The canons (Latin, canonicus, from the Greekc kanôn which initially means the ruler used for measuring) are, at the origin, priests, collaborators of the bishop, leading around him a communal life, near his church in the city in which he lives, without initially following any particular rule. Saint Augustine, become a bishop in 395 after having attempted a monastic experience, transformed his episcopal house into a “monastery of clerics” (clerics are those in the Church having been ordained: priests and deacons). He imposed a communal life of poverty on the clergy of his see. He is the author of the Rule that constitutes the model of canonical life, based on communal life, the renunciation of property, on chastity, obedience, the liturgical life and pastoral ministry.
Over time, colleges of canons were set up independently of the bishop around a main or renowned church to provide for the large numbers of faithful who attended. These colleges, (from the Latin colligere, to bring together) or chapters, give rise to collegiate churches (in Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, seventeen were founded between the Xth and XVIth such as Our Lady of Leffe prior to becoming an abbey) which, slowly but surely, become rich and powerful.
In the VIIIth century, Chrodegang of Metz drafted a rule which, taking its inspiration from Saint Benedict’s, was intended to be imposed on all these groups. In 816, the Synod of Aix-la-Chapelle clearly defined a canonical order different from a monastic order. These canons, as opposed to monks, own property of which they may freely dispose; they live off revenues stemming from the domains and enjoy privileges their chapters possess: the famous prebends.
Between the XIth and XIIth centuries, the golden age of canons, most of them abandon communal life, keeping only liturgical prayer celebrated together in the choir (the pews in the central part of their church where they take their places to sing the service). Attempts at reform emerge, aiming at a return to the initial apostolic ideal.
It is at this period that the canons “regular” (rule-following canons) appear and among which the Premonstratensians with Saint Norbert of Xanten (1134) will occupy a role of major importance. These canons regular will take for their own the Rule of Saint Augustine with its observances, particularly the vow of poverty, and give to it a new life. They differ from their predecessors, not subject to a monastic life, who are designated from then on by the adjective “secular” (form the Latin, saecularis, of the world).
Today, only the canons regular constitute the canonical order. They are religious, active in pastoral care in all its forms. Secular canons persist in the majority of our cathedrals which they serve and where they gather more or less regularly for prayer. They are appointed by a bishop and constitute a chapter. They are called titular canons to distinguish them from honorary canons, appointed by the bishop on an honorary basis, without any concrete link to the cathedral chapter.
see Monks
[updated on the 20.12.05]
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