Clergy, festivals and dancing: what the sacred Canons really saytranslated

His Eminence Metropolitan Hong Kong Mr. Nektarios writes

The discussion about the participation of clergy in festivals, especially during the summer months, when saints or the Blessed Virgin Mary are honored, needs seriousness, a correct interpretation of the sacred Canons and pastoral discernment. The opinion is often put forward that "the holy Canons generally forbid the clergy to dance at every festival". Sometimes the Apostolic Canons, the Canons of the Council of Laodicea and the Canons of Carthage are invoked in a general way, without examining their exact content.

The issue, however, is not resolved with aphoristic slogans. The Canons of the Church are not simple prohibitive provisions detached from the church ethos. They are pastoral rules for treatment, order and protection of the ecclesiastical body. That is why they must be read mainly according to the spirit of the Fathers who established them.

The Normal frame The main Canons related to the subject are mainly the 53rd, 54th and 55th of the Council of Laodicea, as well as the related provisions of the Fifteenth Ecumenical Council.

The 53rd Canon of Laodicea says:

"He doesn't see Christians in broken marriages...