A valuable publication for the science of Orthodox canon law

(“Review of ancient Russian lists of the Helmsman’s Book.” I. I. Sreznevsky. 1897. St. Petersburg. Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences). We sinned somewhat against the science of church law that, due to circumstances, we were slow to warmly welcome the appearance in print of the named work of the late Ishmael Ivanovich Sreznevsky. Two properties of high merit appear with obvious clarity in this edition. The exemplary diligence of the late, venerable scientist, and the deep importance of the most ancient monuments of Russian church law that he prepared for publication and have now seen the light of day. By nature, the published work of the venerable I. I. Sreznevsky consists of two parts: a scientific, historical, literary and paleographic description of the five ancient lists of the Helmsman’s Book: Efremov, Ryazan, Novgorod, Ustyug and Voskresensky (pp. 1–154) and the publication of some articles of canon law on the now listed monuments (Appendix 1–207). The first part represents a valuable, in many respects, scientific addition to the studies of these monuments in the works of Rosenkampf, Vostokov, Pavlov; an addition, all the more desirable because it is made in one book. The second part – “Applications”, in our opinion, is even more valuable. In the first place here is placed a complete Slavic translation of the Code of 50 titles by I. Scholasticus 1, hitherto preserved only in two lists of the Helmsman: Ustyug (Rumyants. Museum No. 230) and Joasaph (Bible. Moscow Spiritual Academy No. 54), with an epilogue to it: a collection of Justinian's short stories in 87 chapters (according to the list Efremovskaya Helmsman of the Synodal Library). For students of the canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the publication of these articles, especially the first, has the same enormous value that, at one time, the publication of the most ancient copies of Russian Pravda had for students of Russian civil law. For John Scholasticus was also the father of canon law for the Greeks, as the first of the codifiers of canon law, who applied the scientific method of Justinian’s digest to its codification. This work of I. Scholasticus was also the first Greek nomocanon, according to which the Slavic and Russian great princes, “guessing with the metropolitans,” laid down the first beginnings of church organization in their principalities or states, translated, perhaps, by the first enlighteners of the Slavs, Methodius and Cyril. This, therefore, for all Slavs is not only the most ancient monument of their church law, but also a church-national shrine. Bearing in mind the great price of this monument, and then the fact that it was preserved for us only in the lists of the late 13th and 16th centuries, therefore, it endured centuries of suffering from negligence, ignorance and lack of skill of the scribes, one cannot help but regret that the venerable publishers did not add to the Slavic translation they published the true Greek original. Without this latter, the translation is positively incomprehensible and downright makes no sense in many cases. Meanwhile, as soon as it is combined with the Greek text, the great dignity (closeness to the original, accuracy in the selection of individual terms) of the original translation and its great depravity at the hands of later copyists will be revealed. Given the availability of the Greek text, the very depravity of the Slavic translation would be valuable, precisely as documentary evidence that the Slavic translation survived until the 13th century - for several centuries already. The addition of the Greek original would be desirable in this case also because this original itself is still available in the only edition of Voelli and Iustelli, which is very rare. Further articles, which find a place in the “appendices”, are of less value for canon law. It is especially a pity that the late worker did not intend for publication an article entitled “John Mnich, child of obedience, the teachings of St. Basil the Great" and so on. (see page 126). This article, which essentially represents one of the oldest editions of the so-called Postnikov nomocanon, is as rare in the Greek and Slavic editions as the nomocanon of I. Scholasticus 2. But, having only comparatively less value, precisely because these articles are already in the printed Kormcha (only in one edition), they are, nevertheless, very important, as ancient editions of the main monuments of our church law. The edition is provided with carefully marked options, sometimes in the text, sometimes in special notes; for some articles even Greek parallels are provided (in the notes). Bearing in mind the importance of the research and publication under consideration for the study of canon law, we would like to strongly recommend them for acquisition in the libraries of higher and secondary ecclesiastical educational institutions, which are in great need of editions of monuments of church law in general, and, even more so, in such excellent editions as the present one. In the publication, this article is unfortunately, in our opinion, entitled: “Collected Canons of John Scholasticus.” The most common genuine title of that article is this: δϊηρημένη. Of course, the term - Συναγωγη, can be translated by the word “meeting”, but it should not, just as our domestic Code of Laws should not be called the Collection of Laws. The work of I. Scholastic was precisely the processing of the collection or collection of Canons that existed before him into a systematic Code of Canons. In a short time we hope to publish it according to the list of Joasaph's Helmsman, along with some other editions of Postnikov's nomocanon. You might be interested in: