Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the traditional Churches in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active

Roman Catholic Church

Traditional confessional from Sicily. A confessional is a small enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called Confession, or Reconciliation Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy.

Absolution is an integral part of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e The penitent makes a sacramental confession of all mortal sins to a priest and prays an act of contrition. Mortal sin, according to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, and some Protestant denominations is a Sin that unless confessed and absolved (or at least A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities The Act of Contrition is a Prayer recited by the penitent during the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Sacrament of Confession. The priest then assigns a penance and offers absolution in the name of the Trinity, on behalf of the Church:

"God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Penance is repentance of Sins as well as the proper name of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Amen. "

Before the Second Vatican Council, and still practiced in traditionalist parishes, absolution was given in Latin, followed by another Latin prayer by the priest:

Absolution: "Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat; et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo ab omni vinculo excommunicationis (suspensionis) et interdicti in quantum possum et tu indiges. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Deinde, ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. "

Translation: "May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication and interdict, so far as my power allows and your needs require. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Thereupon, I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. "

Post-absolution prayer: "Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi, merita Beatae Mariae Virginis et omnium sanctorum, quidquid boni feceris vel mali sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem peccatorum, augmentum gratiae et praemium vitae aeternae. Amen. "

Translation: "May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints and also whatever good you do or evil you endure merit for you the remission of your sins, the increase of grace and the reward of everlasting life. Amen. "

Absolution forgives the guilt associated with the penitent's sins, and removes the eternal punishment (Hell) associated with mortal sins. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Mortal sin, according to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, and some Protestant denominations is a Sin that unless confessed and absolved (or at least The penitent is still responsible for the temporal punishment (Purgatory) associated with the confessed sins, unless an indulgence is applied. See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification An indulgence, in Roman Catholic Theology, is the full or partial Remission of temporal punishment due for Sins which have already been forgiven

General absolution, where all eligible Catholics gathered at a given area are granted absolution for sins without prior individual confession to a priest, is lawfully granted in only 2 circumstances:
(1) there is imminent danger of death and there is no time for a priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents,
(2) a serious need is present, that is, the number of penitents is so large that there are not sufficient priests to hear the individual confessions properly within a reasonable time (generally considered to be 1 month) so that the Catholics, through no fault of their own, would be forced to be deprived of the sacrament or communion. The diocesan bishop must give prior permission before general absolution may be given under this circumstance. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight It is important to note that the occurrence of a large number of penitents, such as may occur on a pilgrimage or at penitential services is not considered as sufficient to permit general absolution. Circumstance 2 is thus envisaged more for mission territories where priests may visit certain villages only a few times a year.

For a valid reception of general absolution, the penitent must be contrite for all his mortal sins and have the resolution to confess at the next earliest opportunity each of those mortal sins that is forgiven in general absolution. Anyone receiving general absolution is also required to make a complete, individual confession to a priest as soon as possible before receiving general absolution again. A contemporary example of general absolution was the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, where general absolution was granted to all Catholics endangered by the incident. Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station is a civilian Nuclear power plant located on an island (Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg

• The French form absoute (in French also public absolution during Whit Sunday mass) is used in English for the absolution in a prayer concluding the burial service

Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Greek Church

The belief of the ancient Greek Church has been set forth above. Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, pentekostē, "the fiftieth day" is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian Liturgical year, celebrated the That the Greeks have always believed that the Church has power to forgive sin, that they believe it at present, is clear from the formulæ of absolution in vogue among all branches of the Church; also from the decrees of synods which since the Reformation have again and again expressed this belief (Alzog on Cyril Lucaris III, 465; Synod of Constantinople, 1638; Synod of Jassy, 1642; Synod of Jerusalem, 1672). The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches Johann Baptist Alzog ( 8 June, 1808 - 1 March, 1878) German theologian and Catholic church historian Kyrillos Loukaris or Cyril Lucaris or Cyril Lucar (1572&ndashJune 1638 was a Greek Prelate and theologian, and a native of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Dositheos Notaras convened a Synod in Jerusalem on March 1672. In the Synod of Jerusalem the Church reiterates its belief in Seven Sacraments, among them Penance, which the Lord established when He said: "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain they are retained. The term sacred mysteries generally denotes the area of Supernatural phenomena associated with a Divinity or a religious ideology. " The formulæ of absolution are generally deprecatory, and if now and then the indicative form appears, it may be traced to Latin sources.

