Confessor is a title used within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in several ways.

Confessor of the Faith

Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

for the faith but not to the point of death.Beccari, Camillo. "Confessor." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 8 June 2018 The term is still used that way in the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. In the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

, it is used for any saint, as well as those who have been declared blessed, who cannot be categorized under any of the following categories:

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

, or

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. As Christianity emerged as the dominant religion in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, persecutions became rare, and the title was given to persons who lived a holy life and died in peace. A notable example of this usage is the

English king The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

Saint Edward the Confessor.

Confession of sins

During the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rig ...

, a number of Christians had, under torture or threat thereof, weakened in their profession of the faith. When persecutions ceased under

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

, they wanted to be reunited with the church. It became the practice of the penitents to go to the Confessors, who had willingly suffered for the faith and survived, to plead their case and effect their restoration to communion. Thus, the word has come to denote any

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

who has been granted the authority to hear

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

s. This type of confessor may also be referred to as a "spiritual father." In the case of a

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

, the confessor might also fill the role of a confidential and disinterested advisor. In this sense of the term, it is standard practice for a religious community of women, whether

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

or just very large, to have one or several priests serving their spiritual needs, including being their confessor. It can also be used as the title of the head of a religious society. Historically, confessors were sometimes tested by officers of the church called examiners, before being appointed as confessors. In the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions of Christianity, the term "confessor" or "father of confession" can refer to a priest who hears the confession of a penitent and pronounces

absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pr ...

upon him/her.

References

{{catholic, title=Confessor

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: ''Confessor''
regarding the title "Confessor."

regarding the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confession, the "confessor." Confession (religion) Priests Christian saints Diocletianic Persecution

Confessor of the Faith

Confession of sins

See also

References

External links