something that belongs to, or partakes of, the nature of a rule or canon.

CANONICAL Hours, are certain stated times of the day, confirmed, more especially by the Roman church, to the offices of prayer and devotion. Such are matins, lauds, sixth, ninth vespers. In our country the canonical hours are from eight to twelve in the forenoon, before or after which marriage cannot be legally performed in any parish church.

CANONICAL Obedience, is that submission which, by the ecclesiastical laws, the inferior clergy are to pay to their bishops, and religious to their superiors.

CANONICAL Sins, in the ancient church, those which were capital or mortal. Such especially were idolatry, murder, adultery, heresy, and schism.

CANONICAL Punishments, are those which the church may inflict; such as excommunication, degradation, and penance, in Roman Catholic countries, also fasting, alms, whipping, &c.

CANONICAL Life, the method or rule of living prescribed by the ancient clergy who lived in community. The canonical life was a kind of medium between the monastic and clerical lives. Originally the orders of monks and clerks were entirely distinct; but pious persons, in process of time, instituted colleges of priests and canons, where clerks, brought up for the ministry, as well as others already engaged therein, might live under a fixed rule, which, though somewhat more easy than the monastic, was yet more restrained than the secular. This was called the canonical life, and those who embraced it canons. Authors are divided about the founder of the canonical life. Some will have it to be founded by the apostles; others ascribe it to Pope Urban I., about the year 1239, who is said to have ordered bishops to provide such of their clergy as were willing to live in community, with necessaries out of the revenues of their churches. The generality attribute it to St Augustine; who, having gathered a number of clerks to devote themselves to religion, instituted a monastery within the episcopal palace, where he lived in community with them. Onuphrius Panvinus brings the institution somewhat lower; according to him, Pope Gelasius I., about the year 495, placed the first regular canons of St Augustine in the Lateran church.

CANONICAL Letters, in the ancient church, were a sort of testimonials of the orthodox faith, which the bishops and clergy sent each other to keep up the Catholic communion, and distinguish orthodox Christians from Arians and other heretics. They were denominated canonical, either as being composed according to a certain rule or form, or because they were given to the canonicum, that is, those comprehended in the canon or catalogue of their church. When they had occasion to travel into other dioceses or countries, diplomatic and recommendatory letters, also letters of peace, &c. were so many species of canonical letters.

CANONICAL is also an appellation given to those epistles in the New Testament, more frequently called catholic or general epistles.

CANONICUM in a general sense, denotes a tax or tribute.

CANONICUM is more particularly used in the Greek church for a fee paid by the clergy to bishops, archbishops, and metropolitans, for degrees and promotions.