Folia Theologica et Canonica 1. 23/15 (2012)
RECENSIONS
288 RECENSIONS one. Nevertheless, the variety of these sources really remarkable and Professor Kaufhold uses his unique experiences on the legal literature of the different Orthodox communities from the Coptic or even Armenian tradition to the Maronites. The consultation of this volume is facilitated by an independent index of councils and synods (343-344), moreover by a well detailed general index (345-356). Wilfried Hartmann and Kenneth Pennington by this new, marvelous composition of the Byzantine canon law history made a historical step in order to promote the knowledge of the historical development of the Eastern canon law on the highest scientific level. Thanks to the excellent authors (S. Wessel, H. Ohme, S. Troianos, H. Kaufhold) this volume has become the most informative book about this great and creative field within the canon law history which field has not got enough attention before. Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem. Mardirossian, A., La Collection Canonique d’Antioche. Droit et hérésie à tavers le premier recueil de législation ecclésiastique (IVe siècle) [Monographies 34], Collège de France - CNRS Centre de Recherche d’His- toire et Civilisation de Byzance, Paris 2010. pp. 389 Councils were “(•••) assemblies, which could be ecumenical, metropolitan, episcopal, or patriarchal, expressed the essential nature of the church as community or koinonia. The church was indeed conceived as synodal or conciliar in structure from the beginning. (...)” as marked by Aristeides Papadakis and Anthony Cutler (i.e. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, I. edd. A. P. Kazhdan - A-M. Talbot - A. Cutler - T. E. Gregory - N. P. SevCenko, New York - Oxford 1991, 540). It is obvious, that without understanding the early institution of synods or councils we never can realize the fundamental importance of the first canonical collections. These collections were not composed only to list the discipline of the Church, but describe the doctrinal maxim too. Therefore, the separation of doctrine and discipline within the early councils - and also within the ancient canonical collections - is impossible. The most important councils - which material made essential influence on the later canonical norms and practice - were the Council of Nicaea I (325), Council of Ancyra (314), Council of Neocesarea (314/319), Council of Gangra (343), Council of Antioch (341?), Council of Laodicea (second half of the 4lh century), Council of Constantinople 1(381), Council of Chalcedon (451 ), Council of Sardica (342-343), and Council of Carthage (419).
