56904 - STORIA DEL DIRITTO CANONICO
Course Structure
The course aims to trace the main lines of the historical development of the legal order of the Church, also with regard to the relationship between the Church and the secular systems. Through the study of institutions, sources and legal science, the course will analyze the different ways in which the law of the Church has been placed in the context of civil life. The objective of the teaching is to establish a dialogue capable of stimulating the critical skills and communication skills of students. Materials (sources and handouts) will be made available to students through the Studium platform.
Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.
Learning assessment may also be carried out on line, should the conditions require it.
Attendance of Lessons
Highly recommended.Detailed Course Content
Canon law in history: institutions, sources, legal science. 1. The Church in the Roman Empire. The origins of the law of the Church (1st-3rd centuries). The law of the Church in the Christian Roman Empire (4th-5th centuries). 2. From the Roman Empire to medieval Christianity. The law of the Church in the early Middle Ages (5th-11th centuries). 3. The turning point of the 11th century. The medieval legal renaissance. Canon law in the classical and post-classical era (12th-16th centuries). The formation of the Corpus iuris canonici. Canon law and civil law in the utrumque ius system (“both laws”). The role of canon law in the formation of western legal civilization. 4. Canon law and the discovery of the New World. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) and the system of Tridentine law (16th-18th centuries). The relationships between canon law and secular laws during the Ancient Regime. 5. Canon law in the process of formation of the contemporary state (19th century). Vatican Council I (1869-1870). Towards the codification of canon law. The Codex Iuris Canonici of 1917. 6. Ecclesiological and normative developments in the twentieth century. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The second Latin Code (1983) the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990).
Textbook Information
Attending Students: A. Padovani, Quadri da una esposizione canonistica (dalle origini al 1917) (Marcianum Press, Venezia 2019), pp. 9-128, and other materials availabble in the platform Studium.
Non-Attending Students: C. Fantappiè, Storia del diritto canonico e delle istituzioni della Chiesa (il Mulino, Bologna 2011), pp. 21-83; 87-124; 140-143; 156-162; 163-191; 196-230; 233-236; 250-277; 286-309 (231 total amount).
Erasmus Students: please contact prof. Condorelli for the choice of themes and textbook.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
| 1 | 1. The Church in the Roman Empire. From a persecuted community to a "State" religion. | Fantappiè, cap. 1 e 2; Padovani, cap. 1 e 2. |
| 2 | 2. The origins of the law of the Church (1st-3rd centuries). The pseudo-apostolic collections. | Fantappiè, cap. 1 e 2; Padovani, cap. 1. |
| 3 | 3. The law of the Church in the Christian Roman Empire (4th-5th centuries). | Fantappiè, cap. 2; Padovani, cap. 2. |
| 4 | 4. The councils (ecumenical and particular) and the beginnings of papal legislation. | Fantappiè, cap. 2; Padovani, cap. 2 e 3. |
| 5 | 5. From the Roman Empire to medieval Christianity. The law of the Church in the early Middle Ages (5th-11th centuries). | Fantappiè, cap. 2; Padovani, cap. 4 e 5. |
| 6 | 6. The turning point of the 11th century. The medieval legal renaissance. | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 6. |
| 7 | 7. Canon law in the classical and post-classical era (12th-16th centuries). | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 6 e 7. |
| 8 | 8. The father of the science of canon law: Gratian and his "Harmony of discordant canons". The methods of interpretation. | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 6. |
| 9 | 9. The law of decretals as "ius novum". | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 7 e 8. |
| 10 | 10. The formation of the Corpus iuris canonici. | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 7 e 8. |
| 11 | 11. The places and methods of teaching. Masters and literary forms: glossators and commentators. | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13. |
| 12 | 12. The interaction of canon law and civil law in the “utrumque ius” system (“both laws”). | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 9. |
| 13 | 13. The role of canon law in the formation of Western legal civilization. | Fantappiè, cap. 3; Padovani, cap. 9. |
| 14 | 14. Canon law and the discovery of the New World. | Fantappiè, cap. 4; Padovani, cap. 15 e 16. |
| 15 | 15. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) and the system of Tridentine law (16th-18th centuries). | Fantappiè, cap. 4; Padovani, cap. 15, 16, 17. |
