Canon XXI.
That monks are not to leave their monasteries and go
into others.
A monk
or nun ought not to leave
the monastery to which he or she is attached, and betake themselves to
others. But if one do this, he ought to be received as a
guest. It is not however proper that he be made a member of the
monastery, without the consent of his hegumenos.
Notes.
Ancient Epitome of Canon
XXI.
It is not allowed to a monk or a nun to leave her own
house and enter another; but if he (or she) enters let (him or her) be
received as a guest; but let him (or her) not be admitted at all nor
given hospitality contrary to the will of the superior.
Aristenus
.
The present canon does not allow a monk or a nun who
goes to another house to be received into, nor even to be admitted as a
guest, lest by force of necessity he be led astray to worldly things
and so remain. Moreover it does not permit a woman to be admitted
and received and reckoned in the number of the sisters without the
consent of the superior.
It seems to me that in Aristenus an
οὐκ
must have crept into the text
and that the first sentence should read as now but omitting the
“not.” This makes him agree with Zonaras who says
“the man must be received as a guest lest he go to a profane
tavern and be forced to associate with those who have never learned how
to live decently.” It is clear that the
“superior” referred to is that of the house whence the monk
or nun went forth.