Why do we kneel on Sundays?

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thunderballs75

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Why do Catholics kneel on Sundays when the Council of Nicaea forbid it?

Thank you! Pax tecum!
 
Firstly, do you have a quote where the Council DID forbid it outright?

Secondly - kneeling or not kneeling during Mass is what is called a ‘disciplinary’ ruling, not a matter of faith and morals, thus not binding for all time. A bit like priestly celibacy, which was NOT required for the first 1000 years of Catholicism, then became mandatory for all Latin rite priests. Or the language of the Mass - for a few hundred years it was Greek, then Latin, and now can be Latin or vernacular languages.
 
Why do Catholics kneel on Sundays when the Council of Nicaea forbid it?

Thank you! Pax tecum!
The disciplinary canons of Nicea are no longer in force.

The current code of canon law is from 1983 and that is what is in force.

The current liturgical norms governed by the GIRM call for kneeling during certain prayers and standing during others.
 
Canon 20: On the Lord’s Day and at Pentecost all must pray standing and not kneeling.
 
Canon 20: On the Lord’s Day and at Pentecost all must pray standing and not kneeling.
See my above post. The disciplinary canons of Nicea have been superceded by subsequent Councils and most recently by the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the GIRM.
 
See my above post. The disciplinary canons of Nicea have been superceded by subsequent Councils and most recently by the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the GIRM.
Ah, I see. Thank you!
 
Ah, I see. Thank you!
One of the other Canons of Nicea was that those who left the Church and came back were required to spend 3 years standing in the vestibule, afterward they had to spend 7 years silently prostrated for Mass, and then finally 2 years being able to stand and respond to the prayers, but unable to recieve Holy Communion.

We don’t follow that Canon anymore either.

The reason is simple, the Church has the ability to create for itself certain practices that are designed to encourage the Faith. These practices are called disciplines.

Those practices\discipines are not doctrine, but are aids to the Faith (as opposed to the Faith itself).

These practices can, do (and even should) change to accomodate the pastoral needs of the Faithful.
 
One of the other Canons of Nicea was that those who left the Church and came back were required to spend 3 years standing in the vestibule, afterward they had to spend 7 years silently prostrated for Mass, and then finally 2 years being able to stand and respond to the prayers, but unable to recieve Holy Communion.

We don’t follow that Canon anymore either.

The reason is simple, the Church has the ability to create for itself certain practices that are designed to encourage the Faith. These practices are called disciplines.

Those practices\discipines are not doctrine, but are aids to the Faith (as opposed to the Faith itself).

These practices can, do (and even should) change to accomodate the pastoral needs of the Faithful.
So this is similar to clerical celibacy or the changing of Mass from Latin to vernacular? Yes?
 
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