Debut of New Swedish Translation of the Divine Liturgy

This Sunday the new Swedish translation of the divine liturgy makes its debut at the Uspensky Cathedral in Helsinki, Finland. This is the first official Swedish translation of the divine liturgy (previous translations have been private initiatives). The translation was commissioned by Metropolitan Ambroius of Helsinki and has been approved by the assembly of bishops of the Orthodox Church in Finland. The debut was televised by YLE and may be viewed online at YLE Areena until June 26, 2012: http://arenan.yle.fi/tv/1531896

Folklore in the Pedalion: Vampires

I am writing my doctoral thesis on canonical theory, method, and dogmatics in the Pedalion, which is an annotated collection of Greek canons (ecclesiastical rules) compiled by Nikodemos Hagioreites and Agapios Leonardos and published 1800. While working with the Pedalion I have become fascinated by notes on folklore found in it. In the subject index there is an entrance which reads: “Vampires (βρικόλακες), that they do not exist and how people who burn them ought to be punished”. This entrance in the subject index refers the reader to a note to canon 66 of St. Basil, which prescribes ten years excommunication for grave robbery. The Greek vampire or vrykolakas does not correspond to the Hollywood vampire. The vampire of Greek folklore is the undissolved body of an excommunicated person which has been possessed by the devil and terrorizes the neighborhood. The Greek belief in vampires is not documented before the mid fifteenth century. A comprehensive treatment of the Greek vampire is found in chapters seven and eight of K. Hartnup’s ‘On the Beliefs of the Greeks’: Leo Allatios and Popular Orthodoxy (Leiden: Brill, 2004), pp. 173-236.

The hierarchy of the Orthodox Church was hostile to the popular belief in vampires and tried repeatedly to eradicate it. The provision of the Pedalion on vampires is a part of this church policy against the belief in vampires. The note to canon 66 of St. Basil states that it is an appropriate place to treat how priests and laypersons who open graves to search for so-called vampires and kill them ought to be punished. Nikodemos calls this a delusion and childish and stupid thoughts. He states that there is no such thing as vampires and that the devil does not have the power to raise the dead. He claims to have investigated the matter carefully and has never met someone who actually has seen a vampire but only people who have heard that some other person has seen a vampire. He urges the faithful to reject this fantasy and delusion; however, if they because of their weak faith believe that demons have possessed a deceased person they should get the priest to chant and sprinkle holy water on the grave. But they should not open the grave in order to chop up or burn the corps. If they do that the bishop should not only punish them as grave robbers but also as murderers. At the end of the note Nikodemos recounts that it is believed (falsely in his opinion) that people who have been killed, hanged, or died a violent death can become vampires. He repeats in the end a condemnation of the Bogomils who are said to believe that demons can possess corpses.

Nikodemos only mentions that a person who has been killed, hanged or died an violent deaths as the reason people think the corpse can become a vampire. In the earlier documented folklore it is often the corpse of an excommunicated person which is believed to become a vampire. Nikodemos repeats the traditional objection towards belief in vampires: (a) it is said to be a childish delusion caused by a weak faith; (b) it seems to ascribes too much power to the devil (i.e., the power to raise the dead); and (c) it results in the desecration of graves and corpses when people try to destroy the vampire. This treatment of vampires in the Pedalion is an interesting example of the tension between the worldview of the elite and folklore. As a concession to folklore Nikodemos offers the possibility of having a priest chanting and sprinkling holy water at the grave of a suspected vampire but the traditional ways of destroying vampires (i.e., dismembering and burning the corpse) were to be eradicated by severe punishments.

Translating Dionysius Exiguus

We have started a new Dionysiana Seminar at the Center for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University. The purpose of this seminar is to produce an English annotated translation of the first redaction of Dionysius Exiguus’ Liber Canonum (i.e., a part of the Collectio Dionysiana).

Dionysius Exiguus (sixth century) is a very important person in the history of ecclesiastical and canon law. He translated many important works from Greek to Latin. He made the most influential translation of the ancient Greek corpus canonum (i.e., the Collectio Canonum Antiochena). The original Greek version of this semichronological collection of canons was used by the fourth ecumenical council (Chalcedon, 451); however, it has not survived in the original Greek since it was superseded by the later systematic collections of canons (i.e., John Scholastikos’ Synagoge in 50 titles and the anonymous Syntagma in 14 titles). But semichronological collection of canons has survived in Latin and Syriac translations (including the Collectio Dionysiana). The Latin translation of the canons by Dionysius Exiguus became very influential in the subsequent history of canon law in the West and the Greek translation of the canons of Carthage is probably based on the Collectio Dionysiana.

The Dionysiana Seminar uses the critical edition by Adolf Strewe: Die Canonessamlung des Dionysius Exiguss in der ersten Redaktion, Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte 16 (Berlin: 1931).

Selected bibliography

Maasen, F. Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts im Abendlande bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters. Graz: 1870.

Schwartz, E. “Die Kanonessamlungen der alten Reichskirche” in Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtgeschichte 42, kan. Abt. 11 (1921): pp. 208-253.

Stickler, A. Historia Iuris Canonici Latini, vol. 1: Historia Fontium. Torino: 1950.

Gaudemet, J. Les Source du Droit de l’Église en Occident du IIe au VIIe Siècle. Paris: 1985.

Ferme, B. E. Introduction to the History of the Sources of Canon Law: The Ancient Law up to the Decretum of Gratian. Montréal: 2007.

New Swedish translation of the Divine Liturgy

On May 27, 2012, a new Swedish translation of the Divine Liturgy attributed to St. John Chrysostom will be taken into use in the Orthodox Diocese of Helsinki, Finland. This translation was ratified by the council of bishops of the Orthodox Church in Finland on March 27 this year. This is the first official translation of the Divine Liturgy in Swedish commissioned and ratified by a local Eastern Orthodox Church. The translation was commissioned by Metropolitan Ambrosius of Helsinki in 2010. The goal of the commission was to produce a new theological and philological sound translation into contemporary Swedish fitting the pastoral needs of Swedish-speaking members of the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Finland and Sweden.

The commission which produced the translation was composed of members from both Sweden and the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. The commission hired two translators to produce two drafts which would be worked into a single text by the full commission and then sent to a referral group which was consulted before producing the final draft and submitting it to the Diocese of Helsinki and the council of bishops. The two translators were I and Pater Dr. Anders Piltz OP, professor emeritus of Latin, Lund University, and chairman of the Catholic Liturgical Committee (Katolska Liturgiska Nämnden) commissioned to produce the Swedish translations of the Roman Catholic liturgical books for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden. Both Dr. Piltz and I continued to be connected to the commission as advisers after we had produced our drafts.

The new translation is now at the printers and will officially be taken into used at the Uspensky Cathedral in Helsinki on May 27, 2012. Metropolitan Ambrosius of Helsinki and Bishop Macarie, the Romanian Orthodox bishop of Scandinavia, will preside at this liturgy.

Review: History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500

I have recently finished the first four parts of The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500 which treat Byzantine canon law (the last part treat non-Byzantine Oriental canon law) and will attempt to write a short review of the work.

W. Hartmann and K. Pennington, eds. History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law. Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2012, 356 pages. The book is a part of the series History of Medieval Canon Law.

The contributions are written by experts from various countries and then translated into English. The book contains the following contributions:

1. S. Wessel, “The Formation of Ecclesiastical Law in the Early Church”.
2. H. Ohme, “Sources of the Greek Canon Law to the Quinisext Council (691/692): Councils and Church Fathers”.
3. S. Troianos, “Byzantine Canon Law to 1100″.
4. S. Troianos, “Byzantine Canon Law from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Centuries”.
5. H. Kaufhold, “Sources of Canon Law in the Eastern Churches”.

The contributions are well-researched and contain valuable references to editions and scholarly literature. The translations are, however, somewhat uneven and sometimes a bit sloppy (especially the second chapter by Troianos).

Wessel’s chapter deals with the origin of canon law and the development of church order up to the first ecumenical council of Nicaea (325). The relationship between the Torah and the church is treated, especially the eschatological re-interpretation of the Torah in Early Christianity. She focuses on the institutionalization of authority and organizational development of the church. Her chapter also deals with the development of the notions of normativity and legitimacy in the church order.

Ohme’s chapter deals mostly with the corpus canonum until the Quinisext council. He provides a short account of the various councils which issued the conciliar canons of the corpus canonum and the authors of the patristic canons. One major drawback with this chapter is that the issues of the dates of the various councils are treated in a very unsatisfactory manner and in many cases omitted; it is remarkable, considering that Ohme is an expert on the Quinisext council, that he does not write anything about the arguments concerning the date of the Quinisext council.

The two chapters by Troianos are very similar to the corresponding chapters in his ΟΙ ΠΗΓΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ. His chapters focus on the collections of canons which were used in the canonical praxis and transmitted the sources of canon law. Apart from the canons Troianos also treats imperial legislation on church matters (“Staatskirchenrecht”). The second chapter also treats the classic Byzantine canonists and Byzantine ecclesiastical jurisprudence.

Zonaras – Eastern Christian Canon Law

I have collected links to editions and classic studies on Eastern Christian Canon Law available online on my other blog: zonaras.wordpress.com

New article on Eastern Orthodox Ecclesiologies

I received to day the issue of Theoforum which contains an article I wrote on Eastern Orthodox ecclesiologies in the era of confessionalism (i.e., ca 1600-1900). It is an analysis of the concepts of ‘church’ in Metrophanes Kritopoulos’ Confession (1625), St. Peter Mogila’s Confession (1653), Dositheos of Jerusalem’s Confession (1672), and St. Filaret Drozdov’s Longer Russian Catechism (1839).

• Heith-Stade, David. “Eastern Orthodox Ecclesiologies in the Era of Confessionalism” in Theoforum 41:3 (2010): pp. 373-385.

 

Free will and the human act in seventeenth century Eastern Orthodox theology

DOI:

10.1080/0039338X.2011.628125

David Heith-Stade^*

pages 134-145

Available online: 21 Nov 2011

Abstract

This article analyses the doctrine of free will (autexousion) in the confessions of St. Peter Mogila and Dositheos II Notaras of Jerusalem. Free will is a central concept in Eastern Christian anthropology and these two monuments of theology represent how the understanding of the concept of free will developed in Eastern Orthodox theology in the context of the confrontation with Western theologies in the seventeenth century.

An interesting book to be released next year

This looks like an interesting book:

Wilfried Hartmann and Kenneth Pennington, eds.

The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500

History of Medieval Canon Law,  Vol. 4

This newest volume in the History of Medieval Canon Law series surveys the history of Byzantine and Eastern canon law. Beginning in the Patristic Age, Susan Wessel outlines the evolution of ecclesiastical law before the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.). She covers the earliest documents and councils in the Christian tradition, and concludes that the councils replaced other sources of authority as bishops moved to a more democratic model of church organization.

Heinz Ohme then offers a detailed analysis of the Greek councils and the writings of the Greek Fathers. He treats the sources of canonical material of Byzantine canon law down to the Quinisext Council (Trullanum, 692). Spyros Troianos presents a comprehensive survey of the Greek canonical collections and their compilers from the fourth to the eleventh century. In extending his coverage to 1500, Troianos provides bibliographical and biographical information about the most important Byzantine canonists who remain virtually unknown in English language literature: John Zonaras, Alexios Aristenos, and the Byzantine Gratian, Theodore Balsamon.

With Hubert Kaufhold’s contribution, the book also explores the wide range and variety of law in Eastern Christian communities, including Western Syrians (Jacobites), the Copts, Ethiopians, Armenians, Georgians, Nestorians, and Maronites.

ABOUT THE EDITORS:

Wilfried Hartmann is emeritus professor of the medieval history of canon law at the University of Tübingen. Kenneth Pennington is Kelly-Quinn Professor of Ecclesiastical and Legal History at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of numerous works including Pope and Bishops: The Papal Monarchy in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries and The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition. Hartmann and Pennington are coeditors of the History of Medieval Canon Law series.

Infromation from the Publisher.

Pre-order it from Amazon.com

Sources of Byzantine Law

A third revised edition of Dr. Spyros N. Troianos’ work on the sources of Byzantine law has been published this year by Sakkoulas, the most prestigious law publisher in Greece: Οι Πηγές του Βυζαντινού Δικαίου (3d rev. ed. Athens: Sakkoulas, 2011), 492 pages.

Dr. Troianos is a notable legal historian, professor at the Law School of the University of Athens, and the editor of Forschungen zur Byzantinischen Rechtsgeschichte Athener Reihe, which together with Forschungen zur Byzantinischen Rechtsgeschichte published by the Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtesgesichte, is the most important medium for publishing new historical research on Byzantine law.

This third revised edition of Sources of Byzantine Law seems primarily to have updated the bibliographical references since the second edition of 1999 to include newer studies on Byzantine law and new editions of legal documents. Consequently, it has the most up to date bibliography available.

The book has seven chapters. Ch. 1 is an introduction dealing with general matters, the origin of Byzantine law, the concept of legal sources, and research on the sources of Byzantine law. Ch. 2 deals with the early ecclesiastical sources of law (i.e., canons). Ch. 3 treats Emperor Justinian’s period. Ch. 4 deals with the successors of Justinian until the Macedonian dynasty. (Ch. 4.6 treats the origin of the Byzantine collections of canon law.) Ch. 5 treats the period from the Macedonians until the fall of Constantinople to the fourth crusade in 1204. (Ch. 5.7 deals with the canons of the Photian councils, the legislative activity of the resident synod in Constantinople, the Byzantine canonists, and the monastic typika.) Ch. 6 treats the period from 1204 until the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire. (Ch. 6.4 deals with the late Byzantine canonists, canonical collections, and canonical jurisprudence.) Ch. 7 deals with Byzantine law and its sources in the nineteenth century and in the beginning of the twentieth century.