The history of Latin canon law can be divided into four periods: ius antiquum, ius novum, ius novissimum and Codex Iuris Canonici. [24] As far as the codex is concerned, the story can be divided into ius vetus (all laws prior to the 1917 code) and ius novum (law of the codex or ius codicis). [24] In the early Church, the first canons were issued by bishops united in “ecumenical” councils (the emperor convened all known bishops of the world to participate at least with the recognition of the bishop of Rome) or in “local” councils (bishops of a region or territory). Over time, these canons were supplemented by decrees of the bishops of Rome, which were answers to doubts or problems according to the maxim “Roma locuta est, causa finita est” (“Rome has spoken, the matter is closed”). A common misconception, the Catholic Encyclopedia links this proverb to St. Augustine, who actually said something quite different: “jam enim de hac causa duo concilia missa sunt ad sedem apostolicam; India Etiam Rescripta Venerunt; causa finita est” (which roughly translates as “There are two councils, because at the moment this matter is referred to the Apostolic See, from which the letters also come, the matter has been closed”) in response to the heretical Pelagianism of the time. Among the canonists who followed the order of the titles of the decretals: Gratian`s “Decretum” was a marvellous work; Welcomed, taught and passed over in silence by the decreers of Bologna and later in other schools and universities, it has long been the textbook of canon law. However, his plan was imperfect and confused, and after the day of glosses and strictly literal commentaries, it was abandoned in favor of the method proclaimed by Bernard of Pavia in his “Breviarium” and by Saint Raymond of Pennafort in the official collection of the “decretals” of Gregory IX, 1234 (see CORPUS JURIS CANONICI). These collections, which did not contain the texts used by Gratian, grouped the materials into five books, each divided into “titles”, and under each title, the decretals or fragments of decretals were grouped in chronological order.

The five books, the subject of which is recalled by the well-known verse “judex, judicium, clerus, connubia, crimen” (i.e. judge, judgment, clergy, marriages, crimes), did not show a very logical plan; Not to mention some more or less inappropriate titles. They dealt successively with the guardians of authority, procedure, clergy and matters concerning them, marriage, crimes and punishments. Despite its shortcomings, the system at least had the advantage of being official; It was not only adopted in these latter collections, but also served as the basis for almost all standard works until the sixteenth century and even up to the present day, especially in universities, each with a faculty of canon law. (4) In Spain, on the other hand, at least after the conversion of the Visigoths, the Church was strongly centralized on the episcopal see of Toledo and in close union with the royal power. Before that, note the collection of St. Martin of Braga, a kind of adaptation of the conciliatory canons, often mistakenly called “Capitula Martini papae” (c. 563) in the Middle Ages. It was included in the large and important collection of the Visigothic church. The latter, which began as early as the Council of 633 and was exalted by the canons of subsequent councils, is known as “Hispana” or “Isidoriana” because at a later time it was attributed (wrongly) to Saint Isidore of Seville. It consists of two parts: Councils and Decretals; the Councils are divided into four sections: East, Africa, Gaul, Spain, and in each section a chronological order is observed; the decretals, 104 in number, range from Pope Saint Damasus to Saint Gregory (366-604).

Its original elements are the Spanish Councils of Elvira (about 300) until the Seventeenth Council of Toledo in 694. The influence of this collection in the form it took towards the middle of the ninth century, when the false decretals were inserted, was very great. In the Latin Church, positive ecclesiastical laws, which are based directly or indirectly on immutable divine law or natural law, derive formal authority in the case of universal laws from the supreme legislator (i.e., .dem pope), who has all legislative, executive, and judicial power in his person,[11] while some laws derive formal authority from a legislator. which is less than the supreme legislature.