Basileia's Canons are the ecclesiastical standards by which we govern ourselves in unity with and accountability to Christ and His Church.
The Canons have five sections.
- Jurisdictions. Basileia’s six ecclesial jurisdictions.
- Membership. The selection, rites of initiation and roles of Communicant Members and Governing Members as well as what it means in general to be a Basileian.
- Deacon Councils. The appointment and functions of Deacon Councils in their leadership and administration of the Catechism for Basileians in general and specifically of the Catechumenate for Adult Communicant Members and the Novitiate for Governing Members.
- Presbyter Councils. The appointment and functions of Presbyter Councils in the formation of jurisdictions, the guarding of Constitutional and Eucharistic boundaries and the administration of membership rites.
- Missional Councils. The appointment and functions of Missional Councils in their leadership and administration of missional initiatives in general and of the equipping of leaders of missional initiatives in particular.
The five sections of our Canons reflect the fivefold covenantal pattern of authority, which is also expressed in the fivefold pattern of the Liturgy and in the fivefold pattern of our Lifestyle. Below is an introduction to what part of the covenant each section of the canons corresponds to.
At the center of the High Cross of the Abbey of St. John is an image with five parts showing Christ sitting enthroned (part 1), surrounded by four winged cherubim (parts 1-4). The first cherub has the face of a man (top), the second the face of an ox (right), the third the face of an eagle (bottom) and the fourth the face of a lion (left). Here is a fivefold image of how space and time are governed, which our Canons seek to reflect. Christ is the unique link (vertically) between heaven and earth and the four winged cherubim create links (horizontally) to the north, south, east and west. Thus we identify each of the five sections of our Canons with one of these five images guided by how these images have been understood by the People of God down through the centuries.
In the days after Israel left Egypt, the 12 tribes were organized into four groups (each group being composed of three tribes) who in turn camped around the Tabernacle as follows: The tribes to the east united under Judah's banner of a lion. The tribes to the west rallied around Ephraim's banner of an ox. The tribes camped on the south gathered around Rebuen's banner of a man. And the tribes on the north camped under Dan's banner of an eagle.
In similar fashion, down through the centuries, the Church has consistently identified the Gospel of Matthew with Christ as the Lion of the royal house of David. The Gospel of Mark presents Christ as the Ox, the enduring servant of God and man. The Gospel of Luke proclaims Christ as a Man, the friend and companion of mankind. And the Gospel of John reveals Christ as the Eagle, representing the soaring majesty and mystery of the Word made flesh.
Basileia adapts this imagery to our Canons as follows: 1) Christ's body is made up of many members (i.e., tabernacles) like our various Jurisdictions. 2) The image of Membership is Christ the Man, a friend and companion. 3) The Eagle represents our Deacon Councils who administer the incorporation of members into mystery of the Word made flesh. 4) The royal imagery of the Lion represents our Presbyter Councils that are called to chivalric, princely responsibilities. 5) The Ox is the image associated with our Missional Councils in leading us into enduring service to the Church and the world.
Christ Enthroned; Book of Kells.
Christ is present and embodied in the Jurisdictions of the Church, which are the members of His Body.
Source of Authority and Jurisdictions
While our Basileian jurisdictions are not in themselves sources of authority, but courts of authority, they nevertheless bear witness to God who is their source of authority. “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom. 13:1b-2).
Jurisdictions operating properly according to their source of authority from above are places where ultimately it is God who rules (juris) by speaking (diction). The “places” or jurisdictions of Basileia form a spiritual house that is not in vain for us to build because it is fundamentally a house that the Lord is building. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps. 127:1).
Just as the first of the five sections in the Liturgy and in our Catechism in their own ways speak to our joyful passion that inspires us to journey, so do our Canons. From a canonical perspective, our journey to the Mountain of the Lord is a joyous journey to the house of the Lord, which canonically speaking is a jurisdiction of governing authority. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’…There thrones for judgment were set,the thrones of the house of David” (Ps. 122:1, 5).
Cherub around Christ's Throne with the face of Man; Book of Kells.
The image of Membership is Christ the Man, a friend and companion of mankind.
Delegation of Authority and Membership
While it is true that jurisdictions operating ministerially are places where ultimately it is God who rules (juris) by speaking (diction), God does His speaking through delegated authorities, authorities that include both believers and unbelievers. Our Basileian approach to membership is founded upon the fact that all humanity, both individually and collectively, is created in God’s image to rule (juris) by speaking (diction). This fundamental fact is as true for unbelievers as it is for believers. In fact, many unbelievers are doing a better job of advancing the Kingdom in their vocational callings than are believers.
