Canon 1

I knew that in order for the canon I proposed to be passed in this council I knew the wording would have to be changed. I do believe that as children of Christ, we have to keep one another accountable and in order to do this we must have some form of consequence with those who lapsed. Our God is merciful but just as well. I believe that God must have forgiven those who had forsaken him however how can we as members of the council, who are acting leaders, show that forsaking God in a critical moment is okay? No matter the punishment it must be shown that there is some sort of “act” that the lapsed should go through in order to be allowed back. People should of course be allowed back into the church since we are not acting as God, we have no right to condemn anyone. Which brings me to say that the wording of this revised canon is good since it does agree that the lapsed should be welcomed back (since our God is also a merciful one) but even if it is something small they still had to perform an act to be allowed back into the church. It reflects both the merciful and just aspect of God. However, when it comes to the lapsed Bishops and Priests, I do not believe that they should hold the same positions as they did before the persecutions. This is because they knew that forsaking God is a grave thing to do yet they did it anyway. Some, I’m sure not all, could have used the excuse that God had more plans for them, which of course at that time such an excuse would have seemed welcoming to just about anybody.