Pastoral jurisdiction of monasteries

This article by Greek canonist Hamilcar Alivisatos, professor at the University of Athens, examines the question of pastoral jurisdiction exercised by certain Orthodox monasteries over territories and faithful, outside the ordinary episcopal framework. Drawing on a juridical-canonical approach, the author distinguishes between different monastic regimes — episcopal submission, stavropigion, total exemption — and identifies three exceptional cases in the Greek Orthodox Church: the monastery of Saints Constantine and Helen in Jerusalem, the monastery of the Apostle John in Patmos, and the monastery of Saint Catherine on Sinai. The article shows that these establishments received, through Byzantine imperial privileges, rights of pastoral jurisdiction derogating from common canon law. Its contribution lies in shedding light on historically constituted canonical situations, tolerated by the Church and maintained until the twentieth century outside any strictly canonical foundation.