Russian Church

The belief of the Greek Church is naturally also that of the Russian. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure Russian theologians all hold that the Church possesses the power to forgive sins, where there is true repentance and sincere confession. The form in use at present is as follows: "My child, N. N. , may our Lord and God Christ Jesus by the mercy of His love absolve thee from thy sins; and I, His unworthy priest, in virtue of the authority committed to me, absolve thee and declare thee absolved of thy sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. "

Anglican Church

Main article: Anglican sacraments

In the Anglican Communion, absolution usually takes place after the General Confession during the Eucharist or a daily office, and is a component of the sacrament of confession and absolution. In keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a Via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Canonical hours are divisions of time developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed Prayers of the daily round As a sacrament, absolution can only be pronounced by a priest or bishop; a layperson or deacon may only offer the assurance of pardon. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight In religious organizations the laity comprises all persons who are not Clergy. Deacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind but which varies among theological and denominational traditions Thus, while a priest or bishop would say "forgive you your sins", a deacon or layperson would say "forgive us our sins". Absolution is also pronounced after the reconciliation of a penitent by the priest hearing a private confession. The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities

Often, physical actions accompany an absolution. A priest or bishop may make the sign of the cross in front of him or her, facing the congregation. The Sign of the Cross, or Signum crucis in Latin is a ritual hand motion made by members of many but not all branches of Christianity. Those receiving the absolution may, in addition, make the sign of the cross across their chests.

At minimum, Anglican prayer books contain a formula of absolution in the daily offices, at the Eucharist, and in the visitation of the sick. Canonical hours are divisions of time developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed Prayers of the daily round The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Anointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious Anointing or "unction" (an older term with the same meaning in that it is intended as its name The first two are general, akin to the liturgical absolution in use in the Roman Church; the third is individual by the very nature of the case. The offices of the earliest Books of Common Prayer contained an absolution that read both as assurance of pardon, placing the agency with God ("He [God] pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent"), and as priestly mediation (God "hath given power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people. The Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and used throughout the Anglican Communion. . . the absolution and remission of their sins"). The following is the form of absolution for the sick in the Book of Common Prayer: "OUR Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. " http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/occasion/sick_visit.html

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Armenians

Denzinger, in his Ritus Orientalium (1863), gives us a full translation of the penitential ritual used by the Armenians. Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger (1819 - 1883 was a leading German Catholic theologian and author of the Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum (Handbook The Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի Hayasdaneaytz Arakelagan The present version is from the ninth century. The form of absolution is declarative, though it is preceded by a prayer for mercy and for pardon. It is as follows: "May the merciful Lord have pity on thee and forgive thee thy faults; in virtue of my priestly power, by the authority and command of God expressed in these words, 'whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be hound in heaven', I absolve thee from thy sins, I absolve thee from thy thoughts, from thy words, from thy deeds, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and I restore thee to the Sacrament of the Holy Church. May all thy good works be for thee an increase of merit, may they be for the glory of life everlasting, Amen. "

Copts

Dr. Hyvernat asserts that the liturgical books of the Copts have no penitential formulæ, nor is this surprising, for they inscribe in the ritual only those things not found in other rituals. A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a Church, that contains the text and directions for the Liturgy of its official Religious services History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the Father du Bernat, writing to Père Fleurian (Lettres édifiantes), says, in reference to the Sacrament of Penance among the Copts, that the Copts believe themselves bound to a full confession of their sins. This finished, the priest recites over them the prayer said at the beginning of the Mass, the prayer asking pardon and forgiveness from God; to this is added the so-called "Benediction", which Father Bernat says is like the prayer said in the Latin Church after absolution has been imparted. Dr. Hyvernat, however, asserts that Father Bernat is mistaken when he likens the Benediction to our Passio Domini, for it is like the Latin prayer only inasmuch as it is recited after absolution.

