Confession across the traditions: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed practice

Program / Course 11: Church, Sacraments, and Authority / Lesson 7.3

What you will learn

• Describe how confession is practiced in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed churches.
• Explain the words of absolution used in several traditions and what they claim.
• Explain the seal of confession and the difference between mortal and venial sin in Catholic teaching.
• Identify what the traditions share in the practice of confession.

The big idea

All major traditions teach that Christians who sin should repent and seek God’s forgiveness. They differ on the form. Catholics practice the sacrament of penance, with confession to a priest, absolution and penance. The Orthodox confess to a priest who acts as witness and spiritual guide. Lutherans keep private confession and absolution as a gift, and Anglicans offer it as an option. Reformed churches stress confession in the worship service, the assurance of pardon and church discipline. Many Baptist and free churches encourage confession to God and to trusted believers.

Key terms

Mortal sin

In Catholic teaching, a grave sin committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent, which breaks a person’s relationship with God and must be confessed in the sacrament.

Venial sin

In Catholic teaching, a lesser sin that wounds but does not break the relationship with God.

Penance (as an act)

A prayer or act assigned by the priest after confession as a sign of amends and a help to healing.

Spiritual father (or mother)

In Orthodox practice, a person of experience, often a priest or monk, to whom a Christian goes for guidance and confession.

Assurance of pardon

In Reformed worship, the minister’s declaration, from Scripture, that God forgives those who repent and trust in Christ.

General confession

A prayer of confession said by the whole congregation together in a service.

Seal of confession

The strict obligation of a priest never to disclose what a penitent has confessed.

Background

The previous lessons traced the texts and the history. This lesson describes present practice, as the churches themselves describe it. There is variety within each tradition. A Catholic parish and a Catholic monastery may have different customs, an Orthodox Christian in Greece and one in the United States may confess at different intervals, and Lutheran churches in Germany and in America differ in how often private confession is used.

A student should begin by noticing that the tradition, in each case, means to heal and not only to punish. Each rite has a form of words in which the penitent confesses, the minister speaks of forgiveness, and prayer is offered. The differences lie in who speaks, what is claimed and how often it is expected.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Catholic practice

In the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation, the penitent examines conscience, confesses sins to a priest, expresses sorrow, receives counsel and a penance, and hears the words of absolution. The current form of absolution says that God, the Father of mercies, has reconciled the world to himself through the death and resurrection of his Son and sent the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, and that through the ministry of the church God grants pardon and peace, and the priest absolves the penitent in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Catholics are required to confess grave sins in kind and number, at least once a year, and before receiving communion if conscious of mortal sin. Venial sins may be confessed, and many Catholics confess regularly. The priest is bound by the seal of confession and may not reveal what he has heard, even under threat. Catholic teaching also allows a general absolution in grave necessity, such as danger of death for many people, with an obligation to confess later.

Step 2: Orthodox practice

In the Orthodox Church, confession is made before an icon of Christ, with the priest standing beside the penitent as a witness. The priest places the end of his stole over the penitent’s head and prays that God, who forgave David through Nathan and the sinful woman and the prodigal, may forgive through the priest’s ministry. Many Orthodox confession prayers say that the priest is only a witness and that Christ is invisibly present.

Frequency varies: some Orthodox confess before each communion, others a few times a year, and in some places rarely. The relationship with a spiritual father often matters more than the rite. Penances in the East are usually understood as medicine for the soul rather than as punishments, and the priest may use his discretion. The seal applies in the Orthodox Church as well.

Step 3: Lutheran and Anglican practice

Lutheran confessions teach that private absolution should be kept in the churches (Augsburg Confession, Article 11), though a full listing of sins is not required. Luther’s Small Catechism includes a short form of confession in which the penitent confesses before God and the pastor, and receives the declaration that in the name of Jesus Christ the sins are forgiven. Many Lutheran churches today use a public confession and absolution at the beginning of the service, and private confession is available on request but used by few.

Anglican churches use a general confession and absolution in the service. The Book of Common Prayer also has a form for the visitation of the sick that includes private confession and absolution. The old Anglican saying about confession is that all may, none must, some should. Anglo-Catholic parishes encourage regular confession to a priest, and evangelical Anglican churches seldom do.

