Confession in the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions

Program / Course 3: The Rule of Life / Lesson 5.2

What you will learn

• State what the Catholic Church teaches about the sacrament of Penance.
• Describe the Orthodox mystery of confession and repentance.
• Explain the Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed and free-church approaches to confession.
• Identify the main biblical texts and how the traditions read them differently.

The big idea

Christians agree that sin needs to be acknowledged and forgiven, and that God forgives the repentant. They differ on how that forgiveness is given and received. Catholic and Orthodox Christians teach that sacramental absolution is given by a priest. Lutherans keep private confession and absolution as an option, Anglicans allow it, and Reformed and free-church Christians teach that confession to God is direct and that confession to a trusted Christian is helpful. Each tradition has biblical texts it reads in its own way.

Key terms

Absolution

The declaration, made by a minister in the name of Christ, that a penitent’s sins are forgiven.

Sacrament of Penance

In Catholic teaching, the sacrament in which a baptized person confesses sins to a priest and receives absolution. Also called Reconciliation or Confession.

Mystery

The Orthodox term for what Western churches call a sacrament.

Seal of confession

The priest’s absolute duty, in Catholic and Orthodox teaching, never to reveal what is said in confession.

Penance

In Catholic usage, an act assigned by the confessor to repair harm and heal the sinner, such as prayers or acts of charity.

Keys

A phrase from Matthew 16:19 about the authority to bind and loose, read by some traditions as authority to forgive sins.

Background

Several texts shape the discussion. John 20:22-23 records Jesus breathing on the disciples and saying, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 speak of binding and loosing. James 5:16 says, Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another. First John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive. Catholic and Orthodox readers take the first texts as a grant of authority to the apostles and their successors. Protestants usually read them as authority to proclaim forgiveness in the gospel, which every believer can do in some sense, and stress the others as direct confession to God and mutual confession.

The history of the practice is also debated. In the early church, serious sins such as apostasy, murder and adultery were dealt with by public penance, which could last for years. From the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish and other monks developed private confession with penitential books, and this spread across Europe. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council required annual confession for Catholics. The Orthodox Church kept a different form, shaped by monastic practice and the spiritual father.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The Catholic sacrament

The Catholic Church teaches that Christ gave the apostles, and through them bishops and priests, authority to forgive sins. In the sacrament of Penance, the penitent confesses sins, expresses sorrow (contrition), accepts a penance and receives absolution from the priest, who speaks in the name of Christ. The Council of Trent in 1551 defined these elements. Mortal sins, that is, grave sins committed knowingly and freely, must be confessed in kind and number if remembered, and Catholics are obliged to confess at least once a year if they are in grave sin.

The priest is bound by the seal of confession, never to reveal what he hears. Catholic teaching adds that venial sins, lesser faults, may be forgiven in other ways, such as prayer and works of charity, though confessing them is recommended.

Step 2: The Orthodox mystery

In the Orthodox Church the mystery of repentance and confession is given by a priest, usually in church before an icon of Christ. The priest stands as witness and servant, and the penitent confesses to God. The priest prays for absolution, and in many traditions the prayer is worded as a prayer asking God to forgive, not a declaration by the priest. Wording and customs vary by jurisdiction.

Orthodox practice emphasizes the spiritual father, who guides the person in a long process of healing. Confession before communion is common, though the frequency varies. The priest may assign a rule of prayer or fasting, which is regarded as medicine and not as punishment. The seal of confession applies.

Step 3: Lutheran and Anglican practice

Luther kept private confession and absolution. The Augsburg Confession of 1530 says that private absolution should be retained in the churches. The Small Catechism includes a short order for confession in which the penitent confesses before a pastor those sins known and felt, and receives absolution, which is to be believed as if spoken by God himself. Many Lutherans today make little use of private confession, but it remains a recognized practice.

The Church of England provides for a general confession in public worship and for private confession to a priest. A well-known Anglican saying is that all may, none must, some should. Confession to a priest is available but not required. Anglo-Catholics use it regularly. Others rarely do.

Step 4: Reformed and free-church practice

Calvin taught that confession to God is essential and that confession to pastor or brother is helpful for comfort and counsel, but that no law requires enumerating sins to a priest. Reformed churches include a prayer of confession and an assurance of pardon in public worship. Baptists and other free-church Christians emphasize that every believer can come directly to God through Christ, and encourage confession to trusted fellow believers (James 5:16).

Protestants of this kind teach that the minister announces God’s pardon on the basis of the gospel, but does not himself grant it. They hold that the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) means that no priest stands between a believer and God.

1. Which text do I read as most important on this subject, and how would someone from another tradition read it?
2. What do I fear about confessing to another person?
3. What difference might it make to hear forgiveness spoken aloud?
4. How does my tradition’s teaching shape my own practice?
5. If my tradition requires confession and I cannot reach a priest, what am I to do?
6. If my tradition teaches direct confession, who could I confess to for counsel?

Examples

Different perspectives

The Catholic view

The Catechism teaches that Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance and gave the Church the power to forgive sins. Contrition, confession and satisfaction are the acts of the penitent, and absolution is given by the priest. This is the ordinary way for the faithful to be reconciled after grave sin.

The Orthodox view

Orthodox teaching sees confession as a mystery in which Christ heals through the priest, within the life of the church. It emphasizes repentance as a continuing turning and the priest as a witness and physician.

The Lutheran view

Lutherans teach that absolution is God’s own word of forgiveness, spoken through a minister, and that private confession is valuable though not compulsory. The Lord’s Supper requires self-examination but not enumeration of sins.

The Reformed and free-church view

These traditions teach that forgiveness comes through faith in Christ, that confession to God is direct and that confession to others is a matter of counsel and mutual care. They do not regard priestly absolution as necessary.

The scholarly view

Historians distinguish public penance of the early church from private confession of the early Middle Ages and note that the sacramental theology developed gradually. They do not settle the theological question of what Christ intended.

Why it matters

A student who prays alone needs to know what the major traditions teach before deciding what to do. The differences are not trivial. They decide whether private repentance is sufficient or incomplete. This lesson states each position as its own members would, so that the student can say honestly where he or she stands and why.

Common misunderstandings

Knowledge check

Think it through

1. Do you think forgiveness needs a human voice? Why or why not?
2. How would you describe your own tradition’s teaching fairly to a member of another?
3. What would you want a confessor or counselor to be like?

Independent assignment

Comparing the texts

In your notebook, write 350 to 500 words. Read John 20:22-23, James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9. For each, write what a Catholic or Orthodox reader would draw from it and what a Protestant reader would draw from it. Then state which reading you find strongest and why, and which question remains open for you. Do not post it.

Further study

• Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the sections on the sacrament of Penance.
• Council of Trent (1545-1563), Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent Read the teaching on Penance in the fourteenth session.
• Martin Luther, The Small Catechism Read the section on confession.
• Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, The Orthodox Church Read the account of the mystery of confession.
• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Read Book 3 on repentance and confession.
• John 20:23 Remitting and retaining sins.
• James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another.
• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins.