Church Law and Church Order in Rome and Byzantium: A Comparative Study (Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Monographs, 8)

This book presents a comparative study of church order in the East and West of the Christian world. It deals with the development of canon law from the 6th century, the time of Dionysius Exiguus and John Scholastikos, up to the period of Balsamon and Gratian. While the focus is upon Rome and Constantinople, the author includes in his discussion the churches under Islamic rule, in Syria and Persia, and describes the beginnings of Slavonic canon law in Moravia. The issues of church government, the discipline of the clergy (married or celibate), and the question of divorce and re-marriage are key themes. By illustrating how these were faced in the canon law of the Christian churches of late antiquity and the earlier Middle Ages, the book highlights questions of unity and diversity within the Christian tradition. Booknews The contributions to canon law of Roman and Byzantine church fathers from the 6th-12th centuries are analyzed and compared in this careful study by Gallagher (Oxford U., UK). The development of the schism between the western and eastern churches is followed, but is not the central motif which remains the reasoning behind and implementation of the laws, including their development outside the Empire. The fathers and works considered include Dionysius Exiguus, John Scholastikos, the , the False Decretals, St. Methodius, Gratian, Theodore Balsamon, and Bar Hebraeus. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Cover 1 Dedication 3 Half Title 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 Abbreviations 9 Preface 10 Chapter One: Dionysius Exiguus and John Scholastikos: Rome and Constantinople in the Sixth Century 16 Chapter Two: The Nomokanon and the False Decretals: Constantinople and Rome in the Ninth Century 52 Chapter Three: St Methodios the Canonist: The Greek Origins of Slavonic Canon Law 100 Chapter Four: Gratian of Bolognar: The Consolidation of Pontifical Law 129 Chapter Five: Theodore Balsamon: The Orthodox Church in Twelfth-Century Constantinople 168 Chapter Six: Bar Hebraeus and Ebedjesus: The Development of Canon Law outside the Empire 202 Conclusion 242 Appendices 252 1 The Fifty Titles of the Greek Synagoge of John Scholastikos 252 2 The Nomokanon in XIV Titles 274 3 The Chronological Collection of Conciliar Canons 275 4 Gratian’s Concordia Discordantium Canonum 277 Bibliography 279 Index 292