The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

II. Examples of Religions Legislation as Embodied in Civil Law

1. CODE EMBODIES EXISTING RELIGIOUS LAWS

The Code groups together in book 1 the various religious laws of emperors since Constantine. PFF1 934.2

In this book, title 1, “Concerning the Most Exalted Trinity and the Catholic Faith, and Providing That No One Shall Dare to Publicly Oppose PFF1 934.3

Them,” begins by defining and establishing orthodoxy, penalizing dissenters, and including Justinian’s correspondence with John and Epiphanius relating to the Nestorians and asserting the pope’s headship. Title 2 is concerned with the property and privileges of churches, titles 3 and 4 with the status of the clergy and the legal functions and jurisdiction of the bishops. Title 5 confirms the decrees against heresy, which, together with Justinian’s own enactments in the Novellae, laid the foundation upon which the Inquisition was later built. ⁷ Titles 6-13 deal with various religious subjects. PFF1 934.4

Although most of the religious legislation is in the first part of book 1, we find in book 3, title 12, the laws concerning festivals, including both secular holidays and religious days such as Christmas and Easter, as well as Sunday laws beginning with Constantine’s first Sunday edict of 321. PFF1 934.5

2. JUSTINIAN’S NOVELLAE EXTEND EXISTING LAWS AND INCORPORATE CANON LAW

The Novellae, or New Constitutions, in nine collections, include various religious enactments of Justinian, two of which, numbers 9 and 131, have been quoted in part. It is to be noted that, in addition to confirming the older laws in the Code and making new enactments in the Novellae, Justinian also incorporated into the imperial Civil Law the body of canon law recognized in the church. PFF1 934.6

Novella 131 enacts for the whole empire the canons of the first four general councils, Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, thereby including many enactments of lesser synods which were declared in force by the first canon of the council of Chalcedon. ⁸ Thus Justinian not only codified the religious laws of his predecessors but also specifically designated the bishop of Rome the head of the church and corrector of heretics, and made the canon law of the church up to 451 part of the civil law of the empire, thus consummating the union of church and state. PFF1 934.7