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The Holy Canons Apostolic Canon 82

Canon 82 Slaves ordained only with their masters' consent

Ἱεροὶ Κανόνες τῶν Ἁγίων καὶ Πανσέπτων Ἀποστόλων

The Apostolic Canons · compiled in Syria in the later fourth century · The Apostolic Canons on the map

We do not permit household slaves to be promoted into the clergy without the consent of their masters, to the grief of the masters who own them; for such a thing works the overthrow of households. But if ever a household slave should appear worthy of ordination to a rank, as our Onesimus also appeared, and the masters consent, and set him free, and send him out of the house, let him become one.

Οἰκέτας εἰς κλῆρον προχειρίζεσθαι ἄνευ τῆς τῶν δεσποτῶν γνώμης οὐκ ἐπιτρέπομεν, ἐπὶ λύπῃ τῶν δεσποτῶν τῶν κεκτημένων· οἴκων γὰρ ἀνατροπὴν τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐργάζεται. Εἰ δέ ποτε καὶ ἄξιος φανείη οἰκέτης πρὸς χειροτονίαν βαθμοῦ, οἷος καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος Ὀνήσιμος ἐφάνη, καὶ συγχωρήσωσιν οἱ δεσπόται, καὶ ἐλευθερώσωσι, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου ἐξαποστείλωσι, γινέσθω.

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English: this site's translation of the Greek beside it. Greek: the text of the Pedalion, as transcribed at users.uoa.gr/~nektar and corrected here. About these texts.