Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Antioch - Canon 22

Let not a bishop go to a strange city, which is not subject to himself, nor into a district which does not belong to him, either to ordain any one, or to appoint presbyters or deacons to places within the jurisdiction of another bishop, unless with the consent of the proper bishop of the place.  And if any one shall presume to do any such thing, the ordination shall be void, and he himself shall be punished by the synod.

This canon was quite similar to Canon 13.  The difference put forth by Van Espen is that:
Canon XIII requires letters both from the Metropolitan and from the other bishops of the province, while this Canon XXII requires only the consent of the diocesan. He concludes that Canon XIII refers to a diocese sede vacante, when the Metropolitan with the other bishops took care of the widowed church, but that Canon XXII refers to a diocese with its own bishop, whose will is all that is needed for the performance of episcopal acts by another bishop.1
The fine distinction helps to realize the interesting levels of allowable duties and authorities derived and set for each ecclesiastical office. Again, the intent was to stop the flow of movement from one church to another, whether prompted by personal desire or peer prodding.


1 Quoted in NPNF2, Vol 14, 119.

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