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What were the Apostolic Canons, and how were they included in the Apostolic Constitutions?

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First Council of Nicaea — canon law Council of Nicaea in 325, depicted in a Byzantine fresco in the basilica of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey.

The Apostolic Canons are a collection of 85 ecclesiastical regulations that were historically attributed to the Apostles, though they were actually compiled in Syria around 400 CE. These canons served as a significant source of early church discipline and law.12

Regarding their inclusion in the Apostolic Constitutions, the canons appear specifically in chapter 47 of the eighth book of that collection. This compilation was derived from several sources, including:1

Regulations found in the preceding books of the Apostolic Constitutions themselves.1
Canons established by the councils of Antioch (341) and Laodicaea (c. 360).1

The Apostolic Canons are notable for including a list of biblical books that excludes the Revelation to John while simultaneously placing the Apostolic Constitutions and the letters of Clement of Rome within the canon of Scripture. While the Apostolic Constitutions as a whole were not universally accepted as official legal code by the Quinisext Council in 692, the canons within them remained influential in the development of Eastern canon law.12