Joannes ANTIOCHENUS
4. ANTIOCHENUS and SCHOLASTICUS, from his native place Antioch, and the profession of advocate, which he once exercised there (
ἀπὸ σχολαστικῶν).
At a later period of his life he entered into holy orders, and was ordained priest.
He was then named
Apocrisiarius, agent or
chargé d'affaires of the church of Antioch at the imperial court in Constantinople towards the end of the reign of Justinian. In A. D. 565 he was elevated to the vacant patriarchate of Constantinople, and he died on the 31st of August, A. D. 578, in the 12th year of the reign of Justin the younger. (Theophanes,
Chronographia, p. 203, fol. Par. 1655, Assemani,
Bibl. Jur. Orient. vol. iii. p. 340-343.)
Works
Joannes published a collection of canons in 50 titles. Assemani (vol. i. p. 114) thinks that it was published and prescribed by him as a rule to the bishops of the patriarchate, after he was made patriarch.
In the preface to the work, however, he himself assumes no higher rank than presbyter.
This collection is entitled
Συναγωγὴ κανόνων εἰς ϝ́ τίτλους διηρημένη, and is founded on the basis of a previous collection, which is attributed by some manuscripts to Stephanus Ephesius.
It consists chiefly of decrees of early councils, and letters of St. Basil. The
Συναγωγή of Joannes (which was one of the earliest compilations of the kind) enjoyed for some centuries great credit in the Oriental church, received from time to time corrections and additions, and was translated into several foreign languages. Assemani (vol. i. p. 60) cites the Syrian translation: Biener (
de Collectionibus Canonum), p. 49) treats of the Sclavonic translation; and Beveridge (
Synodicon, p. 211) mentions an Egyptian collection of Abnalcassabi in 51 titles, resembling that of Joannes. The
Συναγωγή of Joannes is printed in Voelli et Justelli
Bibliotheca Jur. Canson. vol. ii. p. 499-602.
A collection of 87 chapters, intended as a supplement to the former
Συναγωγή, was published (if we may credit the title to the work) by Joannes, after he was in possession of the metropolitan throne, and after the death of Justinian.
It was published, therefore, between A. D. 565 and 578.
As the former collection contained the rules of purely ecclesiastical origin (
κανόνες), the present was intended to comprehend the enactments of the civil law (
νόμοι) relating to the affairs of the church, and was compiled from the Novells of Justinian. Joannes makes abridged extracts from Novells 3, 5, 6, 32, 46, 56, 57, 83, 120, 123, 131, usually employing the words of the original text.
These 87 chapters have in several catalogues of manuscripts been wrongly attributed to Balsamo. Some notices of their contents, and some extracts from them, were given by Assesmani (
Bibl. Jur. Orrient. vol. ii. p. 451-459) : and Biener has treated of them wi th his usual sagacity and learning. (
Geschichte der Novellen, p. 167-173, p. 584-597.) They were first printed at length by Heimbach in 1840. (
Anecdota, vol. ii.)
A
Nomocanon (combination of
κανόνες and
νόμοι) in 50 titles, with a supplement of 21 chapters, was subsequently compiled from the two works of Joannes.
This compilation has been wrongly attributed to Joannes himself.
The author of it is uncertain, but it was probably composed by Theodoretus, bishop of Cyrrhus (now Kheros, in Syria). The 87 chapters of Joannes were much referred to by subsequent compilers, as by Arsenius in his
Synopsis Canonum..
Editions
printed in Voel. et Justell.
Bibl. Jur. Canon. vol. ii. p, 603-672)
Further Information
Heimbach,
Anecdota, vol. ii. in Prolegomenis; Zachariae,
Hist. Jur. Gr. Rom. Delin. § 22; Mortreueil,
Histoire du Droit Byzantin, vol. i. p. 201-211, p. 288; Böcking,
Institutionen, vol. i. p. 102, 103.
