Councils and Synods From the very early church, Christian communities gathered together to discuss problems. Councils in the Early Church (Short History) By mid-second century this practice had been institutionalized. These meetings were called councils or synods. There is not much information about synods before the fourth century. |
Canon means rule in Greek. Has no meaning in Roman and Greek Law |
Further Bibliography of Sources
Most Comprehensive Early Modern Edition of Conciliar Canons and Acta: The most complete collection of conciliar canons is: Johannes Dominicus Mansi (1692-1769), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio : in qua,prćter ea quć Phil. Labbeus et Gabr. Cossartius S.J. et novissime Nicolaus Coleti in lucem edidere, ea omnia insuper suis in locis optime disposita exhibentur quć Johannes Dominicus Mansi ... evulgavit ... 56 Volumes. Florentić : Expensis Antonii Zatta Veneti, 1759-[1927].
Early Church Councils and Sources: Cuthbert Hamilton Turner (ed.) Ecclesiae Occidentalis Monumenta Iuris Antiquissima Canonum et Conciliorum Graecorum interpretationes Latinae. Edidit Cuthbert Hamilton Turner. 2 volumes. Oxford 1899-1939. Reprint: Hildesheim 2011.
An entirely arbitrary bibliography of modern editions that concentrates on the early Middle Ages:
Councils, Czech. Synody a statuta olomoucké diecéze období středověku, ed. Pavel Krafl, Práce Historického ústavu AV ČR; Opera Instituti hisorici Pragae, Řada/Series B, Editiones, Svazek, 2. Praha: Historického ústavu AV ČR, 2003 (Browsers do not read Czech accents correctly).
Councils, English. Councils and Synods with Other Documents Relating to the English Church, 2: A.D. 1205-1313, Part 1: 1205-1265. Edited by F.M Powicke and Christopher R. Cheney. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964. 1998
Councils, African. Concilia Africae a. 345-a. 525. Edited Charles Munier. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, 149. Turnholt: Brepols, 1974
Councils, French. Concilia Galliae, A. 314 - A. 506. Edited Charles Munier. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, 148. Turnholt: Brepols, 1963. Concilia Galliae, A. 511 - A. 695 Edited Charles de Clercq. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, 148 A. Turnholt: Brepols, 1963.
Councils, German and French. Konzilien der karolingischen Teilreiche 843-859. Ed. Wilfried Hartmann. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Concilia 3. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1984.
Councils, German and French. Konzilien der karolingischen Teilreiche 860-874. Ed. Wilfried Hartmann. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Concilia 4. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1998.
Councils, German and French. Konzilien der karolingischen Teilreiche 875-911. Ed. Wilfried Hartmann et al. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Concilia 5. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 2012.
Councils, Spanish. Synodicon Hispanum, ed. Antonio García y García et al. 7 Volumes. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1981-1997.
Instructions for Holding Councils: Die Konzilsordines des Früh- und Hochmittelalters. Edited by Herbert Schneider. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Ordines de celebrando concilio. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1996.
