Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/72

38 following the rules of the holy Father and knowing the Canon of the 150 most God-beloved bishops which has just been read, we also define and vote the same things concerning the Primacy of the most holy Church of Constantinople, the New Rome. And, indeed, the Fathers wisely gave the Primacy to the See of the Elder Rome, because that city was the ruler, and the 150 most God-beloved bishops, moved by the same purpose, appointed a like Primacy to the most holy See of New Rome, rightly judging that the city honoured because of her rule and her Senate, should enjoy a like primacy to that of the elder Imperial Rome, and should be mighty in Church affairs, just as she is, and should be the second after her. Thus the single metropolitans of the dioceses of Asia and Thrace, as also the bishops of the aforesaid dioceses that are among the barbarians, shall be ordained by the said most holy See of the most holy Church at Constantinople, whereas of course each metropolitan in the said dioceses shall ordain the bishops of his province in union with the (other) bishops of the same province, as the holy Canons ordain. But the metropolitans of these dioceses shall be ordained by the Archbishop of Constantinople, as has been said, after they have been elected unanimously and after the election has been reported to him, according to custom."

That is the famous 28th Canon of Chalcedon. The second half (to begin with what is less important to us here) means that all metropolitans in Asia and Thrace are to go up to Constantinople to be ordained (this of course puts them under that Patriarch's jurisdiction), so also those bishops whose sees are overrun with barbarians (that is especially in Northern Thrace, towards the Danube, where the Slavs were pouring in). But, where there are no barbarians, the ordinary bishops are to be ordained by the local metropolitans. The Canon then repeats that these metropolitans must be themselves ordained by the Archbishop (, the word is rare in