Confession to a Priest: Biblical and Early Church Foundations
The speaker argues that confession to a priest rests on biblical and historical grounds. In John 20 Christ breathes on the apostles and gives them authority to forgive or retain sins, a power that requires sins to be disclosed. James 5 instructs a sick Christian to call the presbyters, links forgiveness to their prayer, and commands Christians to confess sins to one another.
Early Christian documents confirm the practice. The Didache directs Christians to acknowledge transgressions in church and confess before breaking bread on the Lord's Day. Tertullian describes exomologesis as the penitent bowing before presbyters and asking the church for prayer. Cyprian tells Christians to confess while confession can still be received and speaks of satisfaction and remission made by priests.
The speaker says confession developed organically from the apostolic church and is not a medieval invention. The objection that one can confess directly to God is challenged by whether people actually name their sins before God and by the scriptural command to confess to one another. In Orthodoxy the priest acts as a witness and minister of Christ's church, and confession forces the penitent to stop hiding.
Key moments
- 0:00 Christ breathes on the apostles and gives them authority to forgive or retain sins, which requires sins to be disclosed.
- 0:31 James 5 instructs a sick Christian to call the presbyters, links forgiveness to their prayer, and commands Christians to confess sins to one another.
- 1:02 The Didache directs Christians to acknowledge transgressions in church and confess before breaking bread on the Lord's Day.
- 1:02 Tertullian describes exomologesis as the penitent bowing before presbyters and asking the church for prayer.
- 1:02 Cyprian tells Christians to confess while confession can still be received and speaks of satisfaction and remission made by priests.
- 1:34 Confession developed organically from the apostolic church and is not a medieval invention.
- 2:04 The claim "I just confess to God" is challenged by whether one actually names sins before God and by the scriptural command to confess to one another.
- 2:04 In Orthodoxy the priest is a witness and minister of Christ's church, and confession forces the penitent to stop hiding.