In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, Amen. Those are the canons of the Church, ordinances
which Hippolytus wrote, by whom the Church speaketh; and the
number of them is thirty-eight canons. Greeting from the
Lord.
Canon First. Of the Catholic faith. Before all things should we speak of the faith, holy and right, regarding our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and we have consequently placed that canon in the faith (the symbol); and we agree in this with all reasonable certitude, that the Trinity is equal perfectly in honour, and equal in glory, and has neither beginning nor end. The Word is the Son of God, and is Himself the Creator of every creature, of things visible and invisible. This we lay down with one accord, in opposition to those who have said boldly, that it is not right to speak of the Word of God as our Lord Jesus Christ spake. We come together chiefly to bring out the holy truth regarding God; and we have separated them, because they do not agree with the Church in theology, nor with us the sons of the Scriptures. On this account we have sundered them from the Church, and have left what concerns them to God, who will judge His creatures with justice. To those, moreover, who are not cognisant of them, we make this known without ill-will, in order that they may not rush into an evil death, like heretics, but may gain eternal life, and teach their sons and their posterity this one true faith.
Canon Second. Of bishops. A bishop should be
elected by all the people, and he should be unimpeachable, as it is
written of him in the apostle; in the week in which he is ordained, the
whole people should also say, We desire him; and there should be
silence in the whole hall, and they should all pray in his behalf, and
say, O God, stablish him whom Thou hast prepared for us, etc.
Canon Third. Prayer in behalf of him who is
made bishop, and the ordinance of the Missa. O God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, etc.
Canon Fourth. Of the ordination of a
presbyter.
Canon Fifth. Of the constituting a deacon.
Canon Sixth. Of those who have suffered for the
faith.
Canon Seventh. Of him who is elected reader and
sub-deacon.
Canon Eighth. Of the gift of healings.
Canon Ninth. That a presbyter should not dwell in
unbefitting places; and of the honour of widows.
Canon Tenth. Of those who wish to become Nazarenes
(Christians).
Canon Eleventh. Of him who makes idols and images, or the artificer.
Canon Twelfth. Of the prohibition of those works, the authors of which are not to be received but on the exhibition of repentance.
Canon Thirteenth. Of a prince or a soldier, that
they be not received indiscriminately.
Canon Fourteenth. That a Nazarene may not become a
soldier unless by order.
Canon Fifteenth. Enumeration of works which are
unlawful.
Canon Sixteenth. Of him who has a lawful wife, and
takes another beside her.
Canon Seventeenth. Of a free-born woman, and her
duties. Of midwives, and of the separation of men from
women. Of virgins, that they should cover their faces and their
heads.
Canon Eighteenth. Of women in childbed, and of
midwives again.
Canon Nineteenth. Of catechumens, and the
ordinance of Baptism and the Missa.
Canon
Twentieth. Of the fast the six days, and of that of
Lent.
Canon Twenty-first. Of the daily assembling of
priests and people in the church.
Canon Twenty-second. Of the week of the
Jews’ passover, wherein joy shall be put away, and of what is
eaten therein; and of him who, being brought up abroad, is ignorant of
the Calendar.
Canon Twenty-third. Of doctrine, that it
should be continuous, greater than the sea, and that its words
ought to be fulfilled by deeds.
Canon Twenty-fourth. Of the bishop’s
visitation of the sick; and that if an infirm man has prayed in the
church, and has a house, he should go to him.
Canon Twenty-fifth. Of the procurator appointed
for the sick, and of the bishop, and the times of prayer.
Canon Twenty-sixth. Of the hearing of the word in
church, and of praying in it.
Canon Twenty-seventh. Of him who does not come to
church daily,—let him read books; and of prayer at midnight and
cock-crowing, and of the washing of hands at the time of any
prayer.