Canons: between sacred and current law

Abstract

With this article, we continue to analyze one of the main problems of modern canon law - the lack of clearly defined criteria for the relevance and applicability of church canons today in the Orthodox Church. The lack of consensus on these criteria has opened the possibility of manipulating canons to achieve certain goals. They are neglected by both secular rulers and, unfortunately, church hierarchs. The role and significance of the canons, which are the essence of church law, in resolving actual issues in the Orthodox world, is worth more than one article. Therefore, for starters, the article presents the views of some authoritative theologians and canonists of the XX-XXI centuries in relation to the issue of the immutability of canons. The content is based on the principle of comparing two approaches to this issue: conservative and progressive. The article does not imply a ready-made answer to such a complex and actual question. By analyzing the opinions of experts in church law, we will try to present the current state of the issue of the application of canons.