View source for Economy and Strictness

'''''Oikonomia''''' (also spelled '''oikonomeia''', '''economia''' or '''economy''') literally means "household management," the "law of the house," or "house building," and refers primarily to two related concepts in the Orthodox Church&mdash;the divine plan for man's salvation and the specific [[bishop|episcopal]] application of the [[canons]] in the life of the Church.  The latter usage is a derivation of the former.

Oikonomia is one of two ways of observing the Canons of the Church, the other is '''Akriveia''' or strict adherence (precision, exactness). Whereas the application of '''Oikonomia''' is generally regarded as being a more flexible application or interpretation of the Canons, the application of '''Akriveia''' is regarded as being a more precise and strict one. '''Pastoral Discretion''' is of key importance in either application.
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==Further Reading==
* [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]. ''“ ‘Economy’ according to Orthodox Theology: Its Application to Non-Orthodox Sacraments,”'' '''Chrysostom''', 5 (1961), 6-8. 

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/vlarina.html The Ecclesiastical Principle of oikonomia and the ROCOR under Metropolitan Anastassy], by Nun Vassa (Larin) (includes a thorough primer in the introduction on the nature of oikonomia)

* Myriobiblos Library. [http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/documents/northamerican_5.htm Baptism and "Sacramental Economy": An Agreed Statement of The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation]. St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, Crestwood, New York, June 3, 1999.







[[Category:Canon Law]]
[[Category:Theology]]