Therefore, Basileia has members who are both unbelievers and believers because we see membership not as a box that people must fit into but as a dynamic process of assembling as the Church where all – both believers and unbelievers – are 1) constantly being restored by Christ in the image of our Creator so that all can 2) in the empowerment by the Holy Spirit grow constantly in the likeness of God. It is hypocritical and diabolical for Christians to think that they must “go” outside the Church to minister to “sinners” as if Christians are not the foremost of sinners. As Basileians, we each do not always succeed, but we endeavor like Paul to remember that, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15).
In our approach to membership we endeavor to create expressions of community where all sinners – both believers and unbelievers – can come and be with Jesus in, not outside, the Church. “And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples” (Matt. 9:10).
Cherub around Christ's Throne with the face of an Eagle; Book of Kells.
The image of our Deacon Councils is Christ the Eagle, who administers the incorporation of members into the mystery of the Word made flesh.
Standard of Authority and Deacon Councils
The Deacon Councils of Basileia shape every Basileia jurisdiction into a place where both believers and unbelievers are able to experience the divine process of transformation (i.e., Theosis) by which the standard of the Word of God is written on our hearts. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek. 36:26-27).
This process of inwardly transforming all members to shine like the sun is one that takes place by participation in our Basileian lifestyle, not primarily by sitting in a classroom. Thus our Deacon Councils lead Basileians into empowerment in a lifestyle where we all learn together how to embody God’s standard of authority, not merely think intellectual thoughts about what “to obey my rules” means. God’s Word becoming flesh in the context of the life of the Body of Christ, the Church, is the aim that our Deacon Councils serve.
Cherub around Christ's Throne with the face of an Eagle; Book of Kells.
The image of our Presbyter Councils is Christ the Lion, a royal image of the chivalric and princely responsibilities to which Presbyters are called.
Transfer of Authority and Presbyter Councils
The Presbyter Councils of Basileia steward each Basileia jurisdiction as a place where what the Deacon Councils and the Missional Councils are working for can actually happen. A place of transfer is a portal or place of public conveyance where people move from one place to another, which in the context of the Church means moving in two directions (both inward and outward) that are both part of one journey.
Deacon Councils serve the inward journey while Missional Councils serve the outward journey. In any rite of passage, as with Baptism, for example, there is simultaneously both an inward journey of transformation (the focus of Deacon Councils) and an outward commissioning to expand that transformation (the focus of Missional Councils).
The role of Basileia’s Presbyter Councils is to facilitate the public rites of passage that recognize and bless both the inward and outward dimensions of the journey. Transferring from one place to another in the journey requires two things: 1) clearly defined boundaries between worlds and 2) rites of passage by which members are actually facilitated from one world to the next. Basileia’s Presbyter Councils therefore guard Constitutional boundaries and administer membership rites of passage from one place to another. If a Basileian jurisdiction is imagined to be a train station, then Presbyters serve Christ as His ticket masters whom He has authorized to officially hand out “tickets” (marriage certificates, baptismal certificates, membership certificates, etc.) to travelers on the journey to glory. Presbyters serve as gatekeepers at the gateways where all people in their travels transfer from one place to another on the way to their destiny.
Cherub around Christ's Throne with the face of an Ox; Book of Kells.
The image of our Missional Councils is Christ the Ox, an image associated with Christ leading us into enduring service to the Church and the world.
Expansion of Authority and Missional Councils
The Missional Councils of Basileia mobilize every Basileia jurisdiction to be a beachhead from which missions are launched to expand the known borders of the Kingdom of God in future-ancient ways into places where none have gone before. We do not leave the Kingdom of God in mission by going to a place where the Kingdom of God is not. Instead Missional Councils lead Basileia to approach the whole idea of mission as the task of bringing the borders of the Kingdom with us and extending or expanding those borders to encompass areas of thought and life we have only newly discovered.
Therefore, mission is not something that happens outside of the Church, but within the life of the Church as that life is extended or expanded to the frontiers. In a parallel to Deacon Councils that equip Basileians on the journey inward, Missional Councils equip Basileians for the journey outward. Thus in Basileia, “The Lord will keep” (as facilitated by Presbyter Councils) “your going out” (as facilitated by Missional Councils) “and your coming in” (as facilitated by Deacon Councils) “from this time forth and forevermore” (Ps. 121:8).
Canons, Liturgy, Lifestyle and Communio Christiana
Basileia's Canons express the whole of our Basileian charism, albeit in a structural and operational way. Our Canons are how we are constituted in terms of our manner of governance. Our Canons are the structural and operational form of the meaning of the Constitution of Basileia in its entirety. Our Liturgy and Catechism are not separate from the Canons, but are themselves fully structural and operational just as our Canons are fully sacramental and instructional. There is nothing about being Basileian that our Canons are not a doorway to from a structural and operational starting point.
In canonical matters not directly addressed by Basileia’s Canons, we adhere to the Canons of Communio Christiana until which time, if ever, specific canons in regards to those matters are adopted by Basileia.
