A Church Canon I think

JesusisKingofKings

Canon LXXVII.

He that divorces his wife, and marries another, is an adulterer; and according to the canons of the Fathers, he shall be a mourner one year, a hearer two years, a prostrator three years, a co-stander one year, if they repent with tears.

From
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-187.htm#P11453_2169759

I dont know if this canon is valid or something today...

Some people can not or find it hard or something to repent with tears.. but does not the priest still give absolution?

I sometimes think my repentance over my many sins is not good enough or something because I did not weep much..

minatasgeel

Is this Orthodox?

Stavro

Some people can not or find it hard or something to repent with tears.. but does not the priest still give absolution?

The desert fathers on many occasions warn against seeking "tears" as a sign of true repentance, and H.H. Pope Shenouda has said to make the primary objective to change the direction after repentance, leaving the tears to flow naturally or even not to pay attention to it. In the end, what makes the difference, is true remorse and more importantly, taking effective steps to distance oneself from sins. After the "negative" approach, comes the positive approach that replaces the love for sins with the love of God.

In the "Paradise of the Monks", a story about two monks who fell in the same sin shows that there are different paths to repentance. They were both given the same spiritual exercises to help them with their repentance, and after a period of seclusion, both emerged in different states. One monk was joyful, smiling, praising all the time, the other was weeping and shy of joining the monks as he felt unworthy. When the abbot prayed and asked Gop to reveal to him why they differ greatly and whether the repentance of both was accepted, he got a revelation stating that both are forgiven and acceptable in front of God. One is joyous because he feels his sin is remitted and praises the Lord for his mercy, the other has the sin in front of him all the time and remembers it to keep vanity and pride away.

Bottom line, one should not search for tears. People differ.

The canon mentioned above is valid as to the case of divorce and adultry, and the tears mentioned as sign of repentance are more or less to symbolize insistance on repentance and asking for it with diligence, but not to be taken literally.

JesusisKingofKings

Thankyou for your reply stavro

do you know what is a hearer? and what is a co-stander?

"the tears mentioned as sign of repentance are more or less to symbolize insistance on repentance and asking for it with diligence, but not to be taken literally."

that seems good to me if its true but how do you know they do not mean literally? maybe because we know as a fact maybe that many saints did not repent with tears literally before that canon and they were still accepted? but what saints do we know of who did not repent with tears who were adulterers before this canon?

Unknown

what is a co-stander?

One who is allowed to stand with the faithful during the Liturgical service, however he is not permitted to partake of Communion.

that seems good to me if its true but how do you know they do not mean literally?

It's just common sense my friend. St Basil the Great issued this canon; now what in the world would prompt this great Saint to issue a canon concerned with the physical and literal presence of physical and literal tears as a pre-requisite to Communion? That would be silly, and there is simply no need to attribute such silliness to St Basil.

The Church, and St Basil in particular, has always simply been concerned with the inner genuiness of one's repentence, and the outward manifestation of that repentence via good works, the practise of virtue and the resistance of temptation. It has never been concerned with the emotional manifestation of repentence.

As Stavro rightfully pointed out, literal tears may, or may not, accompany true repentence in reality, but true repentence is not defined by this. Repentence is not concerned with emotions; it is concerned with action. Emotions may, and on most occasions do, naturally flow in the course of one's genuine pursuit to actively and persistently repent, and it is in light of this that "repentence with weeping" is nothing more or less than a metaphorical reference to genuine repentence.

mnc_hnn

may i ask if this is orthodox (the link) or what then?

and i don't get

he shall be a mourner one year, a hearer two years, a prostrator three years, a co-stander one year, if they repent with tears.

does this mean if u do a sin u r punished by a certain period of time eg year? if so what about being a year mourner a year...
how come? because no1 knows but god when u have fully repented and forgiven

JesusisKingofKings

MAYBE it is emphasising the greatness of the crime.. MAYBE at least 1 yr but you you might need more or less depending if you have repented or not

Were the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers orthodox (if that question makes sense)?

Unknown

The "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers" series, is simply a collection of translated works of the Church Fathers that lived during and after the Council of Nicaea (the first of three Ecumenical Councils of the Church).

Not all the so-called "Fathers" presented in this series would be considered Orthodox Fathers of our Church, so one must be cautious of what they're reading, and must know the Church's stance on the author in question beforehand.

With respect to this particular Canon, it was authored and issued by St Basil the Great, as I stated in my initial post. St Basil is undoubtedly a Father of our Church, and one of the greatest ones at that, who is commemorated during the Divine Liturgy along with other Cappadocian Fathers, such as St Gregory.

If you trace the given link back through that website, you will find that it is known as "The Third Canonical Epistle of Our Holy Father Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia to Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium."