VATICAN: Synod Secretariat Establishes New Eastern Canonical Commission
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The General Secretariat of the Synod has established a new Eastern Canonical Commission, tasked with formulating proposals for the revision of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) in light of the ongoing synodal journey.
The Commission convened for its inaugural meeting on Friday, February at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Synod in Vatican.
In a Statement shared with AMECEA Online from the Secretariat, the newly created body builds on groundwork already laid by an earlier commission formed in December 2023, which had been primarily focused on reforming the Latin Church’s Code of Canon Law but had also begun surfacing ideas for updating the CCEO.
Church leaders from various Eastern sui iuris Churches had for a long time requested for a body dedicated solely to their canonical tradition, and the new Commission is a direct response to the calls.
To ensure the work does not happen in isolation, the Vatican deliberately drew its membership from canonists from within two key curial bodies: the Dicastery for Legislative Texts and the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, a structural choice designed to keep lines of communication open across departments and keep the needs of local Churches at the center of the reform effort.
His Eminence Mario Cardinal Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod, underscored the rationale behind the decision saying, “Taking into account the specificity of Eastern canon law, it was deemed appropriate to establish a dedicated Commission able to work in close coordination also with Study Group No. 1 on Some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church.”
The Commission dubbed as “Commission for implementation,” aims to translate into concrete canonical proposals the directions that emerged during the synodal process particularly those contained in the Synthesis Report of 2023 and the Final Document of 2024 from the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
Cardinal Grech also extended an open invitation for broader participation and said, “In the synodal spirit that characterizes this implementation phase, I invite the Churches sui iuris, the Episcopal Conferences, Catholic universities, and interested institutions or persons to submit their contributions to the General Secretariat of the Synod by 15 April 2026.”
According to the Friday statement, the Commission’s inaugural meeting followed a two-day working session of Study Group number one of ten groups that were established by Pope Francis in 2024, arising from the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, during which significant questions concerning the life and mission of the Church in a synodal perspective had emerged.
The work of the Commission will be coordinated by the Secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, the Curial body responsible, among other matters, for the updating of the current Eastern legislation
