Canon XIX.
If
any of the ascetics, without
bodily necessity, shall behave with insolence and disregard the fasts
commonly prescribed and observed by the Church, because of his perfect
understanding in the matter, let him be anathema.
Notes.
Ancient Epitome of Canon
XIX.
Whoso neglects the fasts of the Church, let him be
anathema.
I have followed Hefele’s translation of the last
clause, with which Van Espen seems to agree, as well as Zonaras.
But Hardouin and Mansi take an entirely different view and translate
“if the Eustathian deliberately rejects the Church
fasts.” Zonoras and Balsamon both refer to the
LXIX
th
of the Apostolical Canons as being the
law the Eustathians violated. Balsamon suggests that the
Eustathians shared the error of the Bogomiles on the subject of
fasting, but I see no reason to think that this was the case;
Eustathius’s action seems rather to be attributable to pride, and
a desire to be different and original, “I thank thee that I am
not as other men are,” (as Van Espen points out). All that
Socrates says (
H. E.
II., xliii.) is that “he commanded
that the prescribed fasts should be neglected, and that the
Lord’s days should be fasted.”
This canon is found in the
Corpus Juris Canonici
,
Gratian’s
Decretum
, Pars I., Dist. xxx., c. viii., in an
imperfect translation but not that of either Isidore or
Dionysius.