Can you explain the physical persons (personae physicae) and juridic persons (personae iuridicae) mentioned in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches? 

Canons 909 to 935 of Title XIX of the CCEO explain who are considered as members of the Catholic Church through baptism, to which category they belong, how their rights and obligations are exercised in the Church, and the juridical validity of their acts. The Eastern Code classifies persons in the Church into two categories: 1. physical persons, and 2. juridic persons.

1. Physical Persons (personae physicae)

CCEO c. 909 distinguishes physical persons into three categories. A person who has completed the eighteenth year of age is called an adult or major. A person who has not yet completed the eighteenth year is a minor, while one who has not yet completed the seventh year is an infant. The reason for this threefold distinction is that the juridical validity of the acts performed by a person according to ecclesiastical law, the responsibility to observe the laws of the Church, and the exercise of rights as a member of the Church must be evaluated in relation to the person’s age.

A person below the completion of the seventh year is called an infant (infans) and is considered incapable of personal responsibility. At the completion of the seventh year, such a person is considered a minor (minor) and is presumed to have the use of reason (usus rationis) (CCEO c. 990 §2). However, those who have permanently lost the use of reason are considered incapable of personal responsibility and are to be treated as infants (CCEO c. 990 §3). Such persons are not bound by ecclesiastical laws, nor are they capable of valid juridic acts in the Church. They are also completely exempted from ecclesiastical penalties. Such persons may appear in ecclesiastical tribunals only through parents or legal guardians.

A baptized person who has attained majority, that is, eighteen years of age, is capable of fully exercising his or her rights in the Church (CCEO c. 910). A minor who has completed the seventh year of age also enjoys rights proper to the Christian faithful, but their exercise is subject to the authority of parents or legal guardians (tutores). In some matters, however, canon law prescribes an age limit at which the faithful can act independently. For example, a person who has completed the fourteenth year of age, when receiving baptism, may freely choose to enroll himself or herself in any Church sui iuris without the permission of parents or guardians (CCEO c. 30). Before the fourteenth year, however, the conditions laid down in CCEO c. 29 must be observed. Likewise, in the exercise of certain specific rights and the assumption of particular obligations, members of the Eastern Churches are bound to observe the different age requirements prescribed in the CCEO. For example: marriage (CCEO c. 800), the diaconate and the presbyterate (CCEO c. 759 §1).

2. Juridic Persons (personae iuridicae)

Besides physical persons, there also exist in the Church certain communities and institutions endowed with a distinct canonical personality. Such aggregates of persons or of things (universitas personarum vel rerum) are called juridic persons (CCEO c. 920). Canons 920–935 of the CCEO deal with juridic persons in detail. Juridic persons, too, have their own rights and obligations. Their purpose is to fulfill the mission entrusted to the Church.

Juridic persons are established in two ways. First, there are juridic persons explicitly erected by common law. For example: Churches sui iuris, ecclesiastical provinces, eparchies, parishes, seminaries, and similar entities belong to this category. Secondly, juridic persons may also be established by decree of the competent ecclesiastical authority. For example, associations of the Christian faithful may be erected by competent authority as juridic persons (CCEO c. 921 §1). According to CCEO c. 920 §3, juridic persons are not to be established unless it is evident that they pursue a purpose truly useful to the mission of the Church and that they have sufficient means to achieve this purpose.

Every juridic person must have statutes approved by the competent authority. Only after such approval can a juridic person be validly constituted. The statutes must clearly set forth the purpose, nature, governance, mode of operation, the person who represents the juridic person both in civil and ecclesiastical matters, and the norms concerning the administration and alienation of temporal goods (CCEO c. 922 §2).

If a juridic person is constituted as an aggregate of persons, at least three members are required (CCEO c. 923). Canons 924–930 of the CCEO deal with the acts of collegial juridic persons and the norms to be observed in decision-making. Canons 931–935 treat of juridic acts in general, setting forth the requirements for validity and liceity in juridic acts undertaken within the Church.

Rev. Dr. Joseph Mattathil