Confession of sins

Confession of sins is an integral part of the Christian faith and practice. The meaning is essentially the same as the criminal one - to admit one's own guilt. Confession of one's sins, or at least of one's sinfulness, is seen by most churches as a pre-requisite for becoming a Christian.

 

 

 

 

Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic sacrament of confession, lately renamed reconciliation, involves admitting, externally and orally unless there is an impediment (then signs or an interpreter should be used), one's sins to a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to achieve absolution or forgiveness from God). The basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly. Colloquially speaking, the role of the priest is of a judge and jury; in theological terms, he acts in persona Christi and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The power of jurisdiction is called the power of the keys. The penitent must confess grave matter (called mortal sins) in order not to merit Hell, and may laudably confess denial sins as well as grave sins previously confessed. The intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain lost justice with God. Roman Catholics consider Matthew 9:2-8 and 1 Corinthians 11:27 to be examples of Scriptural bases for this sacrament. The form of absolution in the Roman rite is:

God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Prior to the Second Vatican Council the priest would absolve the penitent in Latin. Now as before, the penitent must make an act of contrition, which is a prayer the knowledge of which is considered necessary before receiving the sacrament of Confirmation. It typically commences:

O my God, I am heartily sorry...

For Roman Catholic priests, the confidentiality of anything that they learn from penitents during the course of confession is absolute. Priests may not reveal what they had learned during confession to anyone. For a priest to break that confidentiality would lead to his automatic excommunication. If it's a criminal matter, a priest may encourage the penitent to turn his or herself in. Civil authorities in the United States are usually respectful of this confidentiality. However, several years ago an ambitious attorney in Oregon secretly recorded a confession without the knowledge of the priest or the penitent involved, this lead to official protests by the local Archbishop and the Vatican. The tape has since been sealed, and the Federal  Court has since ruled that the taping was in violation of the 4th Amendment, and ordered an injunction against any further tapings.

Eastern Orthodoxy
The Eastern Orthodox sacrament of confession, or repentance, includes prayer to God and confessing ones sins to God, typically in the presence of an icon of Jesus Christ and also with a priest nearby to bear witness. The priest will typically add his own prayers, may add counsel or assign some form of penance, and will usually add ounce God's forgiveness of sins. In Orthodox ecclesiology, the priest is not an intermediary between God and the penitent. The confession is to God in the presence of a priest, not to a priest in the presence of God. In addition, the "penance" is not assigned in order to receive absolution--which is granted upon sincere confession--but is a "spiritual callisthenic" to help avoid further sin. Confession is necessary prior to receiving the Eucharist. Typical forms of penance may include abstaining from the Eucharist for a period of time, or praying certain prayers. When an adult enters the Orthodox Church through the sacraments of baptism and chrismation, a "life confession" will often be made either the same day or a few days prior to their chrismation. In that case, the absolution or declaration of God's forgiveness is typically delayed until it is given during the chrismation. At religious retreats or at any time out of religious devotion a penitent may make a general confession which subsumes all sins committed since Baptism, including sins already pardoned in other confessions. Many theologians recommend an occasional general confession for lay people seeking to deepen a life of prayer; it is generally required on a periodic basis of people who have entered the religious life.

Orthodox Confession
Confession is one of the sacraments of the Orthodox Church. In Greek, the sacrament is known also as the sacrament of 'Metanoia'. This last term signified a change in mind and will, and by extension, repenting after realizing one's mistaken attitude and unacceptable deeds. By this, the inner change is stressed more than the act of confessing one's moral terrors to a priest. In the New Testament, St. John the Baptist was preparing the

way of the Lord by preaching in the desert a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4).

The Lord Himself instituted the Sacrament of Confession by entrusting it to His Apostles:

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sin of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sin of any, they are retained (John 20:23).

The Apostles handed down through ordination this Lord-given right to forgive sins to the bishops and priests of the Church. Needless to say, the condition for effective forgiveness is the sincere repentance of the confessing individual. In the ancient Church, the confession of sins was done in public, as cited in Acts 19:18,

many of those who believed came confessing and divulging their deeds and practices.

Later on, this custom was abandoned and, in all probability, from the 3rd century certain priests were appointed to receive confessions. Characteristic of the nature of Orthodox Confession is the way in which the confessor offers absolution when he says,

Almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to everlasting life. The Almighty and merciful God grant you pardon, absolution, and remission of you sins

This powerful pronouncement makes it clear that it is the Lord Himself which is forgiving the sins of the penitent, not the priest. Confession is the powerful gift of the Church to her children because through it a sinner can find healing for the soul and peace for the conscience. It also means that both the penitent and the priest assume a serious moral responsibility toward each other; the penitent to keep no sins secret and the priest to keep when he hears in confession, in absolute confidence include abstaining from the Eucharist for a period of time, or praying certain prayers. When an adult enters the Orthodox Church through the sacraments of baptism and chrismation, a "life confession" will often be made either the same day or a few days prior to their chrismation. In that case, the absolution or declaration of God's forgiveness is typically delayed until it is given during the chrismation. At religious retreats or at any time out of religious devotion a penitent may make a general confession which subsumes all sins committed since Baptism, including sins already pardoned in other confessions. Many theologians recommend an occasional general confession for lay people seeking to deepen a life of prayer; it is generally required on a periodic basis of people who have entered the religious life.

Protestantism
In Protestant churches it is believed that no intermediary is necessary between the Christian and God. The confession of sins is therefore mainly done in private, in prayer before God. However confession is often encouraged when a wrong has been done to a person as well as to God. Confession is then made to the person wronged, and is seen to be as much part of the reconciliation process as it is theological. In churches and cases where sin has resulted in the exclusion of a person from church membership, public confession is often a pre-requisite to readmission. In neither case is there any required format to the confessions.  In the Anglican Church a formalised confession to a priest may be used, similar in practice and theology to the Catholic one, but it is not considered essential.

25 maj 2010