Traditio Canonica și actualitatea dreptului bisericesc în Ortodoxia românească – reflecții la centenarul Patriarhatului (1925-2025)
Canonical Tradition and the Revelance of Church Law in Romanian Orthodoxy – Reflections on the Centennial of the Patriarchate (1925-2025)

Summary/Abstract: In the context of the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate (1925–2025), this study identifies the traditio canonica as the traditio viva normativa of Romanian ecclesiastical law: immutable in principle, flexible in application (akribeia/oikonomia), within the unity of lex orandi - lex credendi - lex vivendi and under the rule of spiritus legis. Based on the canonical corpus (Ecumenical and Local Councils, patristic tradition) and Byzantine exegesis (Zonaras, Balsamon, Aristenos), compared with the Statute and regulations of the Romanian Orthodox Church, it is shown that the trajectory 1885–1925–2025 does not produce a “textbook” law, but a law in actu: ʿidem spiritus, aliae formae՚, capable of preserving εὔταξις. The aim is to reconstruct the status and function of canonical tradition as the normative matrix of the Romanian Orthodox Church and to formulate an applied hermeneutical model for contemporary ecclesial decision-making. The method combines historical-legal, dogmatic-systematic, and comparative analysis, a reading ad normam canonum of primary sources, and their correlation with recent synodal practice (ratio decidendi in foro Ecclesiae). The approach delineates the relationship between ius commune (Byzantine-patristic) and ius particulare (Romanian Orthodox Church), showing that akribeia/oikonomia functions as the ʿgrammar՚ of application in concreto, mutatis mutandis, while synodality provides the criterion of legitimacy and unity. The central finding: the validation of traditio canonica as a mechanism of normative coherence and ecclesial continuity, with direct relevance to sensitive areas (disciplinary-pastoral, liturgical, educational, bioethical, protection of minors, the digital space, etc.) and for dialogue with state (civil) law. In conclusion: traditio canonica offers the Romanian Orthodox Church the instrument through which the same spirit is translated into forms appropriate to the age -immobile in principle, flexible in practice - transforming church law into a law that guides, heals, and bears witness.

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