(1) A collection of canons and imperial laws relative or conformable thereto. The first nomocanon was made by Johannes Scholastlcus in 554. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, in 883, compiled another nomocanon, or collation of the civil laws with the canons; this is the most celebrated. Balsamon wrote a commentary upon it in 1180.
(2) A collection of the ancient canons of the apostles, councils, and fathers, without any regard to imperial constitutions. Such is the nomocanon by M. Cotelier. Enc. Lond.