Defining Canon Law

Abstract

The point of reference for the considerations are the definitions of canon law, which were included in four Polish encyclopedic publications. Three of them concern canon law and one is focused on law. It also contained the formulation “canon law.” The author presents individual discussions on the issues of canon law, focusing his attention on understanding and defining it. He points to the differences in the approach to the issue between lawyers and canonists, from whose point of view canon law has its theological implications. He also notices the existing differences in the definition of canon law, which are significantly influenced by the orientation in which the authors of individual studies practice canon studies. He concludes that a multifaceted approach to the study of canon law should, as a starting point, measure a clearly defined subject of scientific research and solutions. In this context, he considers the possibility of giving a definition of canon law in its classic sense. He is inclined to assert such an impossibility. Instead, it draws attention to the need to distinguish those elements of the church structure and social relations, thanks to which it is possible to define canon law.