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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Canon_law
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INFOTEXT
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1992-09-03
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986b
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The rules and regulations of the Christian
church, especially the Greek Orthodox, Roman
Catholic, and Anglican churches. Its origin
is sought in the declarations of Jesus and
the apostles. In 1983 Pope John Paul II
issued a new canon law code reducing offences
carrying automatic excommunication, extending
the grounds for annulment of marriage,
removing the ban on marriage with
non-Catholics, and banning trade union and
political activity by priests. The earliest
compilations were in the East, and the canon
law of the Eastern Orthodox Church is
comparatively small. Through the centuries, a
great mass of canon law was accumulated in
the Western church which, in 1918, was
condensed in the Corpus juris canonici under
Benedict XV. Even so, this is supplemented by
many papal decrees. The canon law of the
Church of England remained almost unchanged
from 1603 until it was completely revised
1969, and is kept under constant review by
the Canon Law Commission of the General
Synod.