces no profit, even then the place is not to be sold to secular rulers of the region, but to clerics or farmers. If a secular ruler, by some crafty device, purchases the fields from a cleric or farmer, the sale is nevertheless to be invalid, the property is to be restored to the episcopal residence or monastery, and the bishop or abbot who did this is to be expelled—the bishop from the episcopal residence and the abbot from the monastery—as persons who wrongfully scatter what they did not gather.

Direct English translation

Since, because of the calamity caused by our sins, certain venerable institutions, both episcopal residences and monasteries, have been plundered by men and turned into ordinary dwellings, if those who now possess them are willing to restore them so that they may return to their original condition, it is well. But if not, we command that those who possess them, if enrolled among the clergy, be deposed; if monks or laypersons, be excommunicated, as persons condemned by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and be assigned to the place where their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched, because they oppose the Lord's saying: 'Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise.'

Direct English translation

It is evident to everyone that order exists in the Church and that it is pleasing to God for the affairs of the priesthood to be observed with exactness. Since we see some persons who received a clerical tonsure in infancy without the laying on of hands nevertheless reading from the ambo in the synaxis, acting uncanonically, we command that this no longer be done. The same rule is to be observed concerning monks. As for appointing a reader by the laying on of hands, each abbot is permitted to do this in his own monastery only, provided that the same abbot has himself received the laying on of hands from a bishop for the presidency of an abbot, that is, provided he is a presbyter. Likewise, according to ancient custom, chorepiscopi may appoint readers only with the permission of the bishop.

Direct English translation

From now on no cleric is to be attached to two Churches, for this is a mark of commerce and shameful gain and is foreign to ecclesiastical custom. We have heard from the Lord himself that no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. Therefore, according to the Apostolic word, each person ought to remain in the calling in which he was called and serve in one Church. Things done in ecclesiastical affairs for the sake of shameful gain are alien to the ordinances of God. For the necessities of this life there are various occupations, and whoever wishes may obtain bodily necessities from them; for the Apostle said, 'These hands ministered to my needs and to those who were with me.' This is to be observed in this God-protected city; but in small towns outside it, because of the scarcity of men, an accommodation may be made.

Direct English translation

Every luxury and adornment of the body is alien to the priestly order. Therefore bishops or clerics who adorn themselves with splendid and conspicuous garments need correction; if they persist, they are to be subjected to a penalty. The same applies to those who anoint themselves with perfumes. But since, like a root of bitterness springing up, the heresy of the accusers of Christians has become a pestilence, and those who joined it not only regarded painted icon representations as an abomination but rejected every form of reverence and mocked those who live modestly and piously, fulfilling in themselves the saying that piety is an abomination to a sinner, those who are found laughing at persons clothed in inexpensive and decent garments are likewise to be corrected by a penalty. For from ancient times every priestly man has been content with moderate and decent clothing. Basil the Great declares ostentatious whatever is worn not from genuine need or necessity but for adornment. Nor did the priestly men of old wear garments made from silk fabrics and decorated with many designs, nor add differently coloured ornaments to the edges of their clothing, for they had heard from the divine voice that those who wear soft garments are in kings' houses.

Direct English translation

Some monks, having left their own monasteries because they desire to rule and are unwilling to obey, undertake to build houses of prayer without possessing what is necessary to complete them. If anyone attempts this, let him be prevented by the local bishop. But if he possesses what is needed for completion, let him carry out what he has planned. The same rule is also to be observed concerning laypersons and clerics.

Direct English translation

The Apostle says that we are to be without offence even toward outsiders. For women to dwell in episcopal residences or monasteries is a cause of offence to everyone. Therefore, if anyone is found keeping a female slave or a free woman in an episcopal residence or monastery for the performance of any service, let him be subjected to a penalty; and if he persists, let him be deposed. If women happen to be present on estates outside the city and a bishop or abbot wishes to go there, while the bishop or abbot is present no woman is to perform any service for him, but she is to remain apart in another place until the bishop departs, so that no reproach may arise.

Direct English translation

The hatred of avarice has become so weak among the leaders of the Church that even some men and women called reverent, forgetting the Lord's commandment, have been deceived into admitting persons to the clerical order or the monastic life for money. The result is, as Basil the Great says, that what begins badly is altogether to be rejected, for it is impossible to serve both God and Mammon. If anyone is found doing this, whether bishop, abbot, or anyone in the priesthood, let him either cease or be deposed according to the second canon of the holy Synod of Chalcedon. If the offender is an abbess, let her be expelled from her monastery and placed in another monastery under obedience; likewise an abbot who has not received priestly ordination. As for property given by parents to their children as a dowry, or personal possessions dedicated by donors who acknowledge them to be consecrated to God, we determine that whether such persons remain or depart, those things are to remain in the monastery according to their promise, unless their departure was caused by the superior.

Direct English translation

From now on we determine that no double monastery is to be established, because this becomes a scandal and stumbling block to many. If certain persons together with their relatives choose to renounce the world and follow the solitary life, the men are to enter a monastery for men and the women a monastery for women, for in this God is well pleased. As for double monasteries already existing, they are to be maintained according to the canon of our holy Father Basil and ordered according to his instruction. Monks and nuns are not to dwell in one monastery, for adultery follows opportunity for cohabitation. No monk is to have freedom to speak privately with a nun, nor a nun with a monk. No monk is to sleep in a women's monastery, nor is any nun to eat alone with a monk. When the necessities of life are brought from the men's side to the nuns, the abbess together with an elderly nun is to receive them outside the gate. If a monk wishes to see a nun who is his relative, let him speak with her briefly and in few words in the presence of the abbess.

Direct English translation

A monk or nun is not to leave his or her own monastery and depart to another. If this should happen, it is necessary to receive the person hospitably as a guest; but it is not fitting to enrol him or her without the approval of his abbot or her abbess.

Direct English translation

To dedicate everything to God and not to be enslaved to one's own will is truly a great thing. For whether you eat or drink, says the divine Apostle, do all things to the glory of God. Christ our God in the Gospels has therefore commanded us to cut off the beginnings of sins: he punishes not only adultery but even the movement of the mind toward adultery, saying, 'Whoever looks upon a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.' Taught by this, we ought to purify our thoughts. For although all things are lawful, not all things edify. It is necessary for every person to eat in order to live. For those whose life is in marriage, children, and ordinary society, it is not blameworthy for men and women to eat together, provided that for the avoidance of reproach they take food simply for nourishment rather than for pleasure, and without theatrical amusements, satanic songs, the music of harps, or shameful bodily movements. Upon those who participate in such things falls the prophetic condemnation: 'Woe to those who drink wine with harp and lyre, but do not regard the works of the Lord nor consider the works of his hands.' If such persons are found among Christians, let them correct themselves; otherwise let the canonical rules laid down by those before us prevail concerning them. But those whose life is quiet and solitary, having joined themselves to the Lord God, ought to sit alone and in silence and bear the yoke. Moreover, for those who have chosen the priestly life it is not permitted to eat privately in the company of women, unless they do so in the company of God-bearing and reverent men and women, so that the meal itself may lead to spiritual edification. Let the same be observed even with relatives. If, while travelling, a monk or priestly man lacks what is necessary and, because of necessity, wishes to lodge at an inn or in someone's house, he is permitted to do so on account of the urgent need.