Jacobites

The Syrians who are united with the Roman See use the declarative form in imparting absolution, a relatively recent formula. Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. The present Jacobite Church not only holds and has held the power to absolve from sin, but its ritual is expressive of this same power. The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world Denzinger (Ritus Orientalium) has preserved for us a twelfth-century document which gives in full the order of absolution.

Nestorians

The Nestorians have at all times believed in the power to absolve in the Sacrament of Penance. Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern Assemani, Renaudot, Badger (Nestorians and their Rituals), also Denzinger, have the fullest information on this point. Eusèbe Renaudot ( July 20 1646 &ndash September 7 1720) was a French theologian and Orientalist. It is noticeable that their formula of absolution is deprecatory, not indicative.

Lutheranism

Both private and corporate confession and absolution are practiced in the Lutheran tradition. The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Private confession and absolution have fallen into disuse due to the Pietism and Rationalism of the 17th through the 19th centuries. Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 [1] While confession of sins is the biblical pattern to be followed (Ps. 32:5: "I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. "), only holy absolution is held to be specifically instituted by Jesus (Matt. 16:19, John 20:23) in Lutheran theology. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The common practice is to follow the rite of corporate confession of sins and absolution before the beginning of the Lutheran Divine Service. Divine Service is the term used in the Eastern Orthodox Church to describe the daily cycle of public services celebrated in the Temple (church building (Traditionally, the Divine Service begins with the Introit: the order of corporate confession and absolution is placed before it. The Introit ( Latin: introitus, "entrance" is part of the opening of the celebration of the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheran ) The Lutheran reformers held that a complete enumeration of sins is impossible (Augsburg Confession XI, see Ps. 19:12) and that one's confidence of forgiveness was based on the absolution, God's word, rather than on what the penitent did or might do: the sincerity of the penitent's contrition or act of confession or deeds of satisfaction (penance). Contrition (from the Latin contritus 'ground to pieces ie crushed by Guilt) is sincere and complete remorse (i Penance is repentance of Sins as well as the proper name of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession Deeds of satisfaction have been completely excluded from the Lutheran rite of confession and absolution. Faith in Jesus' sufficient active and passive satisfaction, implicit in the word of holy absolution, receives the forgiveness of sins and salvation. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Traditionally confession and absolution is understood as "return to baptism" (reditus ad baptismum). Therefore baptism is a precondition for the reception of absolution. Generally, private confession and absolution are practiced in the Lutheran tradition only when requested by the penitent or recommended by the confessor or pastor. [2]

The Reformed tradition

The earliest Reformers attacked the penitential practice of the medieval church, particularly the confession of sins to a priest. Their opinions expressed in their later theological works do not differ as markedly from the old position as one might suppose.

The Lutheran tenet of justification by faith alone would make all absolution merely declarative, and reduce the pardon granted by the Church to the merest announcement of the Gospel, especially of remission of sins through Christ.

Zwingli held that God alone pardoned sin, and he saw nothing but idolatry in the practice of hoping for pardon from a mere creature. Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1 January 1484 &ndash 11 October 1531 was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. If confession had aught of good it was merely as direction.

John Calvin denied all idea of sacrament when there was question of Penance; but he held that the pardon expressed by the minister of the Church gave to the penitent a greater guarantee of forgiveness. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and The Confession styled "Helvetian" contents itself with denying the necessity of confession to a priest, but holds that the power granted by Christ to absolve is simply the power to preach to the people the Gospel of Jesus, and as a consequence the remission of sins: "Rite itaque et efficaciter ministri absolvunt dum evangelium Christi et in hoc remissionem peccatorum prædicant. "

Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia - only partially used yet
• John N. Wall. A Dictionary for Episcopalians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 2000.
• Christian Cyclopedia Article on Absolution
• Luther, Martin. Smalcald Articles VIII. Of Confession
• Melanchthon, Philip. The Augsburg Confession Article XI: Of Confession.
• Melanchthon, Philip. The Defense of the Augsburg Confession Article VI: Of Confession and Satisfaction