Canonical Supervision of Rural Communities in Early Byzantium

Abstract

The author attempts in this study to analyse the canonical texts of the Orthodox Church in order to identify certain canonical institutions used by the Church for its pastorship and mission in rural communities and how rural parishes were canonically supervised. To Christianise villages, the Byzantine Church manifested a certain canonical creativity, creating the institution of chorepiscopate responsible for rural ecclesial life and the care for the poor in rural communities. The author emphasizes the full episcopal status of the chorbishops. At the end of the fourth century, the canonical texts limit the canonical privileges of chorbishops even for their rural jurisdiction, prohibiting not just the ordination for the village but the right to ordain priests and deacons for rural communities. Simultaneously with the development of the office of chorbishops, the rank of periodeutai also appeared. These priests resided in the city and were sent by the urban bishop to visit the rural communities as well. They were supervisors of rural communities under the authority of the urban bishop and they can be considered an important link between urban and rural communities, but as well an instrument of exercising episcopal power and control in rural parishes that were previous dominated by the figure of chorbishops.