Nicaea - Canon 10

If any who have lapsed have been ordained through the ignorance, or even with the previous knowledge of the ordainers, this shall not prejudice the canon of the Church; for when they are discovered they shall be deposed.

It seems clear that this canon was written with 1 Timothy 5:21 in view:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

If someone was in a position of spiritual authority and was later determined to not be fit because of prior actions or teaching, he was to be deposed without regard for his current position.  This removed the temptation to allow someone to remain because he had already been publicly recognized.

Applying this to the modern church, if an acting pastor, elder, deacon, etc. has something brought forward¹ that should have prevented the initial appointment, the person should be removed.  That being so, what should be done if the leader confesses the wrongness and pleads the facts are from the past, not having any bearing on the current ministry?  According to this canon, the person remains disqualified and must be deposed.  This does not mean that the person could never be placed back into that position or another of leadership.  That depends entirely on the disqualification and both the ensuing restorative/instructive process and progress.



¹ I am assuming that the facts are being made known by two or three witnesses (1 Tim 5:19).