Правило 4 Василия Великого

We have laid down the same rule for trigamists and polygamists as for second-married couples, in terms of proportionality. Those who are second-married are excommunicated for a year, and others for two, and those who are in triple marriage are excommunicated for three, and often for four years, and such a union is no longer called marriage, but polygamy, or even more so, punishable fornication. Therefore, the Lord of the Samaritans, who changed five husbands, says: and the one whom you now have is not your husband (John 4:18), thus showing that those who have transgressed the limit of a second marriage are no longer worthy of being called the names of husband or wife. We, not from the rule, but from following our predecessors, have adopted the custom of excommunicating trigamists for five years. However, they should not be completely blocked from entering the church, but they should be worthy of listening to the scriptures for two or three years, and then allowed to stand, but kept from partaking of the shrine, and those who show some fruit of repentance should be restored to the place of fellowship. (Ap. 17; I Om. 8; Trul. 3, 87; Ankyr. 19; Neoces. 3, 7; Laod. 1; Basil Vel. 12, 30, 41, 50, 53, 80, 87). Saint Basil points out that the legal limit for marriage is a second marriage and notes that persons who cross this line are not worthy to be called husband and wife, although he considers this second marriage only a concession to human weakness. However, there were people who did not pay attention to this line established by the church, but entered into a third and even fourth marriage; It is to them that Saint Basil turns his attention in the present (as well as in 50 and 80) canons. Having established a penance of one or two years for second-weds, depending on the level of repentance (interpretation of the 1st canon of Laod.), Saint Basil in his 50th canon notes that a third marriage is prohibited by law, and for those who nevertheless enter into one, out of need or otherwise, he prescribes a five-year penance. He considers the fourth marriage, in his 80th rule, to be a sin greater than fornication, and even bestial (ώς κτηνώδη, ut belluinam). This teaching of Saint Basil was also the teaching of the entire church, which was recognized as binding by Greco-Roman legislation 29 . At the beginning of the 10th century, an incident occurred that contributed to the distortion of this teaching of the church and forced it to take up again the question of how many times a widower could be allowed to marry. This incident is of great importance, causing great turmoil in the church. Emperor Leo the Wise lost two wives within a few years, as a result of which he was forced to enter into a third marriage; however, in the same year this third wife also died. While still young, but without a legal heir, the emperor wished to enter into a fourth marriage, moreover, with a woman with whom he already had an illegitimate child. Patriarch Nicholas I of Constantinople did not want to bless this marriage, since it contradicted church regulations; then the emperor gave the order to the court presbyter to marry him, which he did. As a result of this, the patriarch excommunicated the emperor from the church and deprived the presbyter of his dignity. The offended emperor ordered the patriarch to be sent into exile; in addition, at a council (908), composed of bishops loyal to the emperor and with the participation of the legates of Pope Sergius III sent specially for this purpose, Patriarch Nicholas was deprived of his dignity and a new patriarch (Euphemius) was elected, and the emperor’s marriage was declared legal. This greatly upset all the bishops who respect the sanctity of canonical regulations and saw in this a violation by the state of the rights of the church; all this excited contemporaries to a high degree and caused a sharp clash between church and state. The capital was threatened by a riot. Trying to warn this, the emperor returned Patriarch Nicholas from exile. Meanwhile, the excitement continued. Emperor Leo died. Emperor Alexander, who succeeded Leo (912), immediately upon ascending the throne, convened an episcopal council, at which Nicholas was restored to the patriarchal see, and Euthymius was deposed. Patriarch Nicholas' efforts to calm agitated minds succeeded only after many years of effort. During the reign of the emperors Constantine VII and Romanus I, Patriarch Nicholas convened a large council in Constantinople in 920, at which everything that was done at the council of 908 against the canonical precepts of the church was condemned, and the famous in the history of church law τόμος της ενώσεως (tomus unionis) was approved, i.e. charter of union, reconciliation of the state with the church 30. This τόμος, in addition to the introduction, has 7 rules. The first 3 rules concern the issue that prompted the convening of this council. The 1st rule says that from now on no one can enter into a fourth marriage; if anyone does this, then such a marriage is not recognized and the culprit is deprived not only of all communication with the church, but he is even prohibited from entering the church as long as he remains in this illegal relationship. The 2nd rule talks about the third marriage and reminds that this marriage should be considered generally prohibited, allowing exceptions only in certain cases. In particular, regarding a third marriage, this rule prescribes: a) a person who is 40 years old and has no children, and who wants to enter into a third marriage, is not allowed to receive Holy Communion for five years; b) a person who is 40 years old and has children is prohibited from entering into a third marriage; c) a person who is 30 years old and has children from previous marriages, and who wants to enter into a third marriage, is deprived of his sainthood. communion for four years, and d) those who are 30 years old and have no children are allowed to enter into a third marriage, but with the obligation to bear penance. The 3rd rule prescribes a seven-year penance for those entering into a first or second marriage if it is proven that he kidnapped his wife, or that he had a criminal relationship with her before marriage. It is also added to this that a priest who gives Holy Communion to someone contrary to the instructions of this rule is immediately deprived of his position and subjected to seven years of penance. These three rules are contained in the said τόμος, which was approved by the mentioned emperors and declared state law 31. However, this instruction did not satisfy the strict guardians of the Sacred Rules, for in it they saw a concession to state power by allowing a third marriage, which is why they opposed such an instruction. Only under Patriarch Sisinius, during the reign of Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, in 997, did pacification come 32 . This year the τόμος was presented to the Great Council and solemnly approved, and four more rules were added to it. Of these rules: 1st (4) anathematizes those who dare to introduce anything new into the traditional teaching of the church; 2nd (5) anathematizes those who accuse the church of compliance, because for the sake of church peace it recognized the fourth marriage of Emperor Leo; The 3rd (6) anathematizes those who dare to say that the Holy Church has not preserved the teachings handed down to her pure and uncorrupted, and the 4th (7) anathematizes those who dare not recognize any of the rules that have hitherto been published and accepted by the entire Church 33 . After this, the protests in the church stopped and τόμος was accepted and recognized by all 34, and its instructions became mandatory for the entire Orthodox Church to this day. Thus, the fourth marriage, according to the canon law of the Orthodox Church, is completely prohibited, but the third can be allowed only in exceptional cases and, moreover, with the permission of the underlying bishop. See Prochiron (Ό πρόχειρος νόμος), IV, 25 (The Helmsman, ch. 48, gr. 4, 25), and even more decisively in the CS novella of Emperor Leo the Wise (Jus gr.-rom., III, 186), although, as we will see below, this emperor himself violated his injunction. See the introduction to the tomos (Af. Synth., IV, 3–4). Read more about all this in Alf. Syntagme M. Vlastar, G, 4 (Af. Synt., VI, 159–161). Wed. Zachar., Gesch. des gr.-rom. Rechts, S. 61, and according to it and Zhishman, Eherecht, S. 436–437. Af. Synth., V, 6–9. Zachar., Jus gr.-rom., III, 230 Af. Synth., V, 9. Zachar., Jus gr.-rom., III, 232 In Kormchay it makes up chapter 52, but in a special edition. In the Old Serbian handwritten Kormča there is a more accurate edition (see my work: “Savinska Kpmčija”. Zadar, 1884). You might be interested in: