Правило 147
About the keeping of the secrecy of confession by clergy, which is expressed in depriving the testimony of a bishop of significance in the event that he says that someone confessed to him of a crime he committed, which he does not want to admit.
That a bishop who has excommunicated someone unlawfully for a sin that he confessed to him in private must himself be deprived of fellowship from other bishops until repentance.
It was convenient: if the bishop says that someone confessed his crime to him in private, and he denies it, let the bishop not consider it an insult that he alone is not trusted. If he says that, out of confusion of his conscience, he does not want to be in communion with the one who denies, then until his bishop accepts the excommunicated person into communion, let other bishops not enter into communion with this same bishop, so that the bishop would better beware of saying against anyone what he cannot confirm with evidence before others.
Greek original
Ὁμοίως ἤρεσεν, ἵνα, ἐάν ποτε ἐπίσκοπος λέγῃ τινὰ αὐτῷ μόνῳ τὸ ἴδιον ἔγκλημα ὁμολογῆσαι, καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἀρνῆται, μὴ λογίσηται ὁ ἐπίσκοπος εἰς ἰδίαν ὕβριν συντείνειν, ὅτι αὐτὸς μόνος οὐ πιστεύεται, εἰ καὶ τῷ σκινδαλμῷ τῆς ἰδίας συνειδήσεως λέγει μὴ θέλειν ἑαυτὸν κοινωνεῖν τῷ ἀρνουμένῳ.[1]
Parallel canons
Ап.75Карф.131Ап.1216283275IВс.5VIIВс.4Антиох.420Сард.131415Карф.910112029132