Step 4: Reformed, Baptist and other practice

Reformed worship usually includes a prayer of confession said by the congregation and a declaration of pardon from the minister, who proclaims, based on Scripture, that those who repent and believe are forgiven. The Heidelberg Catechism (questions 84 and 85) speaks of the keys of the kingdom, which are the preaching of the gospel and church discipline. Private confession to the pastor or elders is available for counsel but not required.

Baptist, Pentecostal and many free churches emphasize confession to God and public repentance during altar calls or services. They also encourage confession to trusted believers and to accountability partners on the basis of James 5:16. These churches deny that a minister has authority to absolve, and hold that every believer may go directly to God through Christ, as in 1 Timothy 2:5. Many practice church discipline in cases of public sin, along the lines of Matthew 18.

Step 5: What is shared and what differs

All hold that God forgives those who repent, that Christ’s death is the ground, that Christians should confess their sins, and that the church has a duty of care for the penitent. The main differences are: whether a minister’s absolution is itself an act of forgiveness or a declaration of it, whether confession to a minister is required or optional, whether sins must be listed in kind, and whether penance as an act of satisfaction is part of the process. The traditions also differ on whether the practice is a sacrament. A reader can see that these are questions of authority and definition, though each tradition also holds that the practice matters for the health of the soul.

1. Who hears the confession, and in what role?
2. What words of absolution or pardon are used, and what do they claim?
3. Is confession required, recommended or optional, and how often?
4. Is it called a sacrament?
5. What happens to what is confessed: is there a seal?
6. What does the tradition say about confession to God directly?

Examples

Different perspectives

Catholic

The sacrament of reconciliation is the ordinary way for grave sins after baptism to be forgiven. The priest absolves in the person of Christ, and the penitent is bound to confess in kind and number. The church stresses mercy and the healing of the soul, and Pope Francis called the confessional not a torture chamber but an encounter with the Lord’s mercy.

Orthodox

Confession is a mystery in which Christ heals through the priest, who is a witness. Orthodox Christians seek the counsel of a spiritual father, and confession is tied to preparation for communion. The East stresses healing and growth in the spiritual life rather than the legal language of the West.

Protestant

Lutherans treasure absolution and keep private confession as a gift, Anglicans offer it as optional, Reformed Christians stress confession in worship and discipline, and Baptists emphasize direct confession to God and mutual confession. All reject any suggestion that a minister’s absolution replaces faith in Christ.

Scholarly view

Sociologists and historians observe that regular private confession has declined sharply among Catholics in many countries since the 1960s, and that communal or general services have become more common in some Protestant and Catholic settings. They also note that interest in spiritual direction has grown in all traditions.

Why it matters

Confession is among the most personal religious practices, and a student who understands how the churches describe it will be better able to understand friends and neighbors of different traditions. It also shows how a shared concern, the forgiveness of sins, can be organized in different ways without one tradition caring more about it than another.

Common misunderstandings

Knowledge check

Think it through

1. What difference does it make whether a minister declares or grants forgiveness?
2. Why might some people find confession to another person helpful, and others burdensome?
3. How can a church protect the privacy of what is confessed while also guarding against abuse?
4. Which elements of confession are present in all the traditions, and why might that be?

Independent assignment

Four forms of absolution

In your notebook, find the form of absolution or declaration of pardon used in a Catholic rite, an Orthodox service, a Lutheran or Anglican service and a Reformed service. Copy brief phrases or summarize in your own words. Then compare who speaks, in whose name, and what is claimed. Write 300 to 400 words explaining the differences and what the four forms have in common. Keep the work in your notebook.

Further study

• Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the section on the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.
• Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, The Orthodox Church Read the account of confession and spiritual fatherhood in the Orthodox Church.
• Martin Luther, The Small Catechism Read the section on confession.
• Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, The Heidelberg Catechism Questions 84 and 85 on the keys of the kingdom.
• Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3: The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches Read Augsburg Confession Article 11 on confession.
• 1 Timothy 2:5 One mediator between God and men.
• James 5:16 Confess your sins to one another.
• Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin, and you forgave.