| 16 | 16. Canonical science in the Post-Tridentine times. | Fantappiè, cap. 4; Padovani, cap. 15, 16, 17. |
| 17 | 17. The relations between canon law and secular laws in the centuries of the Ancient Regime. “Jurisdictionalism, Gallicanism, Regalism”. | Fantappiè, cap. 4; Padovani, cap. 15, 16, 17. |
| 18 | 18. Canon law in the process of formation of the contemporary state (19th century). | Fantappiè, cap. 5; |
| 19 | 19. The First Vatican Council (1869-1870). Towards the codification of canon law. | Fantappiè, cap. 5; Padovani, cap. 18. |
| 20 | 20. The Codex Iuris Canonici of 1917. The new canon law as the “science of the code”. | Fantappiè, cap. 5 e 6; Padovani, cap. 18. |
| 21 | 21. Ecclesiological and legal developments in the twentieth century. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The second Latin Code (1983) the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990). | Fantappiè, cap. 6. |
| 22 | PLEASE NOTE. The list is purely indicative, and takes into account both the topics covered in class and those detailed in the text recommended for non-attending students. In the examination, questions will be formulated by the teacher in line with the different study paths actually followed by the students (attending or non-attending). |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Oral examination.Attending students. The exam will focus on the topics covered in class, for which students will have to use the materials that will be provided by the teacher and placed in advance on the Studium platform. Students will obviously be able to refer to the recommended text for the preparation of the exam, according to the instructions given each time by the teacher in class.
Non-attending students. The exam will focus on the topics covered in the text recommended for preparation, only at the pages therein specified.
For all students. To pass the exam, you must have at least sufficient knowledge of all the thematic areas relating to the chosen program.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
The list is
purely indicative, and takes into account both the topics covered in class and
those detailed in the text recommended for non-attending students. In the examination, questions will be formulated by the teacher in line
with the different study paths actually followed by the students (attending or
non-attending).
The concept of Church.
The Church as a juridical institution: people of God, society, community.
The origins of canon law. The role of tradition: the pseudo-apostolic collections.
The Church and persecutions.
From the "pax constantiniana" to the elevation of Catholicism to the "religion of the Empire".
The councils: ecumenical and particular.
The decretals and the beginning of papal legislation.
The primacy of the bishop of Rome: interpretations in the Latin Church and in the Eastern Churches.
The institutional break-up of the Roman Empire and the early medieval legal particularism.
The reform of the Church in the eleventh century.
The medieval legal renaissance (11th-12th centuries) and the birth of the science of canon law.
The method of interpreting the sources of canon law. The precursors of Gratian
The Decretum of Gratian ("armony of the discordant canons").
The strengthening of the papal primacy and the new law of decretals. Corpus iuris canonici.
The fusion of civil law and canon law in the system of utrumque ius ("both laws").
The role of canon law in the formation of the common legal heritage of the Western world (public and private law, procedural law, criminal law, international law, administrative law, etc.).
The science of canon law: literary methods and forms. Glossators and canonist commentators.
The crisis of the Church between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Conciliarism.
Canon law at the beginning of the modern age.
Canon law and the discovery of the new world. The condition of the "Indios".
The second scholasticism and natural law.
The Protestant reform and its consequences in the life of the Church's law.
The Council of Trent and the Catholic Reform. The system of Tridentine law. The role of the Congregation of the Council and of the Roman congregations.
Post-Tridentine legal science. Literary methods and forms.
Canon law and the law of States (jurisdictionalism, Gallicanism, regalism).
The repositioning of canon law in the transition from the Ancient Regime to the contemporary State.
The science of the "ius publicum ecclesiasticum".
The First Vatican Council and the beginning of the discussion on the codification of canon law.
The process of codification of canon law (1904-1917).
The characters of the Codex iuris canonici (1917).
The new face of the science of canon law as a science of the code.
Ecclesiological developments in the twentieth century: the Second Vatican Council. The second canonical codification: the second Latin code (1983) and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Catholic Churches (1990).