Confessional

For other uses, see Confessional (disambiguation).
Confessional at the Toulouse Cathedral
A confessional in Luther Church (Helsinki, Finland)

A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the typical venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches,[1][2] but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation. In the Catholic Church, confessions are only to be heard in a confessional or oratory, except for a just reason.[3]

The confessional is usually a wooden structure, with a centre compartment—entered through a door or curtain—where the priest sits, and on each side there is a latticed opening for the penitents to speak through and a step on which they kneel. By this arrangement the priest is hidden, but the penitent is visible to the public. Confessionals sometimes form part of the architectural scheme of the church; many finely decorated specimens, dating from the late 16th and the 17th centuries, are found in churches on the continent of Europe. A notable example, in Renaissance style, is in the Saint Michael's church [fr] at Leuven, but more usually, confessionals are movable pieces of furniture.[2]

In modern practice of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches, apart from receiving absolution in the confessional, many churches offer private Confession and Absolution at the chancel rails or in a reconciliation room, as well as during communal penitential rites.[4][5]

In Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy confessionals are not used: the confession often occurs in sight of other believers, e.g., those waiting in the row for the same purpose, but at some distance from them to not break the "seal of confession". Let it be understood that the "seal of confession" is technically of Roman usage.

  1. ^ Schmucker, Samuel Simon (2013). American Lutheranism Vindicated: or, Examination of the Lutheran Symbols, on Certain Disputed Topics. Simon & Schuster. p. 81. ISBN 978-1627935715.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference EB1911Confessional was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ 1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 964.3
  4. ^ Cunningham, Lawrence (2009). An Introduction to Catholicism. Cambridge University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0521846073.
  5. ^ "Private Absolution and the Confessional Seal" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Synod. 1 October 2019. p. 2. Retrieved 20 April 2021.