Abstract
Legal Reflections on the Antiochian Monasticism
Father Hieromonach Serafeim EL Khoury
Our article, “Legal Reflections on the Antiochian Monasticism,” presents a study of the articles in Chapter Eight of the current Charter of the Antiochian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox Church (1972- 1983). It is a thematic and objective study derived from the tradition of our Holy Church, the teachings of her holy Fathers, and the experiences of contemporary Orthodox churches. The aim of this study is to organize the coenobitic monastic life in accordance with the spirit of the patristic and ecclesiastical thought, so that it may achieve its ultimate goal: the salvation of souls. The framework doesn’t seek to provide ready-made answers to various monastic issues in rigid, mandatory frameworks that stifle monks and monastic life, but rather to shed light on forgotten legal precision and contribute to a better understanding of past mistakes, thereby preventing the repetition of historical human errors. Moreover, it aids in understanding the spirit of this legal experience and benefiting from it in amending and enriching the current Antiochian Charter to better align with the Antiochian monastic reality and its specificities.
In this article, we will study each article of Chapter Eight separately, based on the legal experience of the Orthodox Church and the living monastic tradition in the coenobitic monasteries to this day.
KEYWORDS: Monasticism, coenobitic monasteries, orthodox church, antioch, canon law.
