The XXX
Canons of the Holy and Fourth Synods, of Chalcedon.
Canon I.
We
have judged it right that the
canons of the Holy Fathers made in every synod even until now, should
remain in force.
Notes.
Ancient Epitome of Canon I.
The canons of every Synod of the holy Fathers shall be
observed.
Hefele
.
Before the holding of the Council of Chalcedon, in the
Greek Church, the canons of several synods, which were held previously,
were gathered into one collection and provided with continuous numbers,
and such a collection of canons, as we have seen, lay before the Synod
of Chalcedon. As, however, most of the synods whose canons were
received into the collection,
e.g.
those of Neo
cæsarea, Ancyra, Gangra, Antioch, were
certainly not Ecumenical Councils, and were even to some extent of
doubtful authority, such as the Antiochene Synod of 341, the
confirmation of the Ecumenical Synod was now given to them, in order to
raise them to the position of universally and unconditionally valid
ecclesiastical rules. It is admirably remarked by the Emperor
Justinian, in his 131st Novel, cap. j.; “We honour the doctrinal
decrees of the first four Councils as we do Holy Scripture, but the
canons given or
approved
by them as we do the laws.”
It seems quite impossible to determine just what
councils are included in this list, the Council in Trullo has entirely
removed this ambiguity in its second canon.
This canon is found in the
Corpus Juris Canonici
,
Gratian’s
Decretum
, Pars II., Causa XXV., Quæst. 1,
can. xiv.