A complete and updated commentary on the Code of Canon Law prepared by the leading canonists of North America and Europe. Contains the full, newly translated text of the Code itself as well as detailed commentaries by thirty-six scholars commissioned by the Canon Law Society of America.
Many Catholics dismiss canon law as irrelevant to the modern Church. This current concern with the function of law in the Church has led the author to make an inquiry into the medieval Church, i.e., in that period when canon law was at the height of its power and prestige.
Christopher Stephens focuses on canon law as the starting point for a new interpretation of divisions between East and West in the Church after the death of Constantine the Great. He challenges the common assumption that bishops split between 'Nicenes' and 'non-Nicenes', 'Arians' or 'Eusebians'. Instead, he argues that questions of doctrine took second place to disputes about the status of individual bishops and broader issues of the role of ecclesiastical councils, the nature of episcopal authority, and in particular the supremacy of the bishop of Rome. Canon law allows the author to offer a fresh understanding of the purposes of councils in the East after 337 particularly the famed Dedication Council of 341 and the western meeting of the council of Serdica and the canon law written there, which elevated the bishop of Rome to an authority above all other bishops. Investigating the laws they wrote, the author describes the power struggles taking place in the years following 337 as bishops sought to elevate their status and grasp the opportunity for the absolute form of leadership Constantine had embodied. Combining a close study of the laws and events of this period with broader reflections on the nature of power and authority in the Church and the increasingly important role of canon law, the book offers a fresh narrative of one of the most significant periods in the development of the Church as an institution and of the bishop as a leader.
The Use of Canon Law in Ecclesiastical Administration, 1000–1234 integrates the textual analysis necessary to understand the evolution and transmission of the legal tradition into the broader study of twelfth century ecclesiastical government and practice.
This anthology offers a selection of key prefaces to ecclesiastical law collections from late antiquity to the mid-13th century, during which time the Western church was wrestling with the complexities and ambiguities of its legal traditions.
The essays in this volume address issues relating to the compilation and transmission of canon law collections, the role of bishops in their dissemination, and the interpretation and use of law in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These reflect important areas of contention in the historiographical literature and will further the debates regarding the development of the practical application of canon law within Europe, especially after c.1080.
This is a clear, readable introduction to the basic structures and areas of church rules from one of the nation's most respected canonists. It is now revised, considering the most recent changes to church law, including those initiated by Pope Francis.
Ferreira-Ibarra, Dario C., Compiler. The Canon Law Collection of the Library of Congress: A General Bibliography with Selective Annotations. Washington: Library of Congress, 1981. xiii, 210 pp. 8-1/2" x 11." Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2003052789. ISBN 1-58477-366-9. Cloth. $150. * The Library of Congress has one of the largest collections of published Canon Law materials in the world. This bibliography, which includes all items catalogued before 1980, is thus a powerful guide to a body of legal literature that dates back to the birth of printing. The first three sections cover early editions of the Code of Canon Law, the code's historical foundations and the decisions of the Roman Rota, or the Church's jurisprudence. The remaining sections correspond exactly to the divisions of the Code of Canon Law and cover such subjects as persons, things, procedural law and crimes and penalties. Comprehensive author and subject indexes are included as well.
