Most of the councils held by the Church in the course of her history, whether ecumenical or provincial, found it a matter of necessity to issue series of disciplinary measures or rules, designed for the good government of Christian society and the sanctification of individuals. Till the twelfth century such enactments were called canons, a term which from an ecclesiastical standpoint has a very interesting history. Originally “canon,” from the Greek κανών, signified a straight rod