| Confession is the admission of a crime or sin committed by a person.
Confession is one of the seven sacraments and it is generally personal and not collective. The person making the confession relates his sins to the priest or other leadership figure, and the latter imposes a symbolic penalty, thereby effectively canceling his sin as if it never happened. If a person dies without confessing, his soul is doomed to Hell. Hence the tremendous importance of confession.
A confession is to admit one`s crime or sin.
Confession is one of the seven sacraments and is usually personal. The confessor confesses before a priest or some other leading character that assigns him with a symbolic punishment for his sin and thus in fact erases the confessor`s sins as if they never existed. If a person dies before he confesses, his soul is doomed for an eternity in hell. That`s what makes confession so important.
There are various forms of confessions in various religions and denominations
In Catholicism, the confession is made to a priest, who is authorized to grant forgiveness, even if the sin is a sin against God. Christians believe that confession is the only means by which man can be forgiven for the grave sins that he committed.
According to Christian belief, the priest does not have the authority to cancel a person’s sins. This right is reserved for God alone. However, during confession the priest embodies Jesus (in persona Christi), and the one granting absolution for the sinner’s since is actually God and not the priest (who serves as a sort of mediator or medium). The priest also imposes a symbolic penalty on the person making the confession, such as saying a number of prayers or fasting, which are conditions for receiving God’s forgiveness.
According to the rules of the Catholic church, the priest must maintain complete confidentiality regarding what is said to him during confession, and he is forbidden from breaching this confidentiality, even if his life or the lives of others is in danger in consequence. A priest who breaches this vow of confidentiality is automatically excommunicated. At the very most, the priest is permitted to urge the person making the confession to report what he told the priest during his confession to others (for example the legal authorities) as well.
The Catholic Church obligates all Catholics to go to confession once a year.
In the Orthodox Church the confession ceremony (or the ceremony of repentance) is made up of a prayer to God, a confession of sins against Him and a request for forgiveness. The ceremony generally takes place in the presence of a priest. It is customary for the priest to add words of prayer of his own, and he may instruct the person making the confession, or give him advice. In the end, the priest announces God’s forgiveness.
In the Orthodox Christian perception, the priest does not serve as a mediator between God and the person making the confession. The confession is made to God, in the presence of the priest (and not to the priest, in the presence of God, as is the case in the Catholic Church). In addition, the “punishment” is intended to prevent similar sins in the future.
In the Protestant Church – Protestant Christianity believes that there is no need for a mediator between man and his God. Therefore the confession in this religion is generally made privately, as part of a prayer before God. However, in the case of an injustice committed by one person against another, Protestantism encourages confession before the wronged person as an essential step in receiving God’s forgiveness. If a sin has led to a person being excommunicated, public confession is often required before he can return to the Church.
In Judaism confession is part of the prayer and constitutes an important stage in the process of repentance.
There are two types of confessions:
The confession does not atone for the sin, but rather it constitutes part of a process that also includes expressing regret for the sin, recognition, awareness and learning a lesson for the future. A confession must be made in words, and it is not enough to mediate and think about it.
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