No. We’re not bound by all the ancient canons in a strict, literal sense, though we do regard them as authoritative guides for church life.
This surprises people coming from backgrounds where rules are rules. But the Orthodox Church doesn’t treat canons like a legal code you follow to the letter or get thrown in spiritual jail. They’re more like a physician’s treatment plan. The goal isn’t compliance for its own sake, it’s healing.
The canons come from the seven Ecumenical Councils, various local synods (Antioch, Laodicea, Gangra, and others), and the writings of the Church Fathers. They’ve been collected and preserved for centuries, largely unchanged since collections like Patriarch Photios’ nomocanon in 883. These aren’t arbitrary rules. They express theological truth and pastoral wisdom for specific situations the Church faced. A canon about bishops not wandering into other dioceses without permission (Canon 13 of Antioch) addressed real problems in the fourth century. It still matters today, but we apply it differently in an age of airplanes and email.
Akribeia and Oikonomia
Here’s where it gets interesting. The Church operates with two principles: akribeia and oikonomia. Akribeia means exactness, strict application of the rule. Oikonomia means pastoral dispensation, bending the rule for someone’s spiritual good.
Both are valid. Both are necessary. A bishop might apply akribeia in one situation and oikonomia in another, depending on what will actually help the person grow closer to God. This isn’t arbitrary or wishy-washy. It’s incarnational. Christ healed people on the Sabbath when the Pharisees screamed about breaking the rules. He knew the rules existed for human beings, not the other way around.
So when a canon prescribes seven years of penance for a particular sin, your priest or bishop might shorten that if he sees genuine repentance. Or he might extend it if someone’s treating confession like a spiritual car wash. The canon provides the framework. The bishop applies it with wisdom, always aiming at the person’s salvation.
What About Canons We Don’t Follow?
Some canons simply don’t apply anymore. Canons about slavery, for instance. Slavery’s been abolished (thank God), so those canons are historical curiosities now. Others get adapted. That canon about bishops not visiting other dioceses? Bishops visit each other’s territories all the time today, but they do it with permission and coordination. The principle holds, respect jurisdictional boundaries, but the application looks different.
And honestly, some canons addressed situations so specific to their time that forcing them onto modern life would be absurd. The Church isn’t interested in absurdity. She’s interested in salvation.
This doesn’t mean we pick and choose whatever feels good. We can’t just ignore canons we don’t like. But the Church, through her bishops, has the authority to apply them pastorally. Your bishop isn’t making things up as he goes. He’s exercising the same authority the apostles exercised when they decided Gentile converts didn’t need circumcision. The Church is alive, not embalmed.
Who Decides?
Your bishop. He’s the canonical authority in his diocese. He interprets, he grants dispensations, he enforces discipline when necessary. This isn’t arbitrary power. It’s the same episcopal authority that’s existed since the apostles laid hands on Timothy and Titus. When you have a question about how a canon applies to your life, you ask your priest. If it’s complicated, he’ll consult the bishop.
This can feel uncomfortable if you’re used to having everything spelled out in black and white. I get it. Southeast Texas runs on clear expectations and straight answers. But the Christian life isn’t a checklist. It’s a relationship with a living God who meets us where we are and leads us forward. The canons help with that. They don’t replace it.
If you want to dig deeper, there’s a collection called the Rudder (or Pedalion in Greek) that gathers the canons with commentary. But don’t read it alone and start applying canons to yourself or others. That way lies prelest (spiritual delusion) and a judgmental spirit that’ll poison your soul faster than anything. Read it with your priest’s blessing, and remember that the canons exist to bring us to Christ, not to turn us into Pharisees.
