Правило 30 Василия Великого

We do not have an ancient rule about those who kidnap wives, but we have formed our own opinion: both they and those who assisted them will be excommunicated from common prayers for three years. What happens without violence is not subject to punishment, unless it is accompanied by corruption, which is a crime. The widow has power within herself, and it is up to her to follow the kidnapper. We should not worry about the species shown. (Ap. 67; IV Om. 27; Trul. 92, 98; Anchir. 11; Basil Vel. 4, 22, 25, 26, 38, 40, 41, 42, 53, 69). Speaking about the snatch (abduction, αρπαγή), Saint Basil in this rule distinguishes the snatch combined with violence from that without violence (μή βιαίως). Regarding the first, he says that he expresses his opinion (ιδίαν γνώμην) when he prescribes a three-year penance for the kidnapper, as well as for his accomplices. How this punishment should be understood - we have already seen in the interpretation of the 22nd rule of St. Vasily. Regarding the second, Basil the Great does not prescribe any punishment if a woman left voluntarily with someone, and neither desecration (φθορά) nor theft (κλοπή) occurred, i.e. if the kidnapper did not desecrate the girl before she entered his house, or if he had not previously been in a secret sinful relationship with her. That the present order of St. Basil was subsequently changed, we are told by the rules of the IV Ecumenical Council (Rule 27) and the Trullo Council (Rule 92). However, even according to Basil the Great, the second type of marriage is not free from canonical punishment if the woman was under the authority of her elders and, therefore, was not in the power of herself (αύτεξούσία), for, as such, she does not have the right to marry anyone, and the one in whose power she was has the right, at his discretion, to return her to his home (Basily the Great rights. 38, 42). Because of this, Basil the Great in this rule finds that a widow who, being completely free, can follow the kidnapper, and the one who committed such a kidnapping (snatch) is not subject to punishment. This rule of Basil the Great ends with the remark that we should not pay attention to external appearances (ώστε τών σχημάτων ήμΐν ού φροντιστέον), and this, according to Balsamon’s interpretation of this rule, means: “if a wife, ashamed, perhaps, of giving herself to a lover, or a loved one, because he is of low birth (χαμερπής), showed the appearance that she was kidnapped, but in fact voluntarily followed him, then we do not care about what is feignedly shown, but pay attention to the truth” 75. You might be interested in: