ABSTRACT
We have seen, through examining the concepts of dispensation and economy, that the legal systems of Churches, including the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, incorporate a certain amount of legal flexibility. This integral flexibility has at its base the assumptions, first, that there exists a general obligation to obey the law as it applies to the individual or group concerned and, second, that there will be times and occasions in the functioning of Church or society in which the strict enforcement of obedience to the law would lead to unintended or unwanted consequences or that the primary purposes or mission of the Church would be hindered.
