Apostolic Constitutions and Canons

Apostolic Constitutions and Canons, both ascribed by tradition to Clemens Romanus, are notes of ecclesiastical customs held to be apostolical, written in the form of apostolic precepts. The Constitutiones Apostolicae, consisting of eight books, were probably composed in Syria, and contain, in the first six books, a comprehensive rule for the whole Christian life. These were probably written about the end of the 3d century; while the seventh book, which, with the eighth, is thought to have been founded on the recently discovered Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (see above), may have belonged to the beginning of the 4th century. The eighth book was put together in the middle of the 4th century, for the use of priests, and relates only to the sacred offices. Interpolations, however, were afterwards introduced. The Canones Apostolici, which were also recognised by the church, were composed at a later period. The first fifty, compiled in the middle of the 5th century, and translated from Greek into Latin by Dionysius the Younger, were alone acknowledged by the Latin Church. The Greek Church, on the other hand, accepted the thirty-five canons put forth in the beginning of the 6th century; and this became a point of discord between the churches. Both collections were probably looked upon at first as apostolic traditions merely, but later came to be looked upon as due to the apostles themselves. See Bunsen's Hippolytus.