Code of Canon Law Collection (2 vols.)

The Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, along with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Vatican II Documents, are some of the foundational works of the contemporary Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is a society governed by law, and since the earliest Christian centuries the “canons” have born an authority second only to the Scripture itself. Over the centuries these canons, the decrees of church councils, papal judgments, or the sayings of important saints, grew into a body of law which gave the Church its visible structure. Starting in the High Middle Ages, these canons were periodically collected, reconciled with each other, and promulgated by the papacy as codified law. This body of law continued to grow, becoming unwieldy and, as the Church entered the twentieth century, increasingly anachronistic.

In 1917 Pope Benedict XV issued a major revision of the canon law. This was a significant step toward a modern legal system, but the law remained, in the eyes of many, out of step with the contemporary reality of the Catholic Church. And so, in addition to calling the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII initiated yet another revision in 1963. This new Code was intended to give the ecclesiology of Vatican II hierarchical and institutional shape. The revision of the Code of Canon Law was finally finished in 1983 and promulgated by Pope John Paul II. Because the Eastern Catholic Churches varied in their traditions, terminology, and discipline, the compilation of their laws was promulgated in 1990 as the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

The Canon Law Collection (2 vols.) is a necessary reference work for anyone wanting to understand the modern Catholic Church. It provides readers the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches in both the Latin and English. Together, these volumes form the universal law that governs the Catholic Church.

With Logos Bible Software, the Canon Law Collection (2 vols.) is easily searchable. Internal cross-references links and links from the Catechism of the Catholic Church make these volumes more powerful and easier to access than ever before. With the advanced search features of Logos Bible Software, you can perform comprehensive searches by topic, finding every mention of "baptism," "sacrament," or